The 5th PPUR International Bird Race Day 2: A day that will live in infamy

Though the scores of Day 1 were not posted early, we felt we did good enough so we started Day 2 full of hope, enthusiasm and purpose.  After a quick breakfast, we hurriedly shot the Cockatoos, Starlings and ETS at the resort grounds, boarded the van, got the owl, and proceeded to Badjao.  We got the Zebra Dove, and a couple of other birds along the way.

For this day, we had an additional marshal who looked familiar.  He introduced himself as Ian and said that we had already met in Coron.  Then I remembered that he attended a Birding 101 training that I gave in 2016.  

We did not wait long at Badjao Seafront grounds before we got our main targets there. The Copper-throated Sunbird and the Pale Spider Hunter appeared after only twenty minutes of waiting.

Copper-throated Sunbird, male

Pale Spider Hunter

There were also other teams at the Badjao parking area including Team Bird Finder.  But I noticed that the "Hellos" were even more hurried than the previous day and no one was pointing birds to other teams (hahaha).  I guess because it was the equivalent of the 4th Quarter in basketball, winning time as they say.  Once we got both targets, we again hurriedly boarded the van and proceeded to the house of bird guide Randy Tibor (who was assigned to Team 211 - hope I got the name right).  We were told that Randy's backyard was visited by birds. 

Just a few minutes after leaving Badjao, somebody (I could not recall anymore who), blurted, may ibon po ! The van jerked to a sudden stop and the bird was there on a bush beside the road.  It was so near that Loel's 600mm and my 500mm could not acquire focus! Olan, who was sitting on the other side of the van was not even able to aim because the bird flew away, only to return a few seconds later and perch on another bush a little further which fortunately was within out minimum focusing distance. 

Brown-throated Sunbird

After a few clicks, we were off again.  We saw a some Scaly-breasted Munias and a Collared Kingfisher along the way.  But before long we were at Randy Tibor's house where we saw about four other teams.  Within minutes, the birds were already there so we did our clicks and exchanged a few jokes with other teams.  But as with the scene at Badjao, everybody seemed more serious.  During the short minutes that we were at the Tibor house, one of the other teams congratulated us for being ''one of the leaders".  Hmmm.... 

Palawan Flowerpecker, female

Palawan Flowerpecker, male

Brown-throated Sunbird, female

As soon as all three of us got the necessary photos, we rushed back to our van which was parked about a hundred meters away.  We met another team on the road who said we were on the top five!  Our hearts beat a little faster...

We hurried to the Croc Farm to get the Peacock Pheasant, and whatever other birds we could find there. And of course, we birded along the way.  

Common Kingfisher

White-breasted Wood Swallows

When we got to the Croc Farm, the first bird we photographed was the Blue Paradise Flycatcher.  Then we proceeded to look for the Pheasant.

Blue Paradise Flycatcher, female

Sure enough, we found him in the same area as the previous day.  But unlike the previous day, we did not really stop to take plenty of photos. 

Palawan Peacock Pheasant

On our way out, we were able to two more endemics, the Ashy-fronted Bulbul and the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, as well as a Little Heron.

Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

From the Croc Farm, we decided to proceed to Irawan to take a photo of the Blue-eared Kingfisher and the Palawan Flycatcher, (and whatever other birds we could see).  First was a Grey Wagtail along the river.  Next was a male Purple-throated Sunbird just as we disembarked from our van. We met one team along the trail who said we were Top 3 (!!!), which we actually did not believe.  Still, it gave us hope that we were indeed among the leaders and pumped us even more.

Purple-throated Sunbird, male

Palawan Flycatcher

Blue-eared Kingfisher, male

After getting the Blue-eared Kingfisher, Loel called us and pointed another bird, a Black-naped Monarch.

Black-naped Monarch

Then one of the caretakers in the area asked if we wanted a photo of a Stork-billed Kingfisher.  We all readily said yes and followed the guy.  This is one of my favorite birds and I was really hoping to get a good photo of it. Within a few minutes it was there in front of us and we all fired away.

Stork-billed Kingfisher

After getting our fill with this bird, we all walked away smiling, talking animatedly, and planning our next move... until tragedy struck.  We were trudging on the stone path, I had my camera attached to my tripod and was carrying my tripod on my shoulders.  I usually hook my black rapid strap on the bottom of the camera but this one time, I did not. Perhaps it was due to the excitement of getting great photos of one of my personal targets, or maybe I was tired, or whatever, I just heard a thud, and when I turned my camera and lens were on the stone path...apart from each other... I was stunned, and felt numbed.  I think it was Loel who picked it up and handed it to me.  I guess we were all stunned - birders, marshals, and caretakers alike, because we all stood around talking but not really doing anything for maybe almost thirty minutes.  Then I urged Loel and Olan to continue shooting and they reluctantly walked back to the spot near Blue-eared Kingfisher area and Loel started playing bird calls.  I sat in the waiting area, camera and lens on the bamboo table, hating myself for being careless (in not hooking the camera to the strap).  After several minutes of moping, I decided to message Atty Carlo Gomez and Mike Mendoza, explained my situation and ask if I could borrow their camera gear (since they were not competing in the race).  When there was no immediate answer, I decided to take the van and go back to the city. I also texted Puerto Princessa based photographer friends Rommel Cruz and Den Wakefield, if I could borrow their cameras but both were out of town.   

As I was boarding the van, Atty Carlo replied that his gear was at home (he was at the resort), that maybe I could borrow from the demo units of Sony. But I guess it was not meant to be. As the van was making the ascent on one of the roads leading out of Irawan, we got stuck in the soft clayish soil of Palawan which the rains softened the night before.  The driver tried several times but we just could not proceed, most likely because the van was too light (there were only two of us in it).  With no other options, we backed up (carefully), and made our way back to where the rest of the team was.

After some discussion, we decided to leave the area.  We were worried that we might get stick again but fortunately, due to the heavier weight, the wheels gained enough traction and we were able to get through.  We met one team along the road shooting at something.  We all went down and it turned out to be a Rufous-backed Kingfisher.  We all got it with me using my cellphone.  Team Culion was still trying to compete.

We stopped in one area and played the call of the Melodious Tree Babbler, another Palawan endemic.  The bird responded but Olan and I were not able to get it.  After a few more minutes, we decided to head over to the old zigzag road.  We were already on the way when Mike replied that I could borrow his camera and lens but considering our location and looking at the remaining time before the race ended at 1pm, we decided to just proceed with our itinerary.  As it turned out the Rufous-backed Kingfisher was our last bird for the day.

Epilogue: One of our sister teams, Team Bird Finder finished 3rd overall. As for Team Culion, it turned out that we placed 8th on Day 1 which was a pleasant surprise. However, the bigger surprise was finding out at the farewell dinner that our final place was also 8th with only 17 points separating us from he 7th placer.