It's Back

The news is that the Philippine Hawk Cuckoo is back at the "Frogs" area in the University of the Philippines' campus in Diliman. There were even postings of its photograph in Facebook. However, during our visits to the place the past couple of months, Cynthia and I never had the luck to see this bird. We did try to look for it but dipped each and every time.

Thursday, February 25 was a holiday (which means there will be relatively less traffic - a good enough incentive to go birding). My wife and I made a quick decision after breakfast to make another attempt at finding the cuckoo - you know, the feathered kind. We invited new friend and new birder, Jo Lapuz to meet up with us at the MSI parking lot. There we also met old buddy, Bong and his wife, Eve. 

As we staked out the place where our target bird supposedly frequently visits, we were joined by Nes Santiago. Later on Sean Melendres, Ben Go, and Jonas Liwag also dropped by.

A little before 9 am, my wife's sharp eyes saw the cuckoo. Unfortunately, it did not stay long enough for us to get good photos. After about an hour I saw the Philippine Hawk Cuckoo alight on the very same tree where we spotted it earlier. This time it was more cooperative. Let me qualify that: yes, it stayed for quite a while for us to get good shots, however, all that time it only showed us its back.