The Bird Year 2014 Month 3... The Ides of March

One of the things that make birding fun is the unexpected. You never really know when you will see a lifer, or when you will get a "to die for" photo.  Sometimes you get a hit, sometimes you dip.

I ended January satisfied that I just had my best month ever as a birder.  I saw almost 60 species including some lifers and photo lifers.  When my first birding trip in February (at Bangkong Kahoy), netted me 12 lifers, I felt I was off to a good start for the month.  I was looking forward to adding several more lifers on my end of the month Zamboanga trip for the Philippine Bird Fest.  But I guess the birding gods wanted to keep me away from Zamboanga.  The Birdfest was originally scheduled last October 2013 but a war broke out in September so it was cancelled and re-scheduled for late February.  After much fixing of my schedules and finally purchasing my tickets, my father was confined.  So I had to cancel.  Suddenly, I recall the song I learned in grade 2 - Don't you go, Don't you go, Zamboanga... I never really understood what that song meant.  But it felt like I was not meant to go there.

 I flew to Coron mid March or the Ides of March as the Romans called it (in the old Roman calendars, this fell between the 13th and the 15th of the month).  It was also the day Julius Ceasar was murdered.  I did not plan to murder anyone (or any bird) of course but I wanted to "shoot" some birds for the BY2014 and for an upcoming photo exhibit.  I scheduled my first birding trip on March 12, with the Blue Eared Kingfisher and the Palawan Hornbill as my main targets. I still didn't have a decent shot of the BEKF and it has not been seen since Yolanda, until the previous week when Ramon Quisumbing was able to photograph not one but two BEKF's.  I have never seen the Palawan Hornbill, but there have been recent sightings.  Prior to 2014, the only photograph on record was taken in Culion by BWP member Cathy Estrada last December 2013.  But the previous week, WBPP fellow Bj Capacite saw and photographed the Hornbill in Capayas, twice!

On the morning of the 12th, I woke up with a ton of things on my to do list so I texted birdguide Erwin Edonga that I will not be going to Capayas that morning and will go the next day instead.  He immediately called back to say that the leafbirds and bulbuls were already in front of his house.  I made a quick decision to go for a short birding trip. I arrived about 7am and off we went. And after a few steps, we see the Blue Eared Kingfisher beside the creek in the property across Erwin's house and it stayed for several minutes as I clicked away.

Blue-eared Kingfisher

After the BEKF finally left, I set out to look for my secondary targets - the male Blue Paradise Flycatcher and the Black Naped Monarch since I still did not have decent shots of these two.  After walking a bit, we again meet the BEKF and after a few minutes of shooting the kingfisher, the male Black-naped Monarch appeared.  It is a skittish bird and all I managed was a few blurry shots.  Posting the best of the lot.

A little further on, we met the male Blue Paradise... it posed for me but unfortunately it was backlit.

Since it was already past nine in the morning, I decided to call it a day and come back the following day for the Hornbill.  On the way out, we met Rudy!  Who of course, posed for me again.  

Ruddy Kingfisher

Four decent captures in two hours of birding wasn't bad so I was excitedly looking forward to the Hornbill the following day.   We had to hike up a small hill early morning. on the way up, I saw two Malkohas perch on a nearby bare Cashew tree but they flew away before I could get a good shot.  We saw two more in the distance on a bare branch but they never came near. I was also hopeful that we will get to see the Blue Headed Racket Tails because it was also seen in that area recently.  But as lucky as I was the day before, I never saw or even heard the Hornbill nor the Kilit. The Malkohas did not get to within photography distance.   Soon it was time to go down the hill.  We heard a Rufous backed Kingfisher and a few minutes later saw a pair of them but they both flew away before I could take any shot. Even, the Common Emerald Dove that I saw the day before and was hoping to photograph this time was a no show. As a consolation, I saw the Lovely Sunbird and the Philippine Cuckoo Dove (but no photos again!).

Later that morning, as I sat in the meeting of the Coron ECAN board, I met an American who was developing a property in Sitio Jolo.  He wanted to put up an organic garden and a birdwatching site.  He got all excited when he found out I was a birder.  We saw each other later that day and he showed me photos of the birds at or near his property.  What caught my attention was a Chinese Egret, photographed just a few days prior.  This is an endangered bird with an estimated 2500 birds left in the world.  I once saw it in Balanga from very far.  And this guy had a close up photo using a 70-300 zoom lens! (shooting auto at that). So I asked permission to visit his property the following day.  

I was there with Anthony, our in-house guide early the following morning.  And for the second day in a row, I dipped. The only saving grace for the day was a raptor that was later identified as an immature White Bellied Sea Eagle. Although my new American friend insists that it is an Osprey.

Immature White Bellied Sea Eagle

And that is what makes birding fun, you never know when or what you will see.... I guess, just like Julius Ceasar when he went to the Roman Senate on the Ides of March.  But then again, that did not end happily for him...

Still, the month is not over yet so who knows...

The Bird Year 2014 Month 2 - the whirlwind trip to Bangkong Kahoy

 It all started with an exchange in one of the numerous Facebook threads that accompany a posting of a bird photo.  I cannot even recall now whose photo it was and what bird. The topic was a possible Coron trip in one of the weekends of February.  When the conversation started to become serious, we created a message thread also in Facebook.  After checking everybody's schedule it became apparent that a Coron trip in February was not feasible.  So the message thread quieted down for a day.  Then somebody suggested going to La Mesa Nature Preserve on February 8 so that prompted another flurry of exchange between Bj Capacite, Alex Ting, Steve Albano, Prof Reuel Aguila and myself.  None of us has been there so we all started calling people we knew and asking how to go there.  I was able to get details and directions from Jops Josef of WBCP.  The general feedback we got was, unless we were going to LMNR for a specific bird, it was not really going to be worth the effort.   So LMNR was out. 

It was already Thursday, Feb 6 by then. To my recollection, Crisnick Lorenzo and Prof Tirso Paris had already joined the conversation at this time.  Several suggestions were given: LMEP (most of us were there a week ago), Makiling Botanical Gardens (only I have not been there), Candaba (everybody was there last December for the Spoonbills and the Ruby Throat), and finally Bangkong Kahoy.  Prof Reuel Aguila had an important class so he begged off.  We even jokingly told him to give his students the day off and a research project but apparently it was an important class and Prof Reuel, a responsible teacher :-).  Crisnick Lorenzo also begged off due to a family obligation.

All the remaining birders were good husbands so nobody wanted to sleep over, hence a day trip to Dolores, Quezon. And of course all sought permission from higher authority.  With the necessary permits granted, we four, Bj, Alex, Steve and I, decided to meet at the driving range at Filinvest at 4am.  We will meet up with Prof Tirso at San Pablo City since he will be coming from Los Banos.  Steve also made the arrangements with BK for the food and with Atty. Ramon Quisumbing for us to use his view deck.

My father had dialysis that ended past 10pm on Friday night.  We got home past 11pm.  I did some computer work and before I knew it, it was already 3am.  I rushed to take a cold shower to wake me up for the drive to Alabang, dressed, grabbed my gear and sent a text to Alex saying I was on the way (I found out later that the text did not send).  While I was driving along C5 near Market-market, I got a call from Steve asking where I was because they were all there.  Pressure, pressure.  I drove as fast as my 15 year old Mitsubishi Adventure could manage.  I reached Filinvest in record time (for my car).  Now I had to find that driving range.  I saw a security guard and asked for directions.  Alas, he did not know the place I was talking about.  I called Steve who asked me if I was the car with the blinking lights.  It turned out that the driving range was just behind us (and the sikyo had no clue, grrrr).  I immediately boarded Alex' van and off we went.  None of us had slept yet and I guess we were all excited since nobody slept as we kept chatting.  We met up with Prof Tirso as planned and reached Bangkong Kahoy at around 6:30am.  

As soon as we stepped out of the van, we felt the cold, crisp and fresh mountain air.  Bankong Kahoy is a high valley located between mystical Mt. Banahaw and  Mt. San Cristobal.  Even before I saw a bird, I already fell in love with the place!  We parked near the lodging house and Bj led us to the view deck and immediately, he exclaimed Red Crested Malkoha!  I got my camera out of the bag but before I could even press the shutter, the bird darted into the thicket.  Lifer #1.  Then Bj exclaimed again, Philippine Coucal.  This time I managed some docu shots.  Lifer #2 

Philippine Coucal, Lifer # 2

We reluctantly left the view deck to go to the Bangkong Kahoy dining area to have our breakfast.  Right after eating, while engaging in some small talk, Dion, the owner exclaimed, Malkoha! pointing to a nearby tree.  Then he said "another one!" pointing to another tree a bit farther away.  None of my companions, who all had bigger lenses, had set up their gear yet but my small 300mm f4 was already attached to my camera (since I left my house in QC!), so I just fired away.

Scale Feathered Malkoha, Lifer # 3

After several minutes, the two birds flew away and we proceeded to the view deck of Ramon Quisumbing.  As we entered the deck, a very handsome gray-white Siberian Husky greeted us. He playfully stood up on his hind legs and put his two forelegs on the bag that I was carrying.  We have a lovable Labrador at home but I swear that if I will get a new dog, I will want a grey-white Siberian Husky.  They just look so clean, handsome and are so playful.

As soon as we set down our bags, we went to the railing and what followed was about two and a half hours of non-stop shooting where we saw lifer after lifer.  The first that I saw on the viewdeck was the Citrine Canary Flycatcher.  I was able to get several backlit shots but none that I was really happy with.  Later in the morning while we were busy shooting another bird, my SD card filled up.  So I ducked out of the way and went to a small table to change cards.  While everybody was looking forward, I saw a couple of Citrine Canary Flycatchers on a branch at the back of the lower viewdeck.  So I was able to capture this image.

Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Lifer # 4

Lifer after Lifer...

Blue Headed Fantail, Lifer # 5

Bi-Colored Flowerpecker, Lifer # 6

Mountain Verditer, Lifer # 7

Yellowish White Eye, Lifer # 8

Sulphur Billed Nuthatch, Lifer # 9

We also saw a Buzzing Flowerpecker (#10) and an Elegant Tit (#11 and one of my photo targets for BK!), but unfortunately, no photos.  I was shooting the Citrine Canary in a bright patch when somebody yelled Elegant Tit and pointed in another direction.  I shifted my aim, pressed a burst of three or four shots then the bird flew away. Since my camera's settings were for the bright area, all the shots of the Elegant Tit came out very dark and no amount of Photoshop can bring out the images. 

There were two or three other birds that made an appearance that morning that I did not even see.  Truly Bangkong Kahoy is paradise to birders. 

We broke for lunch a little before twelve. While walking, Prof Tirso and I saw these shrubs with red colored berry like fruits.  When we got to the restaurant, Ramon offered us fresh Raspberry Shakes (ice cold of course) and Mushroom Tempura.  Both were perfect for 5 hungry and thirsty birders.  It turned out that the Red Berry we saw was a local plant that grew in Mt. Banahaw and was now being propagated at Bangkong Kahoy.  At the time we were there, Bangkong Kahoy was the only place in the Philippines where one can order fresh raspberry shakes.  I later learned that the native name of the plant is Sampinit.  

After lunch, most of the group wanted to rest but I set out to look for the White Throated Kingfisher that kept on flying around.  Ramon, who was riding his ATV, showed me the tree where the KF normally perched.  I waited a few minutes under cover of some trees and true enough the WTKF soon came.  I was able to take photos of it in different trees in the vicinity.  

White Throated Kingfisher, Lifer # 12

After getting the Kingfisher, I headed back to the restaurant.  I met Prof Tirso and Alex along the way and we stopped for a while to take more photos of the WTKF.  When we finally reached the restaurant, I ordered another glass of Raspberry shake.  Steve joined me and as it turned our we drank two glasses each.  Then it was time to go.  But not before I bought a bottle of the raspberry jam that Bangkong Kahoy makes.

Bangkong Kahoy, a place that I would definitely love to go back to... 

ooOoo

Postscript: 

Twelve lifers in about ten hours of birding. Twelve additions to BY2014! 

By Sunday, our group had been christened (by Bj?) as the BK Ragtag Team...stay tuned for more of our (mis)adventures... 

The Bird Year 2014 - end of Month 1

 When I was in Coron, I read my friend Maia Tanedo's blog post about the White's Thrush and Eye Browed Thrush in LMEP.  So I headed there the first chance I got which was January 30, a Thursday.  As per my usual routine when birding on a weekday, I dropped the kids to school, then proceeded to LMEP. Upon reaching the palm tree where the Thrushes were photographed, I met fellow birdnut, Prof Reuel Aguila who showed me the Eyebrowed Thrush he photographed that day.  So I set up my gear and began to wait. Unfortunately, the birding gods were not with me that day.   No Thrush.  I went to the area of the Red Bellied Pitta, again no such luck.  I saw Prof Reuel and his son again who told me that ol' Spotty was back.  So I went up the small hill but did not also see Spotty.  I did see an Ashy Ground Thrush which, though not a lifer, was an addition to BY2014.

Ashy Ground Thrush

After some time, I called it a day.  The following morning, was a holiday so no school.  After securing permission from my wife, Lorna, (we birders are responsible husbands, ehem), I went to LMEP.  I immediately proceeded to the small hill and midway up the trail, I saw ol' Spotty perched on a branch across the trail.  He stayed for about 10 mins as I happily snapped away.  

Spotted Wood Kingfisher

After a while it flew away and headed towards the upper portion of the small hill.  I slowly followed but did not see it anymore.  While standing on the hill I saw fellow bird photographer Steve Albano walking on the trail below looking for Spotty.  Told him I just saw it.  I went down the trail and proceeded to the palm tree where the Thrushes were seen.  There I found fellow birders Bob and Cynthia Kaufman and Ralf Nabong.  A few minutes later, we were joined by Steve and Bj Capacite.  We patiently waited but alas, the Thrushes did not show up.  But we did see a Guiabero which was a lifer for me and an Arctic Warbler.  Both are additions to BY2014.

Guiabero, a lifer

We kept our lenses pointed at the Palm Tree but the only birds that appeared were Yellow Vented BB's.  After a while, Bj, decided to walk around.  After several minutes he comes back barely able to contain his excitement.  CWhile answering the call of nature, he saw the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher perched nearby.  By the time he got his camera focused the MFC had left but another bird perched nearby and he was able to photograph it.  It turned out to be the Eye Browed Thrush.  We all trooped to where he came from but again we dipped on both birds. Since it was already around 10:30am, I decided to call it a day and left my fellow birdnuts at LMEP.  

Though I was not able to get the Thrushes, I was still glad that I was able to get additions to my BY2014 list.  By this time, my own count reflected 59 birds already. Not bad for one month of birding. 

I was thinking that I will be able to get some lifers in Zamboanga during the Philippine Bird Fest.  Since that will still be at the end of the month, I felt that I should make one or hopefully two birding trips in a location within driving distance from Manila on Feb 8 and 20 or 21. Hopefully Candaba, which will yield plenty and maybe, Makiling. So maybe another 30 or so species for February.

But even the best of plans do not always go according to... well, plans... but that will be the subject of the my next post...

The Bird Year 2014 Month 1 - The Frenzy in Coron part 2 - Dipulao, Fernvale and Tulawa

Due to my numerous obligations and meetings for CATE, plus my duties at Darayonan, and in order to save of airline tickets, I decided to extend my stay in Coron. So instead of making two short trips, I did one long one.  The fact that more days in Coron meant more chances to bird, did not enter my mind at all (pramis!).  

Birdguide Erwin Edonga had been gushing about a new specie of Sunbird seen by a recent guest of his.   So that became my next target.  I agreed to meet Erwin near the Dipulao bridge on the morning of January 19. We walked through the trail on the left bank of Dipulao river.  Our first sighting was a Philippine Cuckoo Dove.  I have seen this bird twice but no decent photos to speak of.  This time was no different.  Although the bird stayed in the open, it was backlit, and overcast.  I took so many photos but none are keepers.  So for now, it will remain a photo target. At least, I got one addition to my BY2014 list. 

We continued to walk the trails, and saw the usual suspects - Ashy Fronted Bulbul, Ashy Drongo, Olive Backed Sunbird, Yellow Throated Leafbirds, and a few Crows.  We also saw a Crested Goshawk, again from a distance. We even saw a glimpse of the Black Naped Monarch, another photo target but again, no luck in getting a photo.  After walking some distance and admitting that the "new" Sunbird would be a no show, we turned around and retraced our steps.  Suddenly something large and maroonish flew across the trail in front of us.  It was the Philippine Cuckoo Dove.  We froze and slowly tried to peer through the bushes trying to see where it landed.  Alas, we could not see it. 

We continued to walk and headed towards the area of Villa Khadine Grand Vista Lodge which is owned by fellow BWC member and my grade school classmate, Gigi Velasquez.  We came across a couple of Zebra Doves on the road, and suddenly Erwin excitedly pointed to a tree where a Black Chinned Fruit Dove was perched. Another addition to BY2014.  I took several shots but the angle was not so nice.   Sharing one of the better shots. 

Black Chinned Fruit Dove.  

We walked all the way to VKGV but did not see anything new.  We went back to the Dipulao bridge hoping to see the Blue Eared Kingfisher. After looking for a several minutes, Erwin excitedly began waving and gesturing towards the opposite bank where a Common Kingfisher was perched. 

Common Kingfisher

After getting a few shots of the CKF, we decided to call it a day.  A increased workload the following week did not allow me to go birding until January 26.  However, I was able to do a short random birding on January 25 which netted me two additions to BY2014 - a Paddyfield Pipit, locally called Taringting and a  Pied Triller.  Both were seen in our property in Dipulao.  

Paddyfield Pipit, or Taringting in Cuyonon.  This bird is even mentioned in an old Cuyonon folk song. 

Pied Triller

The following day, January 26, Jelyn and I went to Fernvale Leisure Subdivision.  Security is tight but I had previously secured permission from my cousin Toti Fernandez.  We were met at the gate by the foreman who brought us to the back of the property which is the Dipulao river. As we neared the Fernvale perimeter fence, I told Jelyn that the previous afternoon, I was birding on the other side of the fence.  

This area of Fernvale yielded many birds - Pied Triller, Spot Throated Flameback Woodpecker, Ashy Drongo, Yellow Throated Leafbird, Ashy Fronted BB, White Vented Shama, Pied Fantail, Lovely Sunbird, Olive Backed Sunbird, a Rufous Backed Kingfisher, and a Lesser Coucal.  A Common Emerald Dove did a flyby which was my lone addition to my BY2014 list.  But what we really concentrated on was the Rufous Tailed Tailorbird and the Plaintive Cuckoo.  I had previously seen both birds but was never able to really get good photographs.  

Plaintive Cuckoo.  My friend Rommel Cruz of BWP told me how thsi bird is called in Southern Palawan but I cannot bring myself to write it here :-).

Rufous Tailed Tailorbird aka Tiklong-tiklong in Cuyonon

I am particularly happy about the Rufous Tailed Tailorbird because it is such a difficult bird to photograph. I became aware of this bird way back in August 2012 when I started birding formally because of its very loud and distinct call.  However, it was not until January 2013 that I saw a glimpse of it in Capayas.  Little did I expect, that I will be able to photograph it on Fernandez property.  

Since I was leaving the following day, I decided to go birding again that same afternoon at the Paterno Farm in Sitio Tulawa where I had previously photographed a Blue Eared KF and some Wandering Whistling Ducks in August 2013.  Upon arriving  at the site i was dismayed to see that the pond beside the Paterno farmhouse had dried up.  Not only that, there was a videoke and a bunch of people was belting out songs at the top of their voices.  Haaay....

I decided to stick around for a few minutes and my efforts were rewarded when a couple of White Breasted Waterhens, (Tariwakwak in Cuyonon), made an appearance.

White Breasted Waterhen (Tariwakwak)

 I headed back to Darayonan satisfied that my trip was still somewhat productive.  And that is how the Frenzy of Coron ended.  I use the term frenzy because looking back it seemed I was birding everyday although in reality I only did 8 birding trips in twenty days.  Still I went back to Manila happy and contented because per my count I was about 55 species in my BY2014 list.  I wonder how my friends are doing...

The Bird Year 2014 Month 1 - The Frenzy in Coron part 1 - Capayas and Dipulao

I flew to Coron on January 7 for what was supposed to be a 10-day trip.  My first duty was of course to Darayonan Lodge, our family owned tourist inn.  My responsibilities as president of CATE (our tourism assoc), came next.  I scheduled a birding trip at Capayas for January 9 but work got in the way.  So it was January 10 before I was able to go birding.  

My first sortie was in our farm at Sitio Dipulao where I was able to get a docu shot of the Malkoha last December 21 near our clump of giant bamboo.  I arrived at the spot around 6:35am and as usual, I forgot my mosquito repellent. Immediately I became aware that it was very quiet.  No bird calls or chirps. After setting down my tripod and scanning the nearby trees for the Malkoha, I saw a bird on a bare branch on a tall tree somewhere on my right.  I took several shots of what turned out to be a Spotted Dove, which I believe is called "Balud" in our Cuyonon dialect.

Spotted Dove

I endured the mosquitoes for an hour before giving up on the Malkoha. By this time I began to notice some Ashy Fronted Bulbuls and could hear a couple of crows. I saw a flash of yellow and green on another clump of trees so I began to make my way to it.  While walking on a clearing between trees, a Black Naped Oriole, ("Tutulyaw" in our dialect),  landed on a bare branch in front of me.  I immediately froze, slowly lowered my tripod/camera and fired several shots. 

Black Naped Oriole aka Tutulyaw, eating a worm

The green bird that I turned out to be a Yellow Throated Leafbird.  The morning sortie also yielded an Ashy Drongo, a Hair Crested Drongo, and a pair of Olive Backed Sunbirds. 

The following day, January 11, I was at Capayas at 6:45am.  Erwin was still at his job at the slaughter house but arrived a few minutes later.  He asked me what my target for the day was, and I said, the Ruddy KF. We immediately went to the Ramon Quisumbing's,  Capayas Creek Bird Preserve and within minutes, we saw our target perched on a branch over the creek.  I took several insurance shots.  

Ruddy Kingfisher

Then I went down the slope to get closer to the bird.  I did this several times, until I was a mere 4 meters away, face to face and still the bird did not fly away. My SD card ran out of space so I had to change cards (in front of the bird) and still it did not leave.  After almost 200 shots, I was the one who gave up (hahaha).

Towards the end, we were staring at each other face to face... RKF to me:  "Haven't you taken enough shots already?"  Me:  Just a few more...

After leaving the Ruddy, we wandered around and saw a Palawan endemic, the White Vented Shama, also called "saya-saya" in our Cuyonon dialect. 

White Vented Shama or Saya-saya in Cuyonon

Then we saw a Black Naped Monarch, a bird I have yet to get a decent photo of.  But as usual, it proved elusive.  Next we saw a Blue Paradise Flycatcher and a Palawan Blue Flycatcher.  Since I did not have a decent photo of the Palawan Blue yet, I concentrated on it. 

Palawan Blue Flycatcher (male)

It was already around 10am by the time I got the Palawan Blue FC.  So we started to go back to Erwin's house.  On the way back, we saw again the Ruddy KF and and also the other resident KF of Capayas Creek, the Rufous Backed Kingfisher, alternatively known as the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.

Rufous Backed Kingfisher

Just before I left Erwin's house, we saw an Ashy Drongo perched near the road. It is one of my favorite Coron birds.  In Cuyonon, we call it Salang-ikog - in reference to its fish tail.  Ikog, being the Cuyonon word for tail. Salang most likely refers to the tail being split. 

Ashy Drongo aka Salang-ikog in Cuyonon

That same day, while I was downloading my photos to the computer, a friend texted me that an Indian birder was in town and wanted to go birding. Later that afternoon, I met the lady Indian birder named Aditi and we agreed to go birding on the morning of January 16.  

So I was back in Capayas a few days later. This time with Aditi and fellow Birdwatch Coron member Jelyn Libunao.  Erwin as usual accompanied us.  We went to Capayas Creek and again, the first bird we saw was ol' Ruddy.  He did not stay in one perch this time but we still got plenty of keepers.  Sharing one of my favorites.  

Ruddy Kingfisher

Aditi had a flight later that day and had to be back at her hotel by 11am.  So this was going to be some sort of blitz birding.  Still we saw a lot (as one usually does when being guided by birdguide Erwin's x-ray vision) - all the usual Capayas suspects plus a few surprises like a Blue Naped Parrot, popularly known as Pikoy in Cuyonon. 

Blue Naped Parrot, popularly known as Pikoy in Cuyonon

And this Chestnut Breasted Malkoha, known as "Manok-manok" in Cuyonon. 

Chestnut Breasted Malkoha, also known as Manok-manok in Cuyonon.  

In the same area, we also saw a Grey Wagtail, Lovely Sunbird, Plaintive Cuckoo (lifer) and Crested Goshawk.  The last four birds I mentioned, together with the Blue Naped Parrot appeared at the same time and an ecstatic Aditi did not know where to point her binoculars.  

As it was already 10:30 by the time we saw the Parrot.  We decided to call it a day but before we left Capayas, we paused for a couple of shots. This one shows Aditi, Erwin and me. 

All in all my first three birding sorties in Coron have all been productive.  Having gained momentum, I decided to visit our property again in Dipulao that same afternoon.  I basically dipped but saw a Lesser Coucal to add to my BY2014 list.  The following morning, January 17, I went back to Dipulao, with Anthony Macanas, one of our in-house guides and a fellow BWC member.  We went to an area of the property near the Dipulao river. It was a difficult area to bird because it was "masukal".  Difficult to take photos also due to the poor lighting.  We did see few additions to my BY2014 list.  I also managed to get a docu shot of a Grey Streaked Flycatcher, or "Tuldikan" in Cuyonon.

Grey Streaked Flycatcher, "Tuldikan" in Cuyonon

Anthony and I decided to go back to the area of the giant bamboo and stake out the Malkoha again (I wanted a better shot than the one I got in Capayas).  But again, it was a no show.  Instead, I saw this big spider. 

Spidey...

After waiting a few more minutes for the Malkoha, we decided to go back to town.  At this point I was feeling so happy because per my count, my BY2014 total was already almost 50 species and it was only the middle of the month. Not bad...

The Bird Year 2014 Month 1 - The Frenzy - Mt. Palay-palay and La Mesa Eco Park.

Sometime in October 2013, while looking at some bird photos in facebook, I came across a post by fellow Birdwatch Palawan member, Erickson Tabayag.  He posted a couple of bird photos and the lead sentence said, "Erickson Tabayag added photos to the album Big Year".  So I asked him if he was doing a big year.  He replied saying that that was just the title of his album.  This led us to an exchange in FB wherein the end result was we suggested to the BWP leadership to have a Big Year type competition for 2014.  To cut the long story short, BWP president Rainier Manalo and vp Rommel Cruz agreed.  I was tasked to draft the rules.  Typhoon Yolanda caused us some delay in finalizing the mechanics but everything was finalized by mid December.  The contest would be open to all Birdwatch Palawan and Birdwatch Coron members and would commence on January 1, 2014.  The official title of the competition was Bird Year 2014.  No joining fees, no pictures required, honesty system, no real valuable prizes (yet). It is simply a fun challenge among friends, simply for the love of birding and the birds.  Of course, the winner gets bragging rights!

Birdwatch Palawan, has an annual year-end birding in mainland Palawan.  However, in order to jumpstart the BY2014, this was moved to January 2-3 in Taytay, Palawan.  This put me and other Coron birders at a disadvantage since we could not join the trip.  Rommel suggested that we also hold a simultaneous event in Coron.  However, since I spent New Year in Manila, it was not possible for us to hold such an event.  So I felt that the PPC crowd will get the early lead.  And since there are a lot more established birding sites in PPC and the mainland, we Coronians, seem to be underdogs.  Still I remained hopeful that Birdwatch Coron will rise to the challenge.

January 1 came and needless to say, I was excited to start.  I was determined to be the first one to submit a Trip Report so while eating my first breakfast for the year, I kept an alert ear for our usual backyard birds in Manila.  Before long, I spotted a pair of Pied Fantail, several Eurasian Tree Sparrows and a Yellow Vented Bulbul. I immediately opened my computer, filled out and submitted Trip Report # 001. I do not know if I was the first to submit but I am pretty sure, I was among the first.

My next birding opportunity came two days later when I read in the WBPP page that there will be a group who will go to Mt. Palay-palay in Ternate, Cavite on January 4.  Like any responsible birder, I sought permission from my wife if I could go.  I joined the group of fellow WBPP members Roy de Guzman Daantos, Bj Capacite, Prof Reuel Aguila, Prof Bert Madrigal, and Tholightz Quindara.  Our targets for the day included the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill and the Philippine Trogon. We dipped on the Trogon but we did see the Hornbills, a White Breasted Wood Swallow, a Peregrine Falcon, Barn Swallow, Serpent Eagle, Brahminny Kite and the Philippine Falconet,  a lifer for me.  Some photos of the day:

Luzon Tarictic Hornbill 

Luzon Tarictic Hornbill

Peregrine Falcon

White-breasted Wood Swallow

Serpent Eagle

Philippine Falconet

The following day, January 5, I met Manila-based Birdwatch Coron member Rap Garcia and Arch. Rico Santos at La Mesa Ecopark.  Rap joined our August 2012 training in Coron while she was still with Club Paradise so she was not really a newbie but it will be Rico's first time to go birding.  So I had to switch to bird guide mode...hirap pala ng trabaho ni Erwin... hahaha

Being a Sunday, there were a lot of people at LMEP.  But we did manage to see the usual suspects - ETS Fantail, and YVB.  But for my BY2014, I was able to add the Black Naped Oriole, Brown Shrike, Philippine Magpie Robin and the Red Bellied Pitta to my list.  Architect Rico had a filed day taking photos of the Pitta as it stayed visible and stationary for several minutes.

A juvenile Red Bellied Pitta

We tried looking for Spotty but he was a now show.  Even the Ashy Ground Thrushes did not appear.  Since I still had family duties, I left my birding companions at LMEP by mid morning and went home.

Still, fourteen (14) species including 2 lifers, in the first five days of the year is not so bad.  I just might have a chance to be in the top 3 of the Enthusiast Category.

Next post will be the Coron frenzy...