Baras Birds

When we learned that the travel restrictions (especially for seniors like us) had been eased, Cynthia and I both agreed to go birding to a place other than U.P. Diliman. Since I have seen bird photos taken in Baras, Rizal posted on Facebook recently, I thought that that would be a nice place to visit.

November 7, Saturday, we made a quick stop at McDonalds for some take out breakfast then proceeded to our destination while it was still dark. We arrived at Baras around half past six. We told the guard that we will be doing some birdwatching inside the estate and he let us in. At the rotunda we met fellow birder and old friend Linda Gocon, who was guiding some friends. She pointed to the top of the trees and told us that a Rough-crested Malkoha and a Philippine Hanging Parrot were there. Indeed, they were. Now please allow me to give some excuses for our "documentary" (a term used by bird photographers to justify their crappy photos) shots. First, the trees where they were perched were very tall and both species were at the apex. Second, the skies were dark and grey. 

A little farther down the road was a bare tree. Perched on it was a small flock of Ashy Minivets. Again, the skies were still gloomy and not providing sufficient light for good pictures.

Moving on, I saw a couple of Barred Rails (an adult and a juvenile) by the roadside. There was now a glimmer of sunlight and I finally got a better bird photo.

There were quite a number of Brown Shrikes and my wife got a good shot at one of them.

Even more plentiful were the Paddyfield Pipits. Some were even on the road and not at the usual grassy areas we often see them.

As we were negotiating one of the turns, we spotted a bird flying very low. I thought it was an Oriental Pratincole while Cynthia assumed it was some raptor. The bird finally landed not far from us and settled down and started dozing off. My heart leapt when I realized that it was a Savanna Nightjar! A lifer for us!

Thrilled by our luck, we heard the unmistakable trilling of a Striated Grassbird. We headed to where the song was coming from only to see our target bird jump inside a clump of grass and "poof!" it completely vanished like a rabbit in a magician's hat. 

I was feeling a bit frustrated at not being able to get a photo of the grassbird, when I saw a flash of yellow land on a tree across from us. It was a Black-naped Oriole feasting on an unfortunate caterpillar.

As we were negotiating the roads, we bumped into a young birder, Janina Castro, who told us that they (she was with her family) had seen a Balicassiao. Unfortunately, we failed to see that species.

We moved on and this time we focused (pun intended) our attention at the numerous Eastern Cattle Egrets in the area.

At one point as we continued driving around, Cynthia yelled "Stop!" I did and she pointed at the White-throated Kingfisher perched on branch just ahead of us. Unlike some of its kind which were very skittish, this one was so cooperative and posed for us until we had our fill.

Next, we turned our attention at the Grey Wagtails. There were quite a number of them and we finally found one that stayed long enough across from us.

Near the creek my wife got a great shot at a Zebra Dove.

We chanced upon a fruiting aratiles tree and there a Red-keeled Flowerpecker was enjoying the berries.

Now it was time to turn our attention to the Pied Bush Chats - both male and female.

Around 10:30 we agreed to call it a day. As we were about to exit, a flock of Lowland White-eyes were frolicking in a tree.

And to end our birding day, I took an obligatory shot at the very common Yellow-vented Bulbul.

It was a productive morning for us unlike the last time we went to this place (back in January 2017) when we only saw less than 10 species. This time we saw more than 20 species of Baras birds and got photos of most of them. But none of those stinking Grassbirds.

Minus Mynas

Spending Saturday mornings birding at U.P. Diliman had become sort of a routine for us. With the ongoing quarantine, that is the only place where we seniors are allowed to go to.

As we headed to our first stop, I saw a pair of Crested Mynas on the ground. I parked the car, took out our gear (which was still packed in their respective bags) only to find out that the black birds had flown away. From there we proceeded to our regular first stop - the bare tree along the road. There some Black-naped Orioles were calling to each other.

A pair of Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers were busily looking for food.

Other than those two species, there were no other birds at the tree. Across from it though was a Collared Kingfisher perched on an electric wire.

From there we went to the MSI grounds. There we were greeted by a family of Philippine Magpie-Robins frolicking on the trees.

Then a Pied Triller showed up with food in mouth even.

A female Olive-backed Sunbird surprisingly was on a branch and not on the flowering shrubs.

At the Astrodome, we couldn't believe that the Long-tailed Shrike and the Zebra Dove were not at their usual hangouts. Thankfully, the Scaly-breasted Munias were there, although a bit farther than usual.

A Brown Shrike was way up on top of a tree basking in the morning sun.

As we were about to get in our car, I saw the Long-tailed Shrike.

We were already driving off when a Zebra Dove flew from the ground and perched on a fence. At last we got its photo taken while we were inside our car.

It was another fruitful birding day at U.P. Diliman. We got most of the birds we expected to photograph, minus the Mynas.

Pleasant Surprise

It had been more than 4 months since we had done any serious birding. The reason for that was the current Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the restrictions had been eased up a bit, my wife and I thought that perhaps it would now be possible to go birding. Saturday morning we went to the campus of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. As we approached the entrance we noticed some barriers blocking access to the Oval road. Thankfully, there was another road going in that was accessible. Sadness crept in when we discovered that entry to the usual places we go to were also prohibited. As we coursed through one of the main thoroughfares, we noticed some birds perched on a bare tree. I quickly parked the car on the side of the road and unpacked our gear. 

"Orioles!" Cynthia was shouting as she pointed to a group of this black and yellow birds.

It turned out that a family of Black-naped Orioles were basking in the morning sun. It was totally unexpected to see this species out in the open.

Sharing the same bare tree was a pair of Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers. They were quite high up the tree and were very active that I only got a "so-so" shot.

Soon a female Pied Triller joined the group.

And then a Philippine Pied Fantail also dropped by.

Of course the ubiquitous Yellow-vented Bulbuls were there too.

A black bird flew by and landed on top of an electric post. We added the Crested Myna to our list that morning.

As I was about to get back to where I parked the car, I noticed a black-and-white bird perched on a branch. "Philippine Magpie Robin!" I exclaimed and waved at my wife for her to see this totally unexpected species.

After the Orioles left the bare tree, some Golden-bellied Gerygones came by.

We decided to move on but before we did, I had to take the obligatory shot of the very common Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

At the MSI parking lot, we heard the constant "pok-pok" call of the Coppersmith Barbet. I was telling Cynthia that this bird always lets its presence known by its constant calling but almost never shows up in the open, when "surprise, surprise!" it landed on a branch and was very visible for photography!

From there we went to the place where we have always seen the Long-tailed Shrike. And it did not disappoint!

From a distance we saw a pair of Collared Kingfishers calling out.

As we were leaving the realm of the Long-tailed Shrike,  we saw a Striated Grassbird fly across. I stopped the car hoping to get a shot of that species but it disappeared like a magician's rabbit. To compensate for that, a flock of Scaly-breasted Munias came feeding on the grass stalks.

On the way out we encountered our last species for the day, the Zebra Dove.

To be able to see and photograph 13 species of birds in about 2 hours was a pleasant surprise considering we saw some that we never expected. Also our worries of not being able to get in the premises of U.P. were unfounded - the security guards, whom we feared would accost us because of the GCQ ruling, were actually very friendly and some even waved at us. Now that was another pleasant surprise!

Chin Up

We still don't have a good picture of the Black-chinned Fruit Dove. Recently, there had been a spate of photos of this species in Facebook. Nice open shots even! So my wife and I visited La Mesa Ecopark early Saturday morning hoping to get a good shot ourselves.

There were already a group of bird photographers in the area. We introduced ourselves and while we were talking shop, the Black-chinned Fruit Dove showed up and began feeding on the red fruits of the MacArthur palm. Not even 30 minutes had passed and we already got our target bird.

After the dove left, one of our fellow photographers saw something not far from where we were. We all hurried next to him and he pointed to another surprise - a Spotted Wood Kingfisher was perched about a couple of meters away...and at eye level!

As if that wasn't enough, the other star bird of Ecopark, the White's Thrush, was seen by another bird photographer. We were all excited as we tried to get a better view of this uncommon migrant.

We told our new friends that we already met our "quota" and that was it for us. On the way out we took some obligatory shots of the Brown Shrike and Yellow-vented Bulbul.

A pair of noisy Black-naped Orioles was our grand finale.

That was one of the most productive and satisfying one-hour birding we had experienced. 

Show us no Pitta

For more than two hours we waited. Two hours of being drenched in sweat and enduring the humidity of a summer. We were at the Mini Forest of the La Mesa Ecopark for a particular purpose: to  photograph the Hooded Pitta and the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher. We sadly dipped on both.

But please show us no pity.  The morning was not a total disaster. For one thing a Black-naped Oriole - a species that prefers to stay high among the branches of tall trees - came out in the open and posed for us for a few minutes.

Then a pair of Lowland White-eyes cavorted just above us.

An overstaying(?) Brown Shrike was still hanging around perhaps aware that it was still quite cold in its home in northern Asia.

A surprise was a Philippine Bulbul which have not been seen much in this area.

Also the morning was about people. As we were about to get into the mini forest we met a young guy. He was a campus missionary from our church (Victory Christian Fellowship) in Novaliches. They will be holding a youth ministry at the Ecopark he told us.

While waiting for the Pitta we met an old friend, and fellow birder, Jenny de Villa. We spent some time together catching up and sharing our birding experiences.

Finally, as we were already driving on our way out, I saw a guy dressed in camp and holding a camera with long lens. "Bird photographer!", I told my wife. I waved at him and parked the car. He came over and introduced himself and we did likewise. We just added a "lifer" to our birding friend list - Rey Ibay.