Coffee and Face

There was this Facebook Meme with sketches of owls whose faces depicted the respective reactions based on the type of coffee consumed:

I remembered that I had photographs(!) of the Philippine Eagle Owl showing very similar facial expressions, so I thought why not use those pictures instead.

....and voila!

all photos @ Bob D. Kaufman

Enjoy your javas everyone!

Cheap Thrills

When it comes to controversies in the birding world I normally do not get involved. However, the ongoing brouhaha regarding the charging of exorbitant fees in order to see the Philippine Eagle in Davao hit close to home. 

My wife and I will be in Davao next month primarily to attend her niece's wedding. Inasmuch as we will be there and there had been some awesome sightings of the national bird of the Philippines, I thought "Why not take some time off and visit the place?" Sounds very plausible, doesn't it? When I made inquiries as to the details, I was shocked to learn that there are some "fees" to be paid. Please note the plural. There is the "Barangay" fee which is 200 pesos per person paid to the local district. Then there is the 2000 pesos "Photography" fee for locals and 5000 pesos for foreigners. One look at me and I would definitely be classified as a "foreigner". I even have a foreign name. The fact that I was born and raised in the Philippines and speak Tagalog better than most Filipinos would just come to naught. Now add to these the 300 pesos "Porter" fees for the locals who will carry your gear for the 30-minute walk to the viewing site. If you stay the whole day you naturally will have to pay for lunch, something I'm not even sure would satisfy my gastronomical needs, picky about food that I am.

What was upsetting was that a group suggested these fees to the locals allegedly to help protect the eagles. It would have been nice though if they first consulted other birders, bird photographers and tour group leaders who would be definitely affected, before making this unilateral decision.

I was in this surly mood when I got an invitation from our friend, Irene, to go see the Philippine Eagle…Owl. 

It was still dark when the three of us arrived at the place. As soon as the skies cleared with the breaking of dawn, we saw our quarry. For two hours we enjoyed the beauty of the largest owl found in the Philippines. Should there be a national nocturnal bird, this species would be the hands down choice.

At eight in the morning, the place officially opened for business. We diligently paid the 20 pesos per person entrance fee. Prior to that we offered to pay the fees to the Security Guards. They politely refused to accept the money and told us to wait for the manager so he can issue us the official receipts. 

For just 20 pesos we saw a rare, beautiful, majestic raptor. The personnel were even helpful in pointing to us the owls (there were two of them) and provided information about the other birds in the area at no extra charge. 

Not only that I even saw a pair of Elegant Tits. 

This was Owl I got!

Arguably the most visited and photographed species nowadays is the Philippine Eagle Owl family in the town of Angono. These birds are so cooperative that their pictures had been taken from almost every conceivable angle.  However when I, together with friends Jun Osano and Mark Jason Argallon, arrived early Saturday morning, not a single one of the three owls were present!


Eventually Jun was able to spot the adult female. Later on we also had glimpses of the juvenile. It was quite unfortunate that these owls never gave us a clean, clear look. Unlike what they did to those who had been here before us. (And may I add also to those who came later). Nonetheless I was quite happy with the photos I got after about three hours of enduring the heat and the pesky mosquitoes. Focusing on the antics of the female, I captured the various facial expressions of this huge bird.

omg! Bob, is that you?

Robo-Owl

trying to impersonate Mr. Magoo

the owl version of O_o

Popeye the sailor owl

ok, enough already, i'm going to sleep

Ending the Year with a Hoot and a Howl

It's the last day of the year. A time when folks frolic and engage in merrymaking. A time to thank the year about to pass and to welcome the coming one with high hopes and joyous hearts.


And to go birding. And while at it, why not even add a new species to our lifelist?


A gazillion thanks to our friend, Ding Carpio, who broke his birding hiatus just at the right time. It all began when an "uncommon, poorly known" (according to the Kennedy Guide) member of the Strigidae family curiously decided to make the tree next to his office its home. Please note that access to Ding's office premises was restricted. When he posted pictures of this most unusual occurence in the internet, we die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool, bird photographers begged, cajoled, even threatened our dear, accommodating friend to take us where the action was. He relented, of course. How can he not? 


Early in the morning of the last day of 2011, seven enthusiastic, adrenalin-pumped birdnuts joined Ding in taking photographs of Bubo philippensis. The endemic Philippine Eagle-Owl, the largest owl found in this country, simply sat there giving us that wide-eyed look, occasionally assuming an angry bird stance.

Who are these people?

Angry Owl

An hour passed and it was time to go. Our host still had some errands to do and so did Cynthia and I. As we all bade goodbye to each other and wished each other the best of the coming year, we were all united in our thoughts:


We sure ended the year with a hoot and an owl!