Best.Owling.Yet!!!

I love owls. They're awesome birds to see, anywhere, any day. But finding them can be verrrrry challenging. Owling is when birders go out to find an owl really late at night or at ungodly hours in the morning. I've done that on several occasions, finding myself standing in darkness, being eaten alive by seemingly ravenous mosquitoes, and waiting. Waiting for the silent nocturnal hunters to make an appearance.

I think I've been a bit spoiled with most of the owls I've seen: I got the Philippine Scops Owl as a lifer in Jops's backyard and the Philippine Eagle Owl in its day roost near the UP Diliman campus, both minutes away from my home in Quezon City! The Eagle Owl was actually my first owl ever! And honestly, finding those owls didn't really involve any serious owling.

I did get to see my first Luzon Hawk Owls when I did go owling in Mt. Makiling with friends for my birthday a couple of years ago (gosh, has it been that long???) It wasn't that tough though, we just waited a few minutes outside the hostel we were staying at: no hike, not that many mosquitoes, and great owls.

So, this owling trip in Tabunan, Cebu was the real deal: we woke up and picked up our companions, David and Sarah, from their hotel at 3AM, and were on the road to the forest before dawn. I was quite groggy and light headed, having arrived in Cebu from Manila at 11:30PM the night before. The drive up the winding road didn't make me feel better but the cool fresh air that hit my face when I got out of the van helped wash that awful feeling away.

We stopped at the house of 'Nong Oking, the guide and forest warden in Tabunan. After a few minutes preparing our gear, we set off into the darkness with his young daughter, Hazel. We trooped in a neat line: 'Nong Oking leading the way, followed by David, Sarah, and Hazel, with me and Jops taking up the rear. I made a huge mistake forgetting my flashlight (and even the headlamp Jun gave me!) and was mentally kicking myself for forgetting them the whole way.

Through the trails before dawn

It was unnerving trekking in unknown terrain in the darkness but I managed not to stumble. I did get some nasty wounds from an equally nasty looking branch with HUGE nasty thorns. But I ignored the throbbing pain and trudged onwards. The trail wound upwards then downwards. It would open up to a small field that would immediately get swallowed up with thorny brambles and bamboo on both sides. I followed the hazy silhouette of Hazel in front of me and put one foot in front of the other, asking silently: "Why are we doing this again?"

Then, the people ahead of me stopped walking and 'Nong Oking asked Jops for the owl calls. After the first playback, an owl swooped over our heads and perched on a tree behind us. Another call, another owl. 'Nong Oking pointed his flashlight on the area where it perched and there in clear, unobstructed view was my first lifer of the year: Cebu Hawk Owl. It stayed only for a few seconds before flying off into the darkness. Awesome!!!!

The same thing happened again and again: another call, another owl. The owls were calling from everywhere and were very obliging! I tried my best to get photos and started with this:

A lot of shots like this actually =P

... and ended with this:

This was the best I managed in the darkness.
Jops and David got some AWESOME shots though =)

I accepted the fact that I wouldn't be able to take a sharp photo of the owl in the darkness, so I decided to just take some videos of these unexpectedly obliging owls. I was super happy to get this very short but in-your-face video of a Cebu Hawk Owl!

It was the best owling yet!!! Sure, the trek was difficult, dark, and literally painful for me, but the views of the owls were more than enough to make it all worth it!

We didn't get fleeting views, we got in-our-face views! We didn't get just a couple of sightings, we got all the sightings we could have wanted! Plus, I got to see the owl spreading its wings downward, behavior which I only got to see in photos before that morning! How cool was that? =)

The owls were still calling from around us but we were all wow-ed out by them that we declared our owling session closed. So, before the sun rose, and energized by the owls, our party trudged forward towards the viewdeck for more birding. I decided to stay behind though (my leg was bothering me) and I enjoyed sitting alone, surrounded by trees, knowing the owls were around me, watching me.

My solo roosting site while I waited for my friends 

The forest was quiet, but I did get to see a Black-naped Monarch and a male Magnificent Sunbird (Crimson Sunbird) in the area where I sat. The others got to see the Black Shama, a Cebu endemic. Meanwhile on my rock, I enjoyed watching the mist slowly creep in, bringing fine rain with it. The rain picked up a bit as did the wind and it got really cold!

The mist slowly came down and eventually enveloped the forest

This was when I got a text message from my mom: "Storm Signal #1 in Cebu." Ah. Bring it on. I got awesome views of owls this morning. =)

The trip back down was easier to traverse now that we could actually see where we were going, but the rain made the trail a lot more slippery and we each had our slips and falls no matter how careful we were. We knew it was all part of the adventure and we all laughed at our muddiness (me being the most muddy for reasons unknown even to me.) We finally reached the concrete road and returned to 'Nong Oking's house to wash up most of the mud we brought with us. As we hosed down the clumps of mud, I knew the owl-induced adrenalin rush will stay with me for the next few days =)

Happy (and muddy!) birders with 'Nong Oking (in blue) and Hazel (in white)

Well-Done in Olango Part 1: Waders Galore

Yes, I was roasted to well-done-ness during our trip to Olango Island in Cebu last weekend but it was so worth it!

We were treated to a pretty rainbow which appeared over the sanctuary.

Our group flew in on two separate flights. Leni, being much much wiser, took the Cebu Pacific flight, arrived on time, and ended up waiting for us for hours. Our group (Jun, Adri, Trinket, Jops, and I) took a Zest Air flight that was initially pushed back to a later schedule plus delayed for an hour. Nevertheless, we were in high spirits when we arrived in the Mactan International Airport where we headed straight for a lechon lunch at Zubu Chon. We proceeded to the Hilton Pier and were soon on Olango Island aboard tricycles headed to our home for the next three days and two nights: Olango Bonita Inn.

Their dining area where we took all our meals.
The karaoke machine was left unused though =P

Of course, most of our time was spent birding. We made arrangements with our friendly and very accommodating tricycle drivers who serviced us our whole stay in Olango. After checking-in and preparing our gear, we headed to the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary which was a 20-minute tricycle ride from the inn. Upon registration and paying of fees in their makeshift office (their ranger station was being renovated), we asked about the Asian Dowitcher, being a target bird for all of us. The ranger told us the birds have been seen already. Without further ado, we marched to the view deck and started scanning for birds.

The view deck during low tide.

Scoping out birds, most of which were far away due
to the very low tide.

We started walking in different directions, scanning for birds, identifying those we saw. On the first afternoon alone, I got three lifers: Red Knot, Gull-billed Tern, and Lesser Sand-Plover! I was also able to see birds I've seen before during my first visit to Olango, and had more time to observe and study them. We saw LOTS of Whimbrels, Great Knots, Greater Sand-Plovers, and Grey Plovers running around. There were also lots of Ruddy Turnstones in different patterns of their breeding plumage.

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus

Greater Sand-Plover Charadrius leschenaultii

Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
showing signs of its breeding plumage

As the sun started to set, large numbers of Wimbrels started flying in to settle down for the night. We were hoping the Dowitchers would swoop in as well, but they didn't. We packed away our things and trudged back to the entrance where our very efficient tricycle drivers were already waiting for us.

Our second day began with a big breakfast and the threat of rain. First, we dropped by a carinderia near the Sta. Rosa pier so we can make arrangements for our lunch. A strong rain fell while we were talking to the manang in the carinderia but by the time we placed our orders and left instructions for our food to be picked up and brought to the sanctuary at noon, the rain had stopped and the sun was out again. Then, it was a whole day of glorious, sun-soaked birding!

While Jops went to the view deck area, the rest of us checked out one
of the old hides. It was still standing sans a ladder that would
allow a person to enter it.

We saw the usual species: more Whimbrels and Greater Sand-Plovers plus quite a number of Kentish Plovers almost in breeding plumage. Such a treat since I usually get to see them in their much plainer grey and white colors.

Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus with a rufous-brown head and
black patches on the sides of its breast

We regrouped in the main view deck and were joined by Sir Boy of OIWS. When he heard we were looking for the Dowitchers, he volunteered to walk with us to a far portion of the sanctuary where there was a higher possibility of the birds being seen. And walk we did in the scorching sun.

Birding far, far away from the view deck.

Along the way, we saw a big flock of Curlew Sandpipers busy probing the shallow water and sand for food, as well as lots of Rufous-necked Stints. I also got another lifer! I finally saw the Far-Eastern Curlew, a bird I missed from my first Olango trip.

Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferruginea 

Far Eastern Curlews Numenius madagascariensis
which are told from the Eurasian Curlews by their buffy underparts
whereas the Eurasian Curlews have white underparts

We walked and walked until it was noon but still no Dowitchers in sight. We decided to head back to the ranger station to have lunch. There we met fellow birders Tateo and Nilo who brought his kids along (they chose Olango over the mall! =) ) The rest of the afternoon was spent birding from the viewdeck. The tide was quite low so there weren't that much birds in the area.

As the sun set on our second day in Olango, hundreds of terns started flying overhead. We called it a day and piled into our tricycles to the sound of Philippine Nightjars calling (we saw one on the road!) We didn't see the Dowitchers but we still had one last morning to try.

To be continued...