Going U.P.

Friday night and Cynthia and I still haven't talked about any plans on where to go birding on Saturday. Early Saturday morning as I was preparing coffee to go along with our breakfast which I'm quite certain will be not in our condo, my wife looked at me in the eye. 

"Any suggestions on where to go birding?" I asked her.

"I was thinking U.P.", she replied.

It's just so amazing that we think alike because that was what exactly I had in mind as well.

So off to U.P. we went but, as we also both agreed, we had to pass by the Green Meadow/Temple Drive area to start off our birding. Our first stop was at the waterway next to a subdivision along Green Meadows Avenue. Recently a small store was set up beside it which prevented the local Little Egret from visiting the area. However that morning, the store had not been opened yet and when I looked at the waterway, behold! not just one but five Little Egrets were frolicking there!

 

That was a good start to our birding morning! From there we proceeded to the parking area of the Christ the King Parish church. We saw a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker perched high on a bare tree. Lighting was so bad that I only got a so-so photo.

 

Unfortunately, that was the only bird we saw, other than the resident Zebra Dove.

 

Our next stop was along Giraffe Road where a flock of Crested Mynas were on the electric wires.

 

From a distance was a Long-tailed Shrike basking in the morning sun.

 

Also along Giraffe Road a Collared Kingfisher was also perched on a bare tree.

 

At Temple Drive at the usual spot we were glad to see a flock of Chestnut Munias feeding on the grass stalks. Surprisingly a few Scale-breasted Munias were with them.

 

 

The pond at the Hardin ng Rosas was filled with vegetation so not a single bird was there. On the way out we saw the local Zebra Dove. 

 

Not far from it we saw a migrant Grey-streaked Flycatcher.

 

As we entered the grounds of U.P. a flock of Eastern Cattle Egrets landed just beside the road.

 

We parked at the MSI area where we intend to have our take out breakfast from Rodics. But before we were able to do that, Cynthia heard the call of an Olive-backed Sunbird. We easily found it as it fed on some flowers at eye level.

 

At the Astronomy area the Long-tailed Shrike was nowhere to be seen. Instead the bully Brown Shrike was there albeit quite far.

 

An unexpected sighting in this place was a Striated Grassbird.

 

Not seeing any more species in the U.P. Campus, we both agreed to go the Marikina River. We were surprised to see an immature Barn Swallow perched on a wire just a few feet below us.

 

Of course, the main reason why we went to this place was to once again practice our BIF (bird in flight) shots of the Whiskered Terns.

 

Another surprise was when a Striated Heron flew to the other side of the river. It was so sudden and unexpected that I only got a documentary shot.

 

As Cynthia would say, "we already got our quota" so we both agreed to call it a day.

Sadder but Weisser

Our friend and neighbor, Chin Fernandez, PMed me in Facebook asking for directions to the Candaba Wetlands. I replied saying that if he plans to go on Friday, the 26th, I'll go with him. He said yes and so we did. My wife decided to stay at home this time.

The very first bird that we were able to photograph was a Barn Swallow doing its early morning grooming.

Other than that most of the birds (ducks, herons and egrets) were so far off that it was difficult to take pictures of them. Every so often a flock would fly and circle around the area. That was when Chin and I were able to practice our BIF (birds in flight) techniques. Black-crowned Night Herons were aplenty.

Surprisingly, a flock of about 15 Northern Pintails participated in the flight displays.

Of course, what would Candaba be without the endemic Philippine Ducks.

The Ardeids were more individualized in their flights. Such as this Purple Heron.

The Intermediate Egret..

..and the Little Egret.

What made our day was when fellow Wild Bird Club member Randy Weisser informed us that there were four (!) Eurasian Wigeons - one male and three females - in the pond near the entrance to the wetlands. Actually, he and his family were birding in that area while Chin and I were closer to the Mayor's House patiently monitoring a pair of Purple Swamphens gather nesting materials. 

I was surprised when I saw their van coming towards us. "I thought they already left," I told Chin. The van stopped next to me. Maria, Randy's wife, showed me a Kennedy Guide opened to the page showing the ducks. "If you want to see the Eurasian Wigeons, I'll show them to you," she said, pointing to the illustration of that particular species. I quickly informed Chin of the good news. We boarded his SUV and followed the Weissers. Randy was sitting on a stool peering through his spotting scope when we arrived. He pointed at the flotilla of ducks on the farthest pond. "They're there." he assured us. After some serious scanning using my long lens, I found them! Chin had to look through Randy's spotting scope to check the exact spot where the rare migrants were.

Having done their good deed for the day, the Weissers continued on their birding around the wetlands. We thanked them profusely as we enjoyed our bird of the day.

Everything was sort of anti-climactic after that. We were on the way out and I was lamenting the fact that we had not seen waders at all. "Where are the Sandpipers, Plovers, Stints and Stilts?" It was more a sad statement than a question. Then as serendipity would have it, a small group of Little Ringed Plovers and a single Wood Sandpiper paraded on the fallow fields to our right.

For us it was just a so-so day except for the uncommon Eurasian Wigeon. Who would have thought that there would be 4 of them in Candaba. It would have been a sad day of birding for us had it not been for the Weisser family. We sincerely express our gratitude to them for that.

Simply IRRIsistible

As irresistible as a cold drink on a hot muggy day - that's how the fields at IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) are to birders at the onset of autumn migration. 

Inasmuch as IRRI is a research facility, access to its premises is strictly regulated. It was through the courtesy of Prof. Tirso Paris whose wife Thelma, works there that all four carloads of bird watchers/photographers were able to get in at that place early Saturday morning.

Thus began several hours of birding that padded our car-mates Peter and Irene's lifelists. 

Indeed the paddyfields were teeming with migrants galore! I have never seen so many Wood Sandpipers before. 

I was surprised and was even able to get a photograph of a lone Intermediate Egret.

And who could resist that cute, fluffy Cisticola that went zitting as it was sitting on top of a pole.

While the Cisticolas we were trying to follow, we noticed another bird on a stick - it was a lovely Barn Swallow.

How could you not write an ode to that Oriental Skylark insouciantly basking on the road?

After passing a corner and we made a turn, out in the open was an immature Cinnamon Bittern.

The stars of IRRI were of course the Greater Painted Snipes clothed in those quaint stripes, sometimes difficult to see with the naked eye for they so much resemble an icky, nasty cow pie.

Another surprise was a Swinhoe's Snipe, a skulking bird that always poses a challenge as to what type. Pintail, Common and Swinhoe's all look so much the same that makes identifying them quite a game. The reason I was certain of this snipe's name was because of Prof. Tirso's photo that showed in such great detail the tiny white feathers at the edge of the tail.

Even good times must come to an end. We bade goodbye to our friends - the birders (Doc Cha, Ruth and Chee-ann) were to meet other colleagues at the Botanic Garden.

The bird photographers (Steve and Paolo) decided to go home so they could see the results of their endeavors.

For us (me, my wife, Peter and Irene) and our host, Tirso, more irresistible goodies awaited ....and they were not just birds....

Return to Dumaguete, Day 2 - Van for the Road

While we were having breakfast at the hotel restaurant, we were keeping an eye at the tall bare tree next to the hotel grounds. Birds would come, alight on a branch, stay there for a while then fly off.  This happened in such regularity that I could not stand it any longer. I hurried back to our room, grabbed my camera and resumed my breakfast. Only to leave it every now and then to go outside and tried to take pictures of those birds whenever they stopped by (that's right - tried - because they were so small and so high up the tree). All in all my morning repast had been interrupted by Chestnut Munias, a Grey-streaked Flycatcher and (insert fanfare here) Java Sparrows! You read it right - Java Sparrows! I found it interesting, even bordering on funny, to find this species for the first time in the Philippines, here in Dumaguete, right next to a hotel.

After breakfast, Cynthia and I decided to explore the Ang Tay Golf Course grounds across the street from our hotel. We dared not explore the whole area inasmuch as we came in via the back entrance, so to speak. Nevertheless we did find some birds - most of which were perched high up, I mean way high up the only tall tree in the vicinity. With only my 300mm lens at my disposal, photographing these birds can be quite frustrating! Once again Chestnut Munias were there, along with Asian Glossy Starlings, a Collared Kingfisher and Zebra Doves. At least the Barn Swallows gave better opportunities by perching on the electric wires. 

Nine in the morning and we were in a quandary as to what to do next. Cynthia sought the assistance of the hotel concierge in renting a van. One hour later and we were on our way to Tanjay, a coastal town with lots of ponds along the highway. Just like yesterday, we informed our driver, Danny, that we would every so often ask him to stop so we could take pictures of birds along the way. And stop we did on numerous occasions. Shorebirds were simply all over the place - Common Greenshanks, Javan Pond Herons and Whiskered Terns. 

Common Greenshank

Javan Pond Heron

Whiskered Tern

The Sandpiper family was well represented with Wood, Marsh and Common species. 

Wood Sandpiper

Marsh Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

We were even rewarded with a lifer! A lone Malaysian Plover was forlornly roaming the mudflats.

We were back at the hotel around noon. It was a satisfying couple of hours birding.