BTS (Back To Subic)

Friday morning Cynthia asked me "Do you want to go on a joy ride?"

"Where to?" I asked.

"Subic," she replied.

I was shocked! I never expected her to even think of going there. In my previous blog (see Reflections) I mentioned that at my age, driving long distances would be a real challenge. And yet my wife seemed confident that I still can do it. Then it suddenly dawned on me: it will be our 17th wedding anniversary on Sunday, that's the reason Cynthia wanted a "holiday" in Subic. So we quickly packed up and off we went. Thankfully the traffic wasn't much of a hassle and we got into our destination in about 3 hours. We had a sumptuous lunch at our favorite restaurant, Cocolime. We then checked in at Mango Valley Hotel, the place we always stay in everytime we visit Subic. After about an hour's rest ( a much needed one for me) we explored the nearby areas and got a few shots of the common birds there. 

Paddyfield Pipit

 

Brown Shrike

Zebra Dove

Sadly, the seashore was now being "reclaimed" probably in preparation for establishing a subdivision or a commercial space.

From there we proceeded to Cubi Point. At a bare tree were some Philippine Green Pigeons.

 

Large-billed Crows were all over the place.

 

So were the Crested Mynas

 

In another bare tree was a Pied Triller.

 

We searched the vicinity of the church but didn't find any Blue-naped Parrot.

It was getting late in the afternoon and the weather wasn't cooperating as well so we returned to our hotel and went to bed early.

The next morning, after breakfast we proceeded to Nabasan Trail. Along the way was a cooperative White-throated Kingfisher.

 

At the entrance to the trail was a pair of Green Imperial Pigeons perched way up high.

 

Then a flock of Philippine Hanging Parrots came and landed at a tall tree. They were very active and stayed mostly in the shadows. I was lucky enough to a shot of one out in the open.

 

At the trail we encountered a pair of Sooty Woodpeckers.

 

On the way out we glimpsed on some Philippine Falconets.

 

Flying overhead was a Brahminy Kite.

 

We returned to Cubi Point but unfortunately not a single Bee-eater was there. Before leaving Subic we had lunch at Slabs together with Cynthia's daughter Ginger and her kids.

We were quite disappointed at the apparent lack of birds. Could it be because of a lot of road repairs were being made (including Nabasan)?