Chasing Lifers: Meeting a Siberian at Bangkong Kahoy

I first became aware of this bird way back in December 2013 when I was still a relatively new birder.  There was a sighting of three Black-faced Spoonbills and a Siberian Rubythroat at Candaba and as expected Manila-based birders were flocking to the site.  I went with a group from WBCP on December 26th of that year and we were half successful - we saw the Spoonbills at a distance but no sign of the Rubythroat whatsoever.  Two years later in 2015 (or was it 2016?), there was a sighting by Jonet Carpio at his playground in Bulakan, Bulacan. And again at the same site in 2019.  But the birding gods did not smile at me in both instances.  So when Canon Brand Ambassador, Edwin Martinez, posted a photo of this bird taken at Bangkong Kahoy, sometime in November 2020, I became instantly interested.  I messaged him and began planning a trip for November 30. I also messaged Ramon Quisumbing and BK guide Cris Ceriban for additional info. Apparently there was a checkpoint along the way and they will require a medical certificate (that is if they stop you). So in addition to a birding visa from higher authority, I also had to secure a medical certificate.  On November 29, Cris called to inform that it had been raining at BK so we postponed to December 5th. On the morning of November 30th, he again messaged that we should have push through because it was sunny at BK 😲😲😲

For December 5th, I was going with Homer Pialda who lived in Novaliches.  So I left the house at 2am in order to pick up Homer at 2:30am.  Then we had to go back to his house because he left the medical certificate 😁😁😁.  We were finally underway at around 2:45.  But instead of making us pass the usual way. Waze sent us via San Pedro and we reached BK past 7am - a good five hours from the time I left home. We had missed the first appearance of the second target bird, the Red Jungle Fowls that go near Dion's Restaurant. But, the cool mountain air of BK is always refreshing making it one of my favorite birding spots near Manila.

 

BK ace birdguide Crisanto Ceriban, (Cris for short), met us at the restaurant area and after the usual hello's, we proceeded to the site of our target bird.  We drove for about three minutes, parked beside clearing near the mushroom house, set up our gear and waited.  And within fifteen minutes, our target bird arrived and the sound of camera shutters filled the crisp mountain air.  

Siberian Rubythroat, male

After getting a good number of shots of the male, Cris brought us to the other side of the mushroom house to wait for the female Siberian Rubythroat.  And within a few minutes the bird appeared but it did not want to come out in the open.  We could hear its call and see it darting behind the bushes.  I felt that it was never going to come out in the open so acting on a hunch, I uncoupled my camera from the tripod and stood up and slowly moved to my right.  My hunch was right!  The bird was on an open branch behind some tall grass.  I started shooting and told Homer to move near me. 

Siberian Rubythroat, female

Perhaps sensing our presence, the bird darted to the bushes again.  Since we already had good photos, we returned to the site of the male because Homer wanted another chance.  And our target bird did not disappoint.

Siberian Rubythroat, male

Cris then brought us to another spot where the Flaming Sunbird frequents.  And again, our subject was there within minutes!  I love BK!

Flaming Sunbird, male

Not only that, he brought along some friends! The first was an Elegant Tit but I was not able to get a good photo of it.  Then I saw something large fly across and perch on a branch. Scale-feathered Malkoha!  Always a delight to see and photograph this beautiful bird.

Scale-feathered Malkoha

The Malkoha was followed by a bird that I first saw in BK in 2014, the Turquoise Flycatcher, formerly called the Mountain Verditer Flycatcher (I prefer the old name).

Turquoise Flycatcher

Then the Flaming Sunbird made another appearance...

Flaming Sunbird, male

By this time, it was past eleven already and Cris said that the Red Jungle Fowls normally visit Dion's restaurant before noon.  We had already missed its first appearance so we walked to the restaurant hopeful that we will be able to see the Labuyo.  But it was a no show. Though not a lifer, I was really hoping for good photos of this bird.  

While waiting for our lunch, we ordered one of of the food items that BK is famous for, Raspberry shakes.  These are made from wild Sampinit berries that grow on the slopes of Mt. Banahaw. I also wanted the Mushroom Tempura but they were not available. 

Wild Raspberry Shake/Smoothie

I noticed that my camera battery was running low so I went to the car to get a spare battery as well as a spare memory card.  When I returned to the restaurant, Cris and Homer were focused on nearby tree.  And then the bird that they were waiting for perched on a branch in front of us for a couple of seconds before it darted up the tree and out of our view.  I was able to get one burst of six shots. 

Rough-crested Malkoha

In moments like this, I really appreciate the fast AF and the 10 fps speed of my D500.

After lunch, while waiting for the Jungle Fowls, I saw something fly among the trees across the clearing.  Homer was busy buying plants, so I decided to walk across the field.   The bird turned out to be a Scale-feathered Malkoha.  I waited under some trees hoping that it would come near but it didn't.  From behind me, I heard some rustling and saw a Rough-crested Malkoha on a tree but there was no clear shot.  I did see a beautiful flower and I could not resist taking photos of it.

I went back to the restaurant and we decided to go back to the Flaming Sunbird site.  It was past 1pm already and we also decided that we will leave by 2:30pm since we might have another five-hour drive ahead.  Cris left word at the restaurant to call us if the Jungle Fowls arrive.  When we arrived at the sunbird site, I noticed that we could see the area where the Labuyo was expected to come from. So I trained my binoculars in this area.  Cris told us earlier that three Labuyo's (two male and one female), travel with a couple of domesticated Sasso chickens.  The leader of this small flock is a male Sasso Rooster.  (Note:  Sasso is a brand, not a breed, of French colored free range chickens).   Before long I saw some chickens led by a large rooster and excitedly informed Cris.  He confirmed that this was the group we were waiting for. We quickly made our way back to the restaurant unmindful of the soft wet soil along the trail.  We reached the back area of the restaurant as the flock was crossing the large clearing.  Tripods were quickly set up, cameras mounted, wait, and fire. The whole sequence lasted only four minutes - from 2:09 to 2:13pm, and I was able to make 463 shots. Sharing some of them...

Red Jungle Fowl, male & female

Red Jungle Fowl, male

A close up of a male Red Jungle Fowl

And with that, we decided to call it a day.  If only all birding trips could be like this - cool weather, beautiful scenery, competent bird guide,  great tasting raspberry shakes, and of course, great looks and photos of the target birds! 

 

Bangkong Kahoy Sortie (with a gang!)

I haven't had much time to really go birding especially in Metro Manila or the nearby sites. My last Luzon sortie was in February when I went to DRT in Bulacan to go and look for the White-browed Shama.  Sometime in early September, several Metro Manila based birders started posting photos taken at Bangkong Kahoy Valley in Dolores, Quezon.  Foremost among these were the Luzon Sunbird (previously called the Metallic-winged Sunbird), the Bundok Flycatcher (previously called the Snowy-browed Flycatcher) and the Mountain Tailorbird.  All of these would be lifers for me. Also included in the photos were BK regulars like the Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Elegant Tit, and Turquoise Flycatcher, among others.

With September 12 being declared a holiday, it meant that the weekend of Sept 10-12 was a long one.  A big group of WBPP birders was planning to go on the 10th (which was a Saturday), but I couldn't go with them due to a previous commitment. So I started asking around if there were people I could hitch with on Sunday, Sept 11th or Monday Sept 12th.  There were none.  So I started organizing a trip.  One good thing with WBPP is that it is never difficult to organize a sortie.  Soon there were plenty of birders who wanted to go.  In the end we were fourteen (!!!) in all - Anthony Balbin, Jonathan Tabisaura, Maia Tanedo, Arnel Macariola, Caloy Pangilinan, Lhem Dacuycoy, Gilbert & Wilma Go, Conrad Olayres, Pastor Dave (sorry don't recall your last name sir),  Nes Santiago, Ed and Bong (sorry guys, cannot remember your last names also) and myself.  We were joined in BK by Deo Hermosa so we were fifteen bird photographers in all.  Needless to say it was a large (and rather noisy) group.  Ten members of the party belonged to the group Tropang Birders and many of them are relatively new to birding and some would be making their first trip to BK Valley.  It was also my first time to bird with many of them.

We all met up in the Shell station near Tiendesitas and soon we were off.  We stopped for a short breakfast at a McDo along Slex. We were at BK around 6:30am.   And after a quick trip to the restroom, we all took out our bags and began assembling our gear.  Before long, Maia had her bins out and was scanning the trees.  Just goes to show who was the most veteran among all of us. :-)

Maia scanning the nearby trees

Soon we were off.  Photo courtesy of Caloy Pangilinan.

Ang mahiwagang cooler ni Jonathan :-)

Upon reaching the birding area, Cris, BK's resident bird whisperer, divided us into groups.  One group of five went to wait for the Luzon Sunbird, another group of four went looking for the White-browed Shortwing, and the rest went to the fruiting Lipa tree.  Since the Sunbird was my main target, I went with this group.

We set up our tripods and waited...and waited...and waited...

Photo courtesy of Caloy Pangilinan

Soon the Shortwing group, which included Caloy and Lhem, joined us (that's why we have these photos of us waiting).  Others in our group went to take their place in the Shortwing area.  But since I already had shots of it, I decided to stay and wait for the Sunbird. 

A photo of me and Caloy.  We share a common friend, a certain Mr. Sonny Torre :-)

A stolen shot by Mr. Caloy P., Maraming Salamat partner. 

We moved to another location on the other side of this hut. To prepare for the coming of the sunbird, I began taking photos of the likely perches. Soon I had plenty of shots of the flowers. Here's two of them.

And one with a butterfly...

While waiting, some Elegant Tits, a Turquoise Flycatcher and a Pygmy Flowerpecker showed up.  Unfortunately, I was not really able to get good shots.  Maybe it was "birding rust" from too little biridng, if there is such a phenomena.

The Tailor Bird and the Bundok Flycatcher both made brief appearances, if you can call hiding behind leaves and branches, an appearance. 

During our long periods of waiting, we were entertained by a horse tethered nearby and by the very jolly Lhem. We also enjoyed the yummy peanut butter cookies brought by Maia.

Here is the jolly Lhem Dakuykoy with his controversial lime green scarf.  Photo courtesy of Caloy P. 

The Sunbird finally came out at almost 11am.  And soon almost all had good shots except me and Maia. The one time that it perched on top of a flower in front of me, my camera didn't focus. Haaay! I was beginning to think that I will go home empty handed. So we waited again.  By this time almost all the fifteen birders plus four or five guides, have congregated at the Sunbird site.  So despite efforts to keep everybody quiet, it was an impossible task.  It was probably the noisiest (and jolliest), birding sortie I have been a part of (hahaha). In previous trips, we joke a lot while shooting (quietly, if I may add), but the Sept 12 trip was another level of noise altogether.  Hahaha.

When the Sunbird appeared again, I was at the front of the group and made made sure I got shots. At one point I even removed the camera from the tripod and risked shooting handheld because the bird was in constant motion.  Here are some of he images I was able to create. 

The Luzon Sunbird, Lifer #253.

The group photo after everyone had taken a photo of the Luzon Sunbird.

Band of Brothers (and sisters)... photo courtesy of Lhem D.

After this, Maia and I left the group and went to the fruiting, Lipa tree.  But since it was already almost noon and the fruits were almost gone, we did not see any birds.  A few minutes later, one of the guides called us to head back for lunch.  So we trekked for about fifteen minutes to Dion's Restaurant.  Soon after we sat down, it rained for about an hour and a half.  

We headed out again at around 2pm.  I was able to photograph a Pygmy Flowerpecker near Ramon Quisumbing's driveway.

Pygmy Flowerpecker

By 3pm, it started to rain again and when it stopped one hour later, we decided to pack up and call it a day.

Not many birds by BK standards but I went home very happy because I got my target bird.  And of course it was fun to bird with old friends (Maia, Anthony, Conrad, Nes, and Deo), and new ones (Jonathan, Caloy, Arnel, Lhem, Pastor Dave, Ed, Bong, and Gilbert and Wilma).

Looking forward to the next sortie with the Tropang Birders...

Crown Jewels

Because of their colorful plumage, Pittas are often called "Jewels of the Forest". And if they are to be considered as such, then the Whiskered Pitta, (Erythropitta kochi), should be the Crown Jewel.

But wait, what are Pittas? Just to be clear, the Pittas that I am talking about are birds, not the bread that comes with Shawarma.

According to wikipedia, "Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds mainly found in tropical Asia and Australasia, although a couple of species live in Africa.... The name is derived from the word pitta in the Telugu language of Andhra Pradesh in India and is a generic local name used for all small birds. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at 15 to 25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Many, but not all, have brightly coloured plumage." (source: wikipedia).

In the Philippines, according to the Kennedy Guide (the reference that we birders use), there are five (5) species of Pittas, namely, Hooded Pitta, Red-bellied Pitta, Blue-winged Pitta, Steere's Pitta and the aforementioned Whiskered Pitta.

The Whiskered Pitta, is the largest Pitta in the Philippines. It is endemic to Luzon and classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Its recorded habitat are mountainous areas such as the Cordilleras, the Sierra Madre and certain parts of the Bicol region. Bangkong Kahoy in Mt. Banahaw, is one of the few places where this bird has been seen in previous years. But because the trail to the site is difficult, not many birders have seen this bird. Until February this year (2015), when, through the efforts of bird photographer Ramon Quisumbing and his bird guide, Cris Ceriban, a new site was found. Still it was not a walk in the park because it involved climbing on the slopes of Mt. Banahaw.

Access to the site was controlled to three to four birders at a time in order not to spook the bird. Hence there is a queue. I finally got my chance last Tuesday, July 14. Luis, my seventeen-year-old son was also going with me. We met up with Capt. Floyd Bermejo, a fellow bird photographer at a gas station along slex. We arrived at BK a little after six (6)AM and started our trek/climb before seven (7) AM.

When one is almost fifty, overweight and unfit, one has no choice but take it easy and go slow with lots of rest stops. Before long all others in the party left me and my porter behind. Somewhere along the trail, while I was gasping for breath, I was mentally asking myself why do I do this - leave my warm bed at 2:30AM, drive 75 kms and climb double (triple?) the distance of Mt. Tapyas (in Coron). Was it really worth it?

It took me over an hour before I reached the Pitta site. All others were already positioned in their hides and shooting when I got there. I went to my designated spot, sat down(thigh and leg muscles shaking), fumbled with my gear and started pressing the shutter. What followed was a photo session with the Crown Jewel.

Sharing some of the images that I was able to create.

After about two hours, we stared our descent. Going down a mountain, I always have this irrational fear that I would slip and injure myself so even going I pick my way slowly.  My back was sore, I was drenched in sweat and my tired legs were shaky but I was glad that I left my comfy bed at 2:30am, drove 75 kms in the dark, and trekked up the slopes of Mt. Banahaw. Seeing this beautiful bird was definitely worth it!

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...