A Rose by any name..

Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri). This species is also known as Ring-necked Parakeet (which is more appropriate, if I may say so). A feral population of these large parrots had established themselves within the "Libingan ng mga Bayani" (Heroes Cemetery). Although not a lifer for us (we've seen them in Hawaii where they were introduced decades ago), we thought it would be nice to add this species to our Philippine list.

Since we were assured by friends who had been there that these birds are a sure find at the Libingan, we took our time getting there last February of this year. As in we got there at 10:30 am! And that, dear friends, was a big mistake. For two hours we waited, wandered, wondered and totally wasted our time. Life definitely was not a bed of Roses...or should I say Rose-ringed Parakeets...that miserable mid-morning.

About five months later, lo-and-behold, our friend Bim Quemado posted some photos of the parakeets in Facebook! And, of course, they were taken at the LNMB! I quickly PMed Bim and asked for the precise time and location that such gorgeous images were taken. "About 200 meters from the pond at 8 am" was our friends' quick response. Isn't social media just awesome?

The following day, being a Saturday, we were at the exact place Bim mentioned. At 6:30 am. Suffice it to say that Roses seemed to bloom everywhere! Their joyful songs filled the morning air. My only regret was that I did not bring my tripod along, thus not being able to get bird-in-flight (BIF) shots. And therefore getting some blurry and/or dark images. Nonetheless, we did get some good shots.