A Matter of Thrush

I recently turned 65. Such a milestone age should have been reason enough for some grand celebration but sadly, it didn't turn out that way. For the simple reason that I got sick. Somehow my digestive organs picked this day to stage a revolt against my internal constitution. And made me an unwilling participant in the occupy the bathroom movement. Repeatedly. For several days.


By Saturday, October 29th, things were all quiet on the digestive front. Everything seemed as normal as can be. Time to go birding. Inasmuch as I was still leery about my health, I thought it prudent to just go to nearby University of the Philippines' campus.


As I was parking our car at the MSI (Marine Science Institute) grounds, I was thinking aloud whether the annual visitor, the Blue Rock Thrush, would already be there. 


"What's that bird on the ground?" Cynthia asked.


I looked. 


"Blue Rock Thrush", I replied in the calmest, most insouciant way.


Unfortunately, it flew away even before I could get my camera gears out of the trunk. Hoping that it would return in the not too distant future, I whiled away my time by photographing the antics of a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker.

"Do you think the Thrush would come back?" my wife was curious.


"I trust it would"


"What's that bird perched on the palm tree?"


"Blue Rock Thrush", I replied in the calmest, most insouciant way.


Unfortunately, it flew away before I could focus on it.


This time a Pied Triller provided me the much appreciated entertainment as we waited for the Thrush to reappear. 

Cynthia, on the other hand, was losing in the game of hide-and-seek with a Yellow Wagtail. Several attempts at locating it turned out futile. Soon she gave up and as she approached the tall acacia tree, she started to ask,  


"What bird....."


"Blue Rock Thrush!" I excitedly interrupted her. And began taking pictures of the bird lest it decide to take a leave once again. Thankfully, it didn't. It was one of those what my wife aptly termed "modeling sessions" where our subject just stood there - facing left, facing right, turning around, moving to an area with a different background, etc.

Having had our fill of the Blue Rock Thrush, I thought I'd push our luck and go for the Philippine Hanging Parrot that hangs out in a nearby gated community. Having obtained our permission from friend Jv Noriega (who lives in that subdivision), we sought the tiny green bird. And found nothing. Unfortunately, some men were clearing the tall grass nearby which probably spooked our target bird.


As in any birding trip, we had some good sightings and there were disappointments. One thing that came out from my sick days was that I had time to reflect on many things. Turning 65 and being under the weather put me in a cogitative state. I resolved that at this age, I need to enjoy life even more. I will not allow disappointments, envy, and other petty stuff to ruin my day. I am blessed with a wife who loves me and shares the same passion I have for birding. Simply being with her as we look at the beautiful feathered creatures, whether common or a lifer, is something that I treasure with all my heart.


Postscript: As I write this, I have once again fallen ill, albeit not as insufferable as the one I had a week ago. Still it cost us a trip to Los Banos. The way my body is behaving right now could affect future birding trips. But I put my health and my life in the hands of God. I know He will be there for me. It's a matter of faith and trust in Him.

MMM, Good!

Back in the 1930s, Campbell's first came into the market with their Chicken Noodle Soup. Since then it had become the proverbial "comfort food" for people who were not feeling well or those who were suffering from dour moods. Their slogan was "Mmm mm good!"


Dour moods were what we were beginning to have on that hot and humid Tuesday morning. Despite the precise instructions from Maia, Jops and Adri, we still could not locate the area where they all saw the Ashy Ground Thrush. I have already mentioned in my earlier blog how I was a complete dud when it comes to finding directions. Left to myself, even with the aid of the most accurate map, I would still be lost. The purple ribbon that Jops tied to a tree as a "signpost" I'm sure would benefit any normal birder looking for that thrush. But not to me. No, sir.  Not with where-the-heck-is-east? Bob trying to get a reckoning.


We were getting worried because Cynthia and I had an appointment in Greenhills at 11 am. Considering that we still needed to stop by our home to ditch our camera equipment and get rid of the stink emanating from our sweaty bodies, our time was definitely running out. Fast. 


At times like these, we pray. We had barely said our "amens" when we were greeted by three birding friends and fellow Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) co-members, Mel (Tan), Mai (Yangco) and Mark Jason (Villa). We were pouring out our grief and sorrow at not having seen any of the birds we were hoping to see, when Mai exclaimed, "There it is!" What followed was a frenzied chase of the Ashy Ground Thrush which was moving quickly within the dark understory. We all gave a collective gasp when an alley cat came running in and gave our prized bird a predatory chase. Thankfully it was able to fly away from the feline danger. After a frantic search we could not locate the Thrush anymore. Visions of a cat with a bird in its mouth emerging from the bushes haunted our imaginations for a while.


It was then that a family of Mangrove Blue Flycatchers flew noisily by. They even stopped briefly and allowed us some pretty good looks. We moved on when the flycatchers continued with their journey. Rounding the trail, Mai once again pointed to a brown thing probing the wet ground with its beak. We inched closer. When it moved, we moved. We stopped when it stopped. And took pictures. Sometimes the Thrush would pause just a couple of meters away, eyeing us as we were all eyeing it. As I paused between the Ashy Ground Thrush's poses, Mel pointed to a group of Grey-backed Tailorbirds who announced their presence by their seemingly incessant twittering. Even if I wasn't able to photograph these tiny birds, it was still a thrill to finally see them. What with my frustrations  over them just last month.

In a span of maybe an hour, the trio of Ms were able to help us tick off three more lifers. Mel, Mai and Mark, you guys have been our Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup that morning. The comfort food for our gloomy demeanor. MMM, Good!


As a bonus, after we have bade our three friends goodbye, Cynthia and I saw, on our way out, a White-eared Brown Dove perched at eye level less than 8 meters away!

Pure Genius and a Stroke of Luck

Ask any brainiac and he will explain to you in so many discombobulating words that "genius" and "luck" never go together. "You make your own luck", the smart ones preach to us less mentally endowned people.


However, those two words applied to me this morning, albeit in some bizarre, unexplainable way. The presence of a rare bird at the campus of the University of the Philippines in Diliman enkindled a certain amount of restlessness among the local bird photographers. Being one of them, I was there bright and early Friday morning. Apparently this gem of a bird inhabits a small patch of green where the local workers reside. As I stood outside gazing at the branches of the trees within the compound, the residents realized I was after the bird that "some people photographed yesterday." Graciously they allowed me into their inner sanctum, so to speak. When my target bird alit on a branch at eye level, I began clicking my camera's shutter button. During a pause in my shooting, one of the men watching me couldn't contain himself and asked me what kind of bird is it that draws photographers to their place.


"Ferruginous flycatcher", I told him.


"Pure genius plykatser?", he repeated. I smiled and explained to him that this bird flew all the way from northern Asia to escape the cold winter there. I told him that this kind of flycatcher doesn't normally end up in an urban area such as this place, that's why we bird photographers were so excited to see it.

It wasn't long when I was joined by Gabs, Doc Mando and Doc Chito. We all had our fill in photographing this lovely migrant from practically all angles and at various distances. At about 10 am, we all called it a day, inasmuch as my three companions still have to report to their respective offices.


As I drove in into our subdivision in St. Ignatius, I took a road that I normally don't take. Towards the end of Woodside Street, a taxi was loading passengers and thus blocked my way. I had no choice but to park by the roadside to wait until the taxi moved on. It was then that I saw a relatively big, brown bird fly down on a tiny strip of lawn about 15 feet away from me. Looking closer, my heart skipped as I realized that this was a female Blue Rock Thrush! - a bird that I never seen much less photographed before. I immediately grabbed my smaller camera gear (300mm) and fired away. First, the thrush was close enough for a smaller lens. Secondly, it would take some time for me to assemble my big lens plus tripod, to which the bird could have already flown away before I'm done, and there wasn't much space to put it in anyway.

Now, let me just tell you that I normally don't bring both my 500mm and 300mm when I'm birding without my wife (she usually handles the smaller lens). Why I did so today was beyond me. Call it luck. Call it whatever. I'm just glad I did.




Update: I went back to that place along Woodside St. in the afternoon, but the female Blue Rock Thrush was no longer there.

Say aaahhh!

I have not been birding for quite a while. My son, Kurt, is here visiting from the United States. Since this is the first time in 23 years that he will be seeing the country where he was born, I've been busy showing him around. And as any self-respecting birder knows, the longer you don't go birding, the stronger the itch becomes.


When fellow bird photographer, Bong, informed me that he and another colleague, Ely, will be at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman on Tuesday morning, I got excited. It so happened that I had a couple of hours to spare that morning before I return to my paternal duties, so off I went.


My first destination was the area in front of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) building. This is the haunt of the Blue Rock Thrush. And sure enough, as soon as I had my gears ready, it  flew to its favorite acacia tree. It wasn't long when Ely arrived and joined me. We both discovered that Blue Rock Thrushes (or at least this one that we're looking at) also eat fruits! It would swallow whole the red berry-like fruit of a palm tree and after a few moments regurgitate the seeds out. Very interesting since I thought all along that these species are insectivores.

The Blue Rock Thrush saying "aaahhh"

Ely and I were photographing the thrush's antics when he got a call from Bong. Bong informed us that he saw the now famous juvenile Philippine Serpent Eagle near the Vargas Museum not far from where Ely and I were.


Perched on a tree not far from the museum building, indeed, was the Serpent Eagle. Unmindful of the three birdnuts (which were later augmented by some curious students) taking its picture from different angles, the raptor just stayed there seemingly to the point of utter ennui.

Philippine Serpent Eagle saying "aaahhh"

Two hours went swiftly by and I bade my comrades adieu. I was smiling as I drove home, thinking, what do you say when your itch had been scratched? You say, "aaahhh!"

Blohengrin

Allow me to go a little Wagnerian this time (unfortunately I can't put opera music to go with this blog. Which is good since "Here comes the bride" is somehow quite inappropriate with my story). Anyway, here goes....


Mist swirled at our feet as we approached the grove of trees. The faint murmur of human voices floated in the dawning morn. Squinting, we could barely perceive the shape of an armed man standing viligilantly. But the voices we heard were that of more than one person. Slowly, silently we drew near, all the while tightly gripping our weapons. Daylight broke through the leaves and revealed the sources of the mutterings. Standing as if on guard was Alain, while resting on the side were Maia and Jops. Friends. People of the same mind and purpose, we heartily greeted them. It wasn't long when to our gladness came also Bong and the two Jun Os (Osano and Obilde).


Pleasantries were shared all around. The excitement was quite palpable. I asked my partner, Gabs, to come with me and wander to yonder grounds where our quest had been recently observed. Jops and Maia tagged along since this would be the first time, if ever, that they would encounter this creature. We all tarried in rapt anticipation until Jops in wild jubilation pointed at the tree before us and uttered the name of the reason for our being here: Blue Rock Thrush!


Sighs of relief and admiration mingled with the sound of shutters clicking as the rest of the group joined us in capturing the image of this lovely bird. Moments flew quickly and I realized I must take leave. Spousal duties I must fulfill thus I bade adieu to my enchanted colleagues begging them to notify me if and when the other mythical winged being should materialize before their very eyes.


Hours passed as I looked at the images of the blue thrush that I had taken and pondered whether those whom I left behind have been blessed with luck and sighted the other, more intriguing, avian visitor of that mystic place. It was then that I saw a post in the book of faces that Jun Osano had seen green. Hastily I communicated with my partner Gabs who confirmed that it was so.


In a flash, I was at the grove of trees where Bong remained waiting for my arrival and to assure me that the bird I came rushing for was still there. It was just him and Mark, another questor, that remained on guard. As I came barging in both of them lifted their heads and pointed to the branch of a fruiting tree swaying gayfully in the wind. "Pink-necked Green Pigeon" they uttered almost reverently. Satisfied that he had done his duty, Bong departed from the scene. It wasn't long when pangs of hunger stirred within me.  I looked at Mark who vowed to stay so that late arriving kindred spirits may be led to the virescent bird resting amid the verdant leaves and red berries. I left in profound silence.


Later that day as I reminisced of what transpired that morning, I smiled. If I were to describe those fortuitous events in three words, it would be "Blue and Green".