Pocket Birding

Pocket birding is a personal term that I use to refer to those short, usually planned birding trips, that I slot into my workday.  It can be an early morning trip to Capayas and I am back at Darayonan by 9am or a late afternoon sortie at Villa Khadine or Lualhati Park (4:30pm to 6:00pm). In Manila, it could be a short trip to La Mesa Ecopak or UP Diliman after I drop off my kids to school.  When in Coron, one of my favorite pocket birding trips is birding at Yulo King Ranch before a flight to Manila.  If time permits, I go to YKR at 6am and bird until it's time for me to check in to my flight.  Or I check-in first then go out and bird till we hear the plane coming.  Such was the case last January 24. I had a 12nn flight with Skyjet so I checked-in then went out to do a quick birding near the airport. In the case of YKR, this is also mostly "dude" birding (or birding while in a car/van).

No lifers but I got two of the usual suspects.  The first was a Spotted Dove perched as usual on an open branch.  This was near the Hornbill area. I was hoping the Talusi would show up again.   But no such luck.

Spotted Dove - "Lade" or "Ladu" in Cuyonon

Exploring the backroads, led us to a quarry site where we saw a Crested Serpent Eagle on a tree on top of a small hill.  It was too far to photograph but the area seemed a good place to explore when I have more time.

As we headed back to the airport, we stopped at the horse stables and saw that the Balete tree beside it was fruiting and there were a lot of birds.   It was in this tree that I first saw a Hill Myna in October 2014.  But most of the birds this time were Asian Glossy Starlings and a couple of Ashy-fronted Bulbuls.  Then Rodel, our van driver, pointed at something through a gap in the leaves... Black-chinned Fruit Dove. 

And then we heard the plane approaching so we boarded the van and went back to the the terminal. Two good shots plus discovery of a new area in about forty-five minutes of pocket "dude" birding.  

Talusi...

I haven't really been able to go birding since early December. So last January 21st, when I finished most of my paperwork, I made a quick decision to do a quick birding trip.  I wanted to go to the Yulo King Ranch (the area near the airport in Coron), but since it was already past four o'clock in the afternoon I was hesitant, (YKR was 23 km away, usually a 30 minute drive).  But the desire to see some raptors and the Palawan  Hornbill won out so I decided to go for it.   I said a silent prayer asking for the Palawan Hornbill.

A short note about the Hornbill before I proceed. It has been one of my target birds ever since I started this hobby.  I first saw it in July 2014 at YKR (read about it here: http://chiwitchronicles.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-palawan-hornbill.html).  I have searched for them many times since then and saw them once but unfortunately, no photos. But our driver has seen them a couple of times in the same area. My friend Ichay Bulaong also saw them recently while she was biking in the area.  

As I approached the place last Thursday, I slowed down and began scanning the trees. I saw a bit of white on a far away tree, stopped the van, and decided to take a shot, (I forgot my bins). Lo and behold, it was a Palawan Hornbill.  I immediately turned off the engine, engaged the handbrake, braced the lens on the car door, and fired away.  I was so thrilled when after a couple of minutes, another bird appeared.  Here are some of images I was able to create:

Then both birds perched close enough to fit in one frame.

Mr. and Mrs. Hornbill

After a couple of shots, one of the birds moved to another tree that was hidden from my view.  I moved the van forward.  The bird was nearer but backlit and all I got was a silhouette.  Then it went back to the first tree. I had to back up the van to see them again.   

Together again...

Then one flew away, and the other immediately followed.

They perched on a tree beside the road (on my right), but hidden. I slowly get out of the van and look for a an opening in the leaves and branches but couldn't really find any.  The light was also bad.  I did manage a few shots but not really that good.   

The birds flew away after just a short while and went to nearby forest.  From the first two times that I saw them, I noticed that they are very skittish. Others who saw them say the same thing.  Maybe they are wary of humans. 

I waited awhile hoping that they would come back but they did not so I drove on. Near the airport, I saw a Barn Swallow perched on a wire.  

Barn Swallow

Driving on, I saw a Spotted Dove perched on a pole in the distance.

Spotted Dove

As I neared the area of a small hill where the former Australian ranch manager used to live, I saw several egrets beside some horses.  

Eastern Cattle Egret. Or is it a Horse Egret?

A few meters away, a couple of birds flew across the road and one perched on a tree near enough for me to get a shot.

Ashy Drongo

The sun was starting to set on my right when I saw this Spotted Dove perched on another bare tree. Why couldn't all birds behave like this?

Spotted Dove

It was starting to get dark so I headed back to town.  My last stop was another bare tree that I knew (from previous trips), was a place where Bee Eaters spend the night.  I was hoping to reach it while the light was still good.  But the light was not good anymore. It was a pity because there were so many of them in that tree.

Blue-throated Bee Eaters (photo brightened)

When I got back to the van, a flock of smallish birds suddenly took flight from one of the trees.  I pointed my camera at them and pressed the shutter, all the while knowing that the shots will probably not come out nice due to the poor lighting.   At the time I was shooting, I thought there were just Starlings but I found out later that they were Bee Eaters! 

A flock of Bee Eaters in flight

And just like that, it was time to go.  I hurried back to town because I had a diner appointment at 6:30pm (and it was already 6:10).  

Thank you Lord for the Kalaws (Hornbills) which I learned only yesterday, are called TALUSI in Cuyonon! Another addition to my Cuyonon bird dictionary.