Start U.P.

Cynthia and I decided to start our birding year at U.P. Diliman. Start U.P. - that brought to mind a Korean drama that I watched recently (and was actually very popular). So I sort of played around with the idea of my wife and I posing as the lead characters of that drama. So here is Seo Dal Mi and Nam Do San in their 70s.

Now back to birding. On the way to U.P.  we decided to pass by Temple Drive because we've seen a number of birds just a week ago when we passed by this road. True enough, the bare trees hosted some avian visitors. There was a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker and a Coppersmith Barbet. 

A pair of Black-naped Orioles was a surprise.

Another surprise was a huge flock of Scaly-breasted Munias feeding on the grass right beside the road.

From there we went to the Hardin ng Rosas. By the roadside was a nonchalant Zebra Dove.

At the pond, there were even more Black-winged Stilts than the last time we were here.

Even the Common Moorhens were out and about.

Perched on the electric wires behind us a group of White-breasted Woodswallows were basking in the morning sun. It had been a while since we last saw this species and I was so happy to be able to get good photos of them.

From Hardin our next stop was at Rodic's to enjoy the best tapsilog in town. Happy with a very delicious breakfast, we then proceeded to the front of the MSI building. A Brown Shrike was right in front of the parking lot.

After some waiting we were able to get shots at the pair of Olive-backed Sunbirds.

Next stop was by the Astronomy building for the Long-tailed Shrike. Of course, it was there, as if waiting for us.

What we didn't expect was a very friendly Pied Triller who even flew close to us.

At past ten and with the sweltering heat, we ended our first birding trip of the year. We are hoping that 2021 would be a better year and that this was just the start of something good.

Post Christmas Birding

The day after Christmas - the sun was shining brightly and traffic was surprisingly light - a perfect day to go birding. Our choice destination was nearby U.P. Diliman. On the way, we decided to pass by the "canal" at the White Plains road for a possible Little Egret and maybe, who knows, a Common Kingfisher. Unfortunately, both species were nowhere in sight.  We moved on and along White Plains road, we saw a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker perched on the branch of a bare tree. It was a bit too high and the early morning sun was shining brightly at it thus resulting in only a "documentary" shot.

Below that tree, perched on an electric wire, was a Pied Triller! 

We've passed this road so many times before but it was only this day that we saw these birds here. There were even some Crested Mynas but they didn't stay long enough to be photographed. Also a Long-tailed Shrike showed up (another first in this place) but it was far and backlit. Anyway I'm certain we would get better photos of this species in U.P.

At the Hardin ng Rosas, we also were thrilled to see quite a number of species at the pond. First was a White-throated Kingfisher.

Black-winged Stilts - there were five of them - were already foraging the shallow waters.

A Common Moorhen was out in the open.

Another surprise was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron standing by the waters.

While waiting for the White-breasted Waterhen to come out from behind the Night Heron, I took an obligatory shot of the Yellow-vented Bulbul.

Finally the Waterhen, an immature, came in full view.

As we were leaving the Hardin, a Zebra Dove came right beside our car.

At the campus, we first had breakfast at Rodic's to enjoy the best Tapsilog there is. After enjoying our meal, we proceeded to the Astronomy Department Building where we are sure to find the Long-tailed Shrike. And of course, it was there.

Behind the place was a small patch of "talahib" where Scaly-breasted Munias feed. They were a bit skittish perhaps due to the frequent passing of joggers and bikers. We waited patiently and after a while the flock came close enough for us to get good shots.

There weren't many birds at the usual birding spots in the campus so we both agreed to call it a day. On the way out, I spotted a Brown Shrike at the open field behind the oval.

A short stopover at the subdivision where we used to live only yielded another Brown Shrike.

We went to the White Plains canal again hoping our target birds would be there but still no luck. A Grey Wagtail was there but didn't stay long enough for us to get a photo. On the other hand, a Philippine Pied Fantail was more obliging.

It wasn't bad for a post-Christmas birding especially because of the number of species we saw particularly at the Hardin.

The Coast of Living

The LPPCHEA (Las Pinas Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area) is one of the few birding areas in MetroManila. There, the presence of shorebirds despite the trashy coastline, is just incredible. 

It was a beautiful sunny morning when we got there Thursday. Right off the bat we got really good photos of the Striated Heron - a species we haven't seen for quite some time. This was so obliging that I got close enough shots.

Not too far from where it was, a Common Kingfisher was being bullied by its bigger cousin, the Collared Kingfisher. My photo, therefore, was taken from a distance.

As we walked along the debris-filled coast, we saw some Black-winged Stilts, a species we didn't see the last time we were here in October last year.

Another species we didn't see last year but quite plentiful now is the Common Greenshank. As a matter of fact they were the most in numbers this time.

Surprisingly, the Common Redshanks were very few.

Of course, Whiskered Terns were always there hunting for fish. It was our favorite BIF (bird in flight) subject.

The egrets were not as many as last time. We only saw the Little Egrets.

It was when we were about to leave that the Common Sandpiper finally showed up.

And, naturally I had to do the obligatory shot of the ubiquitous Brown Shrike.

At the small pond near the entrance to Freedom Island, we saw a commotion. It turned out to be a Yellow Bittern having a territorial dispute with the Striated Heron.

A short drive by the shore gave us open views of the Collared Kingfisher.

At around 10 am we called it a day. Despite the short birding we did, we were glad to have seen a good number of birds living at, and seemingly enjoying, the coast - trash notwithstanding.

Missed Purple Mystery

The last time we saw it was in April, 2011. We've been to Candaba lots of times since then and we never even had a glimpse of it. "Isn't it a bit mysterious that the once very confiding Purple Swamphens were now nowhere to be seen?" I told my wife. Cynthia couldn't agree more. "It's been more than three years and we missed seeing this bird!" she confirmed.

Saturday we were back at the popular birding site in Pampanga, once again hoping that we would see our long lost target species. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the usual denizens of the wetlands were up and about. A male Pied Bush Chat was shaking off the dews from its feathers.

A Clamorous Reed Warbler was living up to its name climbing to the top of the bush loudly announcing its presence.

As we entered via the "back door" to the marshy area, Black-winged Stilts and Sandpipers (Wood and Marsh) were beginning their foraging for breakfast.

Black-winged Stilt

Wood Sandpiper and Marsh Sandpiper

Of course, this time of the year, the migrant Common Kingfisher was a sure sighting here.

Surprisingly, ducks were scarce. Only a few Philippine and Wandering Whistlings were present. Luckily, there was a single (yes, just one), where there used to be hundreds of them, Tufted Duck. I said, luckily, because this was the first time I was able to take a decent photo of this annual visitor.

The hours passed. The absence of the usual migrating species was saddening. There were some Grey and Purple Herons but they preferred to stay at a distance, with one exception.

Purple Heron

It was nearing 10 am and the blue skies were now slowly being covered by grey clouds. We were already on our way out when Cynthia suggested we linger near the junction of the road from the mayor's house. My wife walked a hundred feet or so and stared at the wetlands before her. I was scanning the edges hoping to see a Black Bittern. "Purple Swamphen!" my partner suddenly yelled. "But it flew away already!" I walked over to where she was and she showed me a photo of our hoped for bird, flying indeed. 

"Maybe it will come back," my wife said assuringly. We switched places. I stayed where we were and she went to look for Black Bitterns. Perhaps it was about half an hour when I saw something purplish emerged from the tall vegetation - but only oh so quickly - returning once again in the deep brushes. I managed to take a few quick shots before it completely disappeared from view. 

When I told Cynthia about my fleeting encounter she was happy that finally we both saw the purple bird that we missed seeing since 2011. A soft drizzle signalled that it was time for us to go. It was amazing that it decided to wait until we both have seen our target bird before the rain started to fall.

If it should rain, we'll let it

"It's raining, are we still good to go?" I texted our friend, Bong.

"We're already on our way!" he texted back.

(Actually, even the night before we had already set our minds on going through our plan, weather conditions notwithstanding. If it should rain, we'll let it, because we were in the mood for birding.) 

My wife and I quickly loaded our gear in the car and drove off. Our destination: Candaba. Yes, Candaba, despite the pouring rain. For sure we will just use the concrete road that runs alongside the wetlands. To try the trails towards the interior would be short of suicidal and a guarantee that our vehicles would be stuck in the mucky ground.

Of course, we didn't expect to see a lot of birds. Not in this kind of rainy weather. We found a makeshift shed beside the road so Bong brought his gear there and was able to get a shot of a Common Kingfisher. When we joined him the kingfisher had gone and what was left was a forlorn and very wet Brown Shrike. Out of respect to its situation we did not bother taking its picture. 

Cynthia and I decided to drive ahead with the hope that we might see some rails - Barred and Buff-banded - along the way. Well, not a single rail showed up. In their place were White-breasted Waterhens, plenty of them, and each one as skittish as a mouse in a house full of cats. It's the rain, we rationalized.

However, for some birds, rain wasn't a deterrent and I was able to get a photo of an Intermediate Egret in flight while Cynthia was lucky enough to capture a female Pied Bush Chat.

Intermediate Egret

female Pied Bush Chat

As we continued on, my wife spotted some activity below us. True enough there were a bunch of waders! Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpipers, Long-toed Stints, Marsh Sandpipers and even a Common Greenshank were unmindful of the downpour and were busy foraging in the shallow waters.

Black-winged Stilt

Wood Sandpipers

Long-toed Stint

Marsh Sandpiper

Common Greenshank

On the road, among the scads of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, were a pair of Red Turtledoves also oblivious to the falling rain.

A little after nine in the morning, the rain abated and eventually ceased. That was when the Purple Herons became more active.

I was once again taking shots at the Stilts when Bong called my attention and pointed at something between us. "Long-tailed Shrike!" he informed me. I walked to where he was standing and saw the shrike - which suddenly took off and perched on stick closer to us!

My wife, on the other hand, was photographing something - a dark spot amid the raindrop-covered grass. "Snipe," she said, showing me a sleeping bird. I took a few token shots not really wanting an image of a bird whose long bill was tucked in its wing. But Cynthia was the more persistent type. A few minutes later she showed me a wide awake snipe, its bill very prominently displayed. As had been my lot, it was gone when I returned to where it was last seen by my wife.

At ten, Bong begged off because he had some family matters to attend to. Cynthia and I lingered for a short while, patiently going after those jumpy waterhens that would scamper into the bush as soon as we got to about a kilometer from them. Patience paid off and we finally got a more cooperative one.

That was the signal that we can now go home triumphantly. But first a celebratory lunch at the land of the golden arches awaits us.