Search and Pants

"Do you see the bird?"

"No, where is it?"

"There! It's right there!"

We squinted, stooped, knelt and finally saw what we thought at first as a stump protruding from the side of a tree. It was the Philippine Frogmouth. Now that we've seen it, comes the next step: photographing it. It was not an easy task as the frogmouth was behind branches and leaves and was actually only on a waist-high level. We stooped, knelt, crouched, were lying supine, or were lying prone just so we could get a good angle at our subject. 

It was an eerie experience with the eye of the unmoving frogmouth following us as we changed positions. It was not unlike those portraits hanging on a wall whose eyes seem to look at you whereever you are in the room.

After about an hour or so, all six of us agreed that we have had our fill of the cooperative bird. We hiked back to the parking lot under the scorching morning sun. We were panting like thirsty dogs when our friendly guide, Efren, told us to rest for a while before we go look for the Savanna Nightjar (we later on discovered that it was actually a Philippine Nightjar).

A few minutes later, Efren beckoned us to follow him. Another trek.

"Do you see the bird?"

"No, where is it?"

"There! It's right there!"

We squinted, looked through binoculars and camera lenses but still failed to locate the nightjar. Efren was almost at the point of exasperation when Jun exclaimed, "There it is!" and proceeded to describe in detail the spot where the effectively camouflaged nocturnal bird lay sleeping. 

Once again, we had our fill of taking pictures of the nightjar.

We were panting from the hike back as we thanked our guide profusely. It was only half past eight so we all decided to go to La Mesa Ecopark for more birding.

I was huffing and puffing when we got to the mini forest. Somehow my camera gear seemed heavier than before.

"Do you see the bird?"

"No, where is it?"

"There! It's right there!"

This time it was our friend, Peter, who was pointing at the Common Emerald Dove placidly sitting on its nest. It was safely located behind a clump of huge leaves. 

Our main targets here at the Ecopark were the two species of Pittas: the Red-bellied and the Hooded. Unfortunately, we dipped on both. There was another bird on our wish list, the Pechora Pipit, but we didn't have much expectations of success on that one, it being a super skulker. 

It was nearing noon and we still hadn't seen a lot of birds, except the Common Emerald Dove mentioned earlier and a pair of very confiding Mangrove Blue Flycatchers. 

female

male

We were on our way out when we saw fellow Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) member Anthony Balbin. He looked very excited.

"Do you see the bird?"

"No, where is it?"

"There! It's right there!"

Then we saw the Pechora Pipit! It posed a real challenge in photography as it was constantly moving in the dark understory. Until, surprise of all surprises, it stopped and preened itself. We photographers went into a frenzy.

After it was satisfied that its feathers were in proper place, the Pipit continued in its perambulations. That's when the local bully called Ashy Thrush suddenly flew in and chased the poor little bird away.

We were panting as we got back to our cars. We celebrated our successful searches with a hearty lunch at Chic Boy.

Thanks to Jasmin who told us about the Frogmouth, to Guide Efren for showing us where it was with a bonus Nightjar even. Thanks to our friends, Jun, Jayce, Vincent, and Peter for making our birding enjoyable despite panting from the hot summer weather.