Moved to a new platform

To all our followers in this site, thank you so much!  Please be informed that due to some technical glitches that I cannot figure out, I have decided to move this blog to a new platform.  The new address is https://chiwitchronicles.wixsite.com/website.  Hope to see you there as well.  

Another Unexpected Lifer

After a somewhat hectic and stressful week that included an aborted Tanza sortie, I felt the need to bird.  So I decided to go to Taytay last Sunday afternoon, September 19, (since it was the birding patch nearest to me).  However it was drizzling in San Juan the whole morning.  A message to Cainta residents, Brian Enriquez and Joel Dayao, revealed that it was also raining there.  But Joel kept urging me to go because "mahina lang naman ang ulan".  And by about 1:24pm, he joyously messaged,  "wala nang ulan, dito", followed by, "punta ka ng maaga at baka madilim na by 4pm".  A leisurely late Sunday lunch was hurriedly finished, dishes washed (that's my home chore 😀), dress up, and off I went.  I reached the site at exactly 3:08pm and there was no bird activity for the first half hour except for some Egrets ad Terns on the other side of the field.  But I quietly and patiently sat in my car, waited, and scanned the field as I contemplated the meaning of life, the pandemic, and the uncertain future.  

The first significant capture of the day was a quick fly-by of the Purple Heron.  This occurred about almost an hour after I arrived.  

Purple Heron

This was followed a few minutes later by the appearance of the main target bird.  Still not the shot I am aiming for but still grateful for this shot. 

Black Bittern

Meanwhile, the White-browed Crakes continued to pop out of the vegetation. 

White-browed Crake

Then I saw a bird with a different jizz fly from behind me going towards the field and in a matter of seconds, the same bird was heading back.  It was flying higher than the Herons and Bitterns, and was really just a dark shape.  I aimed as fast as I could and pressed the shutter, getting about five to six backlit and distant shots.  I quickly enlarged the largest of the bunch and immediately I recognized a raptor.  It looked like a Crested Goshawk.  I took a shot of my LCD screen and sent it to a couple of people.  Rob Hutchinson replied that it was a Chinese Sparrowhawk!  Lifer! Another unexpected one!

Chinese Sparrowhawk, Lifer!!!

After the appearance of the Sparrowhawk, the Black-crowned Night Herons came alive.  All of a sudden, several of them were flying about.  Perhaps they sensed the presence of a predator?  One of them even perched on top of one of the concrete posts as if to stand guard.  They were a bit too far for me to get good shots.  In any case I have plenty of good Heron shots.  The crakes were also starting to come out more and nearer to me. A larger bird also popped out of the vegetation.  From the head and the eyes, I knew it was a bittern.  At first, I thought, Yellow Bittern because one just flew by and landed somewhere to my right.  But when its body came out, it was too dark to be the Yellow but too brownish to be the Black Bittern.  That left Cinnamon but it did not seem "reddish" enough. I continued taking shots and had a sudden thought that it might be the rarer Schrenk's Bittern.  I quickly googled images of it and my heart started beating faster again at the possibility of another unexpected lifer.  Took a photo of my LCD and sent it again to Rob.  Who quickly answered back, Cinnamon. Not giving up on a potential lifer and that Rob may be wrong (hey, he is human ✌), I sent it to several others namely Djop Tabaranza, Rommel Cruz, Lisa Paguntalan, Cheta Chua, Anre Kuiz, even Desmond Allen. All of them eventually said Cinnamon. 😟😟😟.  Well Cheta was not sure because he said it was not his expertise.  So Cinnamon it is!

(My almost Schrenk) Cinnamon Bittern

My last shot of my almost lifer 😆

It was getting dark by 5:30pm so I decided to leave, content with the day's catch.  And on a whim, I decided to pass by Megamall to buy cupcakes for Lorna and the kids.  Got home a little after 7pm and had an enjoyable dinner with the family.  Thank you Lord for your blessings!

An Unexpected Lifer

Last Sunday morning, September 11, we went to a birding patch somewhere in Imus, Cavite.  Our target was the Asian Blue Quail (if you go by Desmond's new book) or Blue-breasted Quail (if you follow the older Kennedy guide).  Whatever the name is, birders know what bird I am referring to. Said bird was seen and photographed in this site several months ago.  There were one or two subsequent sightings.  So full of hope, Ed Santos and I met up with Romz Lopez somewhere in Imus.

Upon our arrival, we saw several birds - Cattle Egrets, Brown Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Oriental Skylark, Zebra Dove, and Spotted Dove. One bird sprung out of the grass and flew across and around us.  I was able to let out one burst of maybe five to six shots and got two decent ones.

Snipe

Looking at the LCD screen of my camera, I knew away that it was a Snipe.  But knowing how difficult it is to correctly identify a Snipe, I mentally filed it as another "Snipe sp" entry.

We continued to wait.  Romz said he could hear our target bird making a call.  And it did make a couple of appearances but true to its nature, it was very difficult to get a decent photo.  Sharing two of my better shots.  These are severely cropped, enlarged, denoised, and sharpened. And still, one can hardly distinguish the bird.  Romz, who was nearer and has sharper eyes, said it was the male.  Birder friend Conrad Olayres is disputing its gender because not much blue is visible.  In any case, I am not yet including this in my Life List, although technically, I already could (some even list with just hearing the call).  So the search for the Blue Quail continues...

Blurry image of what we believe is the Blue-breasted Quail

The unexpected twist to this story happened when I sent my photo of the flying Snipe to Rob Hutchinson for ID.  I was expecting that he would say that it was difficult to ID without having the bird in hand.  I sent it late last night and didn't read his reply until this morning. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when he said that said bird is a Common Snipe.  Lifer 9 for 2021; #321 for the Philippine List and #461 over-all.  Yay!!!

 

Bitter(n) no more

There are three somewhat common bitterns found in the Philippines - Yellow, Cinnamon, and Black. There are others, such as the Schrenk's Bittern, but this is more rare. Of the first three, the last is the most elusive.  I have previously seen it in different locations but no decent photos. I even went to the Total Station along NLEX twice just to be able to get a photo of this bird.  But each try always ends in bitterness (pun intended).  So when several birders started posting photos of the Black Bittern taken somewhere in Taytay, Rizal, (which is only 30 minutes from where I live), it was something worth checking.  But our friend delta started running amuck so I postponed it.  Finally got the courage to go this morning.  Fellow WBPP member Eugene Garme (Ugin Bxu in FB), offered to meet me at Tropical Hut at 6:30am.

I left the house before 6am and stopped by a gas station along Ortigas.  After refueling, my car won't start. Fortunately there was a mechanic who was able to help me fix it.  However, it caused about a 10-15 minute delay.  Then waze sent me to another Tropical Hut.  So I had to call Eugene for directions.  Finally found him a little 7am.  We convoyed and arrived at the site a little before 8am.  After the usual greetings punctuated by a fist bump, we went to the road side area and waited for our target bird. We of course observed proper health protocols including social distancing or what Loel Lamela calls "galit-galit" birding.  After about forty minutes, our target bird appeared. 

Here ate three of the images that I was able to create.

Black Bittern

Ever the greedy birder, I am planning to go back to get more and better shots.  Hopefully soon 😄

Other birds seen were: Yellow Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Little Egret, White-browed Crake, Brown Shrike, Crested Myna, and the ever present ETS.  

Big thank you to Eugene for taking time to accompany me.

An Armchair Tick and an HDD Lifer

An armchair tick refers to "an addition without leaving one's home, typically as a result of a taxonomic change." In plain english, it means that a new species was created by splitting it from an existing one (taxonomic change).  Thus a birder is able to add a new species to his list without actually going out to bird.  I have previously experienced this in 2014.  On February 8th of that year, I birded at Bangkong Kahoy and one of my 12 (😲) lifers that day was the White-throated Kingfisher.  Later that year, I saw the same bird at Penang, Malaysia.  I included it among the list of species I saw/photographed that day but I did not count it as a lifer because I had already seen it previously at Bangkong Kahoy.  A few months after this, the White-throated Kingfisher in the Philippines was split and declared a new species by one of the organizations that maintain World Bird Lists (I think it was Clements).  This new endemic species was called the Brown-breasted Kingfisher. Because of this, I gained a new lifer, the Brown-breasted KF (which I saw in BK, DRT, and Baras). However, since I also saw the White-throated Kingfisher in another country, I kept said bird in my list.

About three weeks ago, I learned from fellow Palawan birder, Erickson Tabayag that there were three new recognized Palawan endemics, (this time, I think IOC did the split).  One of these is the Palawan Crow, split from Slender-billed Crown.  This became an armchair tick for me. However, it was not an addition to my overall lifer count because Palawan Crow only replaced Slender-billed Crow in the list unless of course I can find the latter in any of my trip reports outside of Palawan. Yes, I make a list of the birds I saw after every sortie.  It is kept in a small black notebook (now two notebooks), and later copied to an excel file. I wonder which birding mentor I copied this from... hmmm...

Anyway, the prospect of a potential lifer led me to scour my birding notebooks and hard drives all the way back to my pre-birder days (2010), in search of a record, any record, of the Slender-billed Crow seen or photographed outside of Palawan.  But nada, zip, zero.  I sent all the photos I could find to Maia Tanedo, Djop Tabaranza, and Rommel Cruz, but all of them IDéd these as Large-billed Crow. 😡😡😡.  The main problem was, when we bird, we do not usually pay attention to the crows, so no photos, not even listed.  😢😢😢 

Last night's search led me to bird photos from my family's November 2018 Japan trip.  While checking the internet if the Slender-billed Crow occurs in Japan (it doesn't), I learned that there were two species of crow in that country, namely, Large-billed Crow (Ssp japonensis), and Carrion Crow.  This prompted another frantic search in my Japan files if I was able to capture a Carrion Crow.  Towards midnight, I found a photo of a crow that looked different. Not wanting to disturb any Filipino birder (due to the late hour), I decided to message Rob Hutchinson, thinking that he was still in the UK (which is seven hours behind).  He replied a little past 1am saying that he was back in Manila (patay!).  I apologized for waking him up but he said he was experiencing jetlag.  So I asked him to confirm the ID of these four:

Shinjuku Park, Tokyo, Nov 4, 2018

Kasai Rinkai Park, Tokyo, Nov 5, 2018

Hida Takayama, Nov 2, 2018

Hida Takayama, Nov 3, 2018

As expected the bird in the first three photos were Large-billed Crows on account of their beak and the glossy blue-black shoulder.  I pointed out that the bird in the last photo had a different beak (shorter and smaller) and that the feathers seemed different. (But I also knew that my eyes may be playing tricks on me and I am seeing things that aren't).  Rob's reply came after several agonizing minutes... (probably just seconds but the suspense was killing me....) ....

"I agree on the 4th bird, the bill is smaller and more pointed, it has feathering extending out into the top of the bill and the head is more neatly rounded, I think that is Carrion Crow" 

Yehey!!!   And with that I got to add a tick to my over-all life list.  Meanwhile, the search for the Slender-billed Crow (and other lifers), shall continue in the real world.

Thank you to all who helped me add this lifer -  from Erickson to Maia, Djop, Rommel, and finally, Rob!

Note: in researching for this blogpost, I looked at the different Bird Lists (IOC, Clement, HBW, Birdlife) and true enough these lists do not exactly match.  I realize that for consistency, one should only follow one list.  I also realized that my personal list does not adhere to just one (hahaha).  But that is another issue to tackle in the future.  For now, I will bask in the joy of adding a lifer from my second favorite country while confined to my mancave at home.  

Unexpected Lifers: Not one but two

As I have previously written in this space, we went to Infanta last July 10 to shoot the Luzon Scops Owl chick and the Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove.  While waiting for the parent owl to show up, a mixed flock arrived and I started shooting these busy little birds.  It was composed of the usual Infanta suspects - Elegant Tit, Sulphur-billed Nuthatch, Blue-headed Fantail, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, and Philippine Bulbul. At least that's what I thought until I started going over the photos one by one last July 17 and came across the photo below, which I thought was a Philippine Bulbul. I was in my mancave in our basement and my guidebooks were in our bedroom two floors up.  Not wanting to run upstairs, I used my phone to take a photo of my computer screen and sent it to Loel Lamela, Cheta Chua, and Djop Tabaranza.  All three replied within a few minutes to say that it was a Black-crowned Babbler with Cheta saying it looked like a juvenile.  

Black-crowned Babbler, Lifer # 7 for 2021; #457 overall

Two days later, July 19, while still basking in my unexpected lifer, I was surprised to see a photo of a Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, posted by Cecil Morella on the Birdwatch Community Facebook page.  Reading through the comments, it seemed that the bird was in LMEP that morning, so I commented "LMEP?" just to make sure. It was Cheta who sent me a PM saying it that said bird was indeed in LMEP that day.  I glanced at my watch thinking if I could still go there.  But it was past 5pm, and raining. 😠😠😠.  This bird belongs to my "Birding Bucket List"  (or Bakit List, as we are fond of saying), and its just here in LMEP!  I couldn't wait!!!!!!

Several minutes later, Ed Santos sent a message about the same bird and we both decided to go the following morning.  After confirming with Ed, I suddenly realized that I had to accompany Lorna, my wife, to the lab for some blood tests the following morning(!).  Needless to say, it was already 10am when I got to LMEP and found Ed Santos, Steve Albano, Loel Lamela, Henrick Tan, and Delio Tolosa waiting for the Rufous Paradise Flycatcher.  They already had photos.  In fact, some other birders had already left.  An Ashy Thrush flew to a nearby tree and they told me there was a Spotted Wood Kingfisher in the area.  Not wanting to be distracted from my potential lifer, I ignored both.  And within a fifteen minutes of my arrival, Ed's new driver, called our attention and we scooted to his location. And just like that, I ticked off another lifer, a big one at that!

Northern Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, Lifer # 8 for 2021; 458 overall

This was among my first three shots of the day and I think it is the best of the lot.  I still have to scour the rest of my photos though.  But, I believe another trip to LMEP is necessary.  After all, it is a rare bird... 😀.

Thank you Lord for these two unexpected Lifers.  And thank you for the fun time with my fellow WBPP mates.  

   

Chasing Lifers: Another Owl...

A couple of weeks ago, Mary, the daughter of Kamote, the Infanta bird guide, messaged me that her father found an owl.  Not knowing what kind of owl and not wanting to waste a trip to Infanta, I replied asking what kind of owl but I never got a reply from her.  Knowing that Loel Lamela, my Team Culion teammate in 2019, frequented Infanta, I messaged him about it.  His reply to me was a shot of his camera LCD screen.  It turned out that he was there at that time shooting said bird.  My heart started beating faster when he said it was a Luzon Scops Owl.  I looked at the Kennedy Guide and Desmond Allen's new book to check if Loel's ID was correct.  To be sure I sent it to Djop Tabaranda and Maia Tanedo.  Djop said it looked like Luzon Scops Owl and not Philippine Scops Owl because of the yellow eyes, but he was not 100% sure.  I sent Loel's photo to Desmond and he said he could not be sure 

It took me another three days (June 29th), before I could find time to go to Infanta. Loel told me to be there by six am or earlier but as (bad) luck would have it, I slept late and woke up almost five am!  As a result I arrived at Kamote's house around 7:30am, was at the site by 7:40, and got my sixth lifer for 2021 before 8am.  Stayed only till 10am and was home before 1pm. If only all sorties could be that easy...

Here are the images I was able to create: 

Luzon Scops Owl, parent. Lifer #6 for 2021; #456 overall

Aside from my lifer, I was also blessed with a photo opportunity for two other birds that I have no decent photos todate - the Tawny Grassbird and the Philippine Fairy Bluebird.

Tawny Grassbird

Philippine Fairy Bluebird

The second sortie

The shot that I was pining for was that of the parent Luzon Scops Owl with its chick.  So being a greedy bird photographer 😁😁😁, I decided to go back eleven days after my first sortie. I had two main targets for this trip, namely, a mother and chick photo of the Luzon Scops Owl (or at least the chick), and the Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove.  The latter is not a lifer anymore, having seen it at Infanta in 2018, but I still did not have a good photo of it.  This was actually my main target for the day. 

Our party included Ed Santos, Steve Albano, Win Paler, and Homer Pialda (who was birding for the first time since our Canarem trip on January 29).  We set out early and hoped to be at the site by 6am or earlier but as the saying goes, all the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry... we got to the owl site past 6:30am.  In any case, I left the group at the owl site and went in search of my main target for the day, the Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove.

I found the fruiting tree described by Loel with almost no difficulty.  As I got out of the car, Adri and Trinket Constantino passed by and we waved at each other and they drove on.  Using my bins, I scanned the tree and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my target bird contentedly perched on top of one of the clumps (of berries).  And my camera was still in the car!!!  I slowly and quietly opened the car door and carefully reached for my camera which was on the passenger seat, didn't close the door for fear that it will spook the bird and using my car's hood as support, fired a few bursts as insurance.  Then I went to the back of the car to get my tripod, walked carefully back to the front, set up camera, and fire away.  

Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove

After a few minutes, the bird went inside the tree canopy.  I decided to go back to the owl site where I found the group waiting for the parent to appear.  They all asked me what I was able to photograph.  After seeing my photo of the Fruit Dove, Steve and Wins decided to go and check it out.  Homer had earlier left for Kamote's house and bird there.  Ed opted to stay since he wanted to photograph the parent bird.  Unlike my previous sortie when I did not see the chick at all, this time it was there on full display. Here is one of my shots.

Luzon Scops Owl chick

After about half an hour, I left Ed at the site and went back to the Fruit Dove area.  The bird had appeared while I was gone but it was not visible when I arrived.  Steve went back to the owl site.  Wins then found the Fruit Dove somewhere inside the tree under some leaves.  And with some maneuvering, (which included shooting in the middle of the road),  we were able to get views of its full body. 

Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove

The rest of the day was spent waiting for the owl and going back to check on the dove but since it was raining intermittently, there were not many photo opportunities.  Although at the owl site, a mixed flock featuring the usual suspects would come every now and then. Not even a sumptuous lunch of Ed's magic adobo could bring out the birds. Maybe I should have brought some Dr Pepper in can...hmmmm

It was while having lunch at Hungry Tummy that we bumped into and had a short and pleasant chat with other birders, namely, Trinity Gatuz, Linda Gocon and Bambi Martinez, whom we met for the first time. 

Feeling tired and sleepy, I decided to leave at around 4:10pm.  Homer had left earlier because his son had a meeting while the rest of the group left around 5pm.  I went home happy and contented that I got both my targets for the day despite the rain. However, as with any WBPP sortie, getting the birds is only half the story.  A big part of a successful trip is because of the camaraderie and fellowship that has become a WBPP trademark (including all the jokes and wisecracks 😆😆😆). 

Thank you Lord for another safe and successful birding trip.    

  

 

Chasing Lifers: Sana Owl

Owls are always a popular subject - maybe because they are different, or have mystic powers, or maybe it is simply because they are beautiful creatures.  Whatever the reason, photos of owls almost always catch my attention.  So when Bo Apostol posted a photo of an Eastern Grass Owl, it caught my eye and I made a mental note to try and shoot this bird if circumstances allow.  My opportunity came last Saturday, May 29.  This was going to be my first post-covid birding sortie so it that made it more significant.  As per my usual routine, I prepared my gear,; (including the clothes that I will wear), the night before.  I woke up at the required time, showered, shaved, dressed up, and left the house at 4:00am.  And to complete the ritual, I had the music of Queen on as I made my early morning drive.  According to Waze, my ETA at Bo's village would be at 5am.  Seeing a McDonald's along the Aguinaldo Highway, I decided to pass by and get breakfast for the four of us - Bo, Joel Dayao and Lex Mimpin.  Murphy's Law struck because McDo took such a long time - first the drawer of the cash register on the drive thru cashier wouldn't open.  The guy kept trying to open it while at the same time talking to other customers on his headset.  In any case the whole thing caused a 15-minute delay which was crucial because I had to be in place by 5:15am (as instructed by Bo). I finally arrived at 5:30ish.  Bo and Joel were already there waiting.  I quickly got my gear and they told me the usual behaviour and flight path of our target bird. (ang layo ng shooting distance!)  I also learned that it was Joel's 5th trip already (yep, bird photogs are a greedy lot! 😁😁😁). 

At approximately 6:40am, Bo excitedly said, "nandyan na siya!" and from afar we could see the owl flying around in the tall talahib grass.  Soon it way flying towards us.  And I was firing as fast as my camera's shutter would allow.  The bird then landed on the grass and we could see that it was moving a bit, probably eating something.  A few seconds later, it flew again towards another direction. My companions said, to be alert because it will fly back.  Meanwhile we were frantically reviewing our shots.  Then Bo alerted us that the bird was on its flight back but unfortunately it stayed on the far side of the open field.  Sharing some of the images that I was able to create:

Eastern Grass Owl, Tyto longimembris, Lifer # 5 for 2021, # 455 overall

I realize that these shots are probably bordering on the "docu" variety and are not frameable but considering the shooting conditions and that it is a lifer, I will take it!  Thank you Bo for this lifer.

Before we left the area, another bird showed up. 

Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis

We left the area around 7:30am. Joel went home while I decided to head over to Kawit for my second target of the day, the Oriental Pratincole that Romz Lopez was able to photograph near his home. Having seen this bird at Candaba in 2018 so while it is not a lifer, I did not have good photos yet. I reached the site in about forty-five minutes and true enough the birds were there and the kept flying about.  They would perch on the ground but quite far so I just concentrated on getting BIF's.  Romz joined me for a few minutes but had to leave soon as he had domestic duties (birders are such good husbands 😄).  Here are some of my shots:

Oriental Pratincole, Glareola maldivarum

While shooting the Pratincoles, two Black-crowned Night Herons did a quick fly-by.

Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nyticorax

When I reached home, Lorna's first question was "Did you get it?" Later, as I was viewing my photos on my laptop, I was ruing the fact that the birds did not really come as near as I would have preferred. I showed Lorna some of the better photos and she said, "so go back tomorrow and Monday..."  Well.... since I got the green light, who am I to refuse... 

I messaged Bo and asked if I could visit his playground again and he graciously said yes, and told me that Joel will also be there along with Lex Mimpin and Doc Lilet.

The Second Sortie

I was at the site a little earlier, Joel arrived a few minutes later followed by Bo who was with Lex and Dr Lilet.  Introductions were made, hi's and hello's and by 6:45ish, like clockwork, the bird appeared.  It generally followed the same path but was a little nearer and it flew in our direction a couple of times (still a bit far though 😟).  Here are three of my photos: 

Eastern Grass Owl

Still pining for a closer shooting distance and more opportunities with this bird.  But I will take these for now. After the Owl, we all proceeded to Kawit where we met up with Romz and had fun shooting the Pratincoles. It certainly feels good to be able to bird again.  Hoping for an end to this pandemic so that we can all move freely and safely soon...   

 

Kalaw Craze

True to the saying that bird photographers are a greedy lot (because they always want something more and better), I was not that happy with my shots last February 18 and wanted to go back. A new site discovered on February 19, that allowed closer captures, made the urge almost unbearable.  Fortunately, I have a loving and understanding wife who puts up with my addiction. So on Feb 21, I headed back to Infanta for another shot at the Kalaws.  

I was to meet up with Ven Rojas and Camote, the local guide, at 6:30am at the latter's house.  But when I passed his house at around 6:45, he was not there.  Thinking that they were already at the new site, I proceeded to the house of Francis, (Camote's son), who brought me to the new site.  As soon as I parked, I saw Camote on his motorcycle with Ven's distinct Miata (Josephine) following close behind.  Behind ven was a pick up who turned out to be Steve Albano.  After quick hello's, we got our gear and walked to the site.  As soon as we arrived, Francis pointed to an open branch where a Hornbill was perched. And of course, before I could bring up my camera, it flew to another tree where we could only see its head.  It stayed there for about thirty minutes. 

Then several of them honked and flew to the opposite cliff  - which is where we were three days prior, (great!).  We settled down to wait, and wait, and wait.  Wins soon arrived with all his gear.  Still we waited.  Soon we were getting bored.  Steve and I were playing on our phones.  Wins and Ven were snoozing. Then we got hungry so we sent Wins' driver to buy lunch.  Other birders arrived and left - first the group of Bimbo Brillo, Raniel Castaneda, and Ed Gapal.  Later it was Edwin Martinez and Romz Lopez.  Still no hornbill. Five hours had already passed and I was getting worried.

Wins' driver came back and we all began to eat. And of course, while we were in the middle of our meal, one hornbill arrived which caused a flurry of movements, lunch boxes were placed on the ground, cameras aimed...at nothing... because the bird stayed behind the leaves.  Meals were resumed but we kept an eye at the balete tree in front us.  I cannot recall how many minutes passed when the bird flew to another perch within the same tree but it was only visible from a lower part of the slope.  This caused another mad scramble as we all looked for a safe shooting perch.  What followed was about two hours of shooting, manuevering, cursing, repositioning, shooting, adjust, shoot again.  My memory card filled up, (twice!).  During a lull in the shooting, I noticed Ven's Chicken Joy lunch on the ground (di ako yung nakatabig ha!).

Sharing some of the images I was able to create. 

Northern Rufous Hornbill, endemic and endangered.

Thank you Lord for giving us the chance to photograph your beautiful creation.  

When I checked my phone, I saw a message from Ed Santos saying that Djop Tabaranza and Maia Tanedo photographed a Cotton Pygmy Goose at the Total Station along NLEX. Looks like we have a new target. When I got home, Lorna's first question was, did you get it? After I said yes, the next thing she said that Teacher Maia got this rare migrant! Guess am going to NLEX soon.

Chasing Lifers: Ticking off a big one

The Rufous Hornbill has been on my birding bucket list for several years now so when I saw the post of Loel Lamela on February 13 of a photo taken the day before, there was an overwhelming urge to go there. But the following day was Valentine's Day so I was not sure how Lorna would take it.  Luckily, she allowed me to go - her Valentine gift as she put it.  So off I went for a "quickie" birding trip (until 10am only).  I easily found the place as described by Loel and Djop Tabaranza.  I even heard the Hornbills honking on the gorge below.  But I did not see even a shadow of it.  So a little after 10am, I drove back to San Juan.

I put the Hornbills off my mind and concentrated on work and family matters the next few days.  For the weekend of Feb 20-21, I was actually looking at either going with some birding friends to Canarem or with another group of  friends to Subic.  But when photos taken by Edwin Martinez on Feb 17 came out, Win Paler, Ed Santos and I decided to try our luck the following day.  But when we arrived at Infanta, it was foggy and worse, it was raining.  We waited in our cars, and decided to have hot chocolate at Marquez. While sipping our delicious hot drinks, the sky cleared and we hurriedly went back to the site which was a few kilometers away.  By the time we got there, it was raining again.  It finally stopped around 11am. We set up our cameras and tripods and began to wait. By this time, we have been joined by Kamote, a local guide of sorts and his son, Francis.   

A little before 12nn, Francis excitedly called our attention and excitedly pointed at a distant tree below the cliff to our right. The bird was hidden inside the foliage with only its bright red beak showing.  I fired a burst, the bird shifted and I got a slightly better view, fire another burst. Sharing what is probably my best shot of the day.  Rufous Hornbill. Lifer # 3 for 2021, # 452 in my Lifelist. 

Rufous Hornbill, #3 for 2021; #452 in the Lifelist

Then it flew down to the right and disappeared from view.  What followed was several minutes of Kamote and Francis and us craning our necks and looking and hoping for a shot, any shot. Thirty minutes later, Francis, who was standing on a small ledge off the cliff was pointing and saying that it was in the open.  I looked at the precarious ledge, and the long way down, said a quick silent prayer to my patron saint (who happened to be St. Francis), handed my camera to my tocayo, sat down on the ground and sort of edged my way to the edge of the small ledge. When I got there, I had to stand up (knees shaking), to shoot, (handheld because there was no space for the tripod). Saw the bird at a distance and fired a burst, only for my camera to flash "Ful" meaning my XQD card was already full!!! Aaaargh!!! I quickly deleted shots, fire, delete some more, fire again.  And not feeling comfortable with my precarious perch, I handed my camera back to Francis and scrambled up the slope.  Whew!

Sharing my buwis buhay shot...

A distant full body shot of the Rufous Hornbill

The rest of the afternoon was spent waiting for the bird to come nearer but it never did. We could see them on the opposite slope, perhaps half a kilometer away.  At one point they flew high up aamong the trees but I believe only Ed was able to get good photos.  Mine were all blurry. At around 3pm, we went to the Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher site but it was also a no show.  We went back for a final shot at the Hornbills and as soon as we parked, Francis pointed to a pine tree.  One Hornbill was there but covered.  Then it flew down the cliff and was joined by three others and consistent with our luck, they perched hidden from us but we could hear them honking.  Then suddenly they flew towards us and perched on a tree directly below us.  Through a hole in the branches, I was able to see one. 

After a few more minutes, all four of them flew away in the direction of the opposite cliff.  We took this as a sign for us to call it a day.  

Back in the car, I saw a message from Lorna asking me to buy some plants for her, which I did.  And when I got to the Santa Maria area, I was treated to this magnificent sunset.

Sunset along Marilaque Highway

On the way home, Wins treated us to dinner at The Gatherings Cafe. 

Thank you Lord for showing us your magnificent creations (but please make them come nearer next time 😄).  Thank you for the time spent with friends and nature.