Target Acquired

Thankfully LA Mesa Ecopark (LMEP) is now open to seniors over 65 years old. That was good news to us because recently a Common Kingfisher had been seen (and photographed) there. Not that it would be a lifer for us but it had been quite a while since we've seen one.

Saturday morning we purposed to go to LMEP to see the kingfisher of course! But first we birded along the way, beginning at the Greenmeadows Avenue. Our first stop was by the small waterway where a Little Egret is almost always a sure sighting. We were not disappointed.

 

Just above us a Philippine Pied Fantail was frolicking.

 

From there we proceeded to the parking area of the Christ the King Parish church. The first bird we saw was a Brown Shrike.

 

Surprisingly an immature Black-naped Oriole was singing out loud on top of a bare tree.

 

Another bare tree has a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker basking in the rising sun.

 

Of course we had to take the obligatory shot of the resident Zebra Dove.

 

Another surprise was a Spotted Dove.

 

Our next stop was at Rodic's in U.P. Diliman for our breakfast. After our morning repast we went to the Astronomy area and got the Long-tailed Shrike.

 

We made another round and this time it was the Crested Mynas that posed for us.

 

We also got a good enough shot of the migrant Arctic Warbler.

 

Then off to LMEP we went. The guards were so nice and very helpful in getting us through the entrance protocols. By the pond where the Common Kingfisher had been seen, we met fellow bird photographers Nelson and Benjie. They had gotten a shot of the kingfisher early in the morning and they were both waiting for it to show up again. Almost an hour passed and the kingfisher was still a no show. Cynthia and I were both considering to give up when I saw a bluish bird fly by and landed on a bare branch on the pond. We hurried to where we could get a better look at it and after some waiting it perched out in the open. We were surprised that there were actually two of them - an adult and an immature!

Immature

 

 

Adult

 

We were so happy that we finally got what we came here for. Target Acquired!

Birding Taytay

There had been several postings in Facebook recently of birds seen in Taytay. That, of course, piqued our curiosity. Thanks to our birder friend, Linda Gocon, who gave us precise directions on how to get to the birding place, my wife and I went early Saturday morning.

We were surprised that on a small patch of wetland just beside the road were a number of birds! The first species that we saw were a bunch of Crested Mynas frolicking on the muddy area.

 

There was also a small flock of Little Egrets and a single Intermediate Egret feeding on the wetland.

 

Then we noticed small brown birds moving about. Upon closer look, we were surprised to see Wood Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers and a bunch of Little Ringed Plovers.

Wood Sandpiper

 

Common Sandpiper

Little Ringed Plover

 

There were also a few Black-winged Stilts.

 

Cynthia even got a shot of an immature White-browed Crake.

 

At around 8 am, someone came and waded through the said wetland, spooking all the birds there. And that ended our short birding trip in Taytay.

U.P. for Breakfast

To be honest, the reason I told my wife that we're going birding at U.P. Diliman, was because I wanted to have breakfast at Rodic's to enjoy the best Tapsilog there is. But before reaching our destination, we decided to stop over at the Hardin ng Rosas. We were surprised to discover that the pond was almost completely covered by vegetation! The Black-winged Stilts were gone and we didn't see any Moorhens also. Thankfully there were two immature Black-crowned Night Herons there.

 

We arrived at Rodic's just as they were opening. Inasmuch as they don't allow on-site dining yet, Cynthia and I both agreed to savor our breakfast at the parking lot of the MSI Building. Unfortunately, there were a few birds there and we noticed the Security Guard cordoning off some parts in the area. After breakfast off we went to the Astronomy place. The resident Long-tailed Shrike was there of course! I think there were two individuals even.

 

Behind the fence, three Collared Kingfishers were at their usual perch.

 

There were also a couple of Crested Mynas on the roof of the building.

 

As we were leaving and passing by the Genome building, we saw some Orioles frolicking about. I quickly parked the car and we were so excited  photographing a family of Black-naped Orioles at such a low level!

 

Other than these species, there weren't that many birds which was fine with us. After all we went to U.P. just for the Tapsilog at Rodic's.

Impromptu Birding

Me: Remember the overstaying Brown Shrike we saw in U.P.  early this month but we didn't have a camera then?

Cynthia: Yes, what about it?

Me: Remember I told you we would come back and take pictures of it?

Cynthia: Yes, and.....?

Me: Let's go and do it now!

It was nine o'clock Monday morning - an unusual time to go birding, especially with the ongoing heat wave. Perhaps it was the boredom of being cooped up in our condo that made be do such an impromptu decision. Thankfully, my wife agreed.

Off to U.P. we went. Our first stop, of course, was the parking of the MSI (Marine Science Institute) where we saw the Brown Shrike. It didn't take long for us to see our target bird. The photo I got could be perfectly captioned as "Were you looking for me?"

 From there we went to the Astronomy area to look for the Long-tailed Shrike. For the longest time, seeing this species here is a guarantee. However, this time it was a no show. I thought that was strange and hoped that it was still alive and thriving elsewhere. What we saw, and quite unexpectedly, was a friendly Collared Kingfisher.

 Another surprise was a few White-breasted Woodswallows. This was the first time we saw them in this place.

 Of course, the uber common Yellow-vented Bulbul was frantically calling our attention to take a shot at it.

 Also nearby was a pair of Zebra Dove, which surprisingly, were skittish that we only got a documentary photo of one of them.

 We returned to the MSI and got even got better shots of the Brown Shrike.

 And an obligatory shot at the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

 Then we heard the repeated calling of a Black-naped Oriole. I located the source of the sound and even got a good photo of the Oriole.

Cynthia, on the other, heard the pecking sound of a woodpecker. She eventually saw the tiny bird and we got a good enough image of the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker.

 

Happy that we saw and photographed a good number of birds, we both agreed that it was time to go home. As we were leaving, Cynthia suggested we pass by the Temple Drive hoping we would see some birds there. Unfortunately, the grass where the Munias feed had been cut down. As we were about to get back to our car, my wife said, "There's a Myna behind the fence just in front of us!" I looked and voila! That was the best picture of the day and an exciting end to our impromptu birding.

Bird and Breakfast - Part 2

Friday night I told Cynthia that I didn't have any plans to go birding on Saturday. Then I asked her if she wanted to eat out for breakfast. She replied, "Let's go to Rodic's at U.P.  Let's bring our cameras just in case."

Saturday morning we set off for our planned breakfast. We took the usual route via White Plains to see if the resident Little Egret was still in its favorite spot on the waterway. But even before we reached the place, we saw a Large-billed Crow perched on top of an electric post.

Not far away from it, a Crested Myna was roosting on an electric wire.

It had been said that black birds forebode bad luck. Not in our case. It was the first time we saw both the Crow and Myna in this area, despite the many times we passed by here. And to me that in itself is good luck. As we looked into the waterway, the Little Egret was there, even closer than before!

We even got a bonus of Philippine Pied Fantail at a nearby tree.

Driving along Temple Drive, I was surprised to find a Striated Grassbird (my nemesis bird lately) perched out in the open!

I drove slowly scanning the trees across the street. As we passed by an empty lot, I saw a Collared Kingfisher perched almost at ground level! I made a quick u-turn but as soon as I got near, the bird flew away not to be seen again. However, we noticed some activity at the tall grass. Cynthia got some shots of a Scaly-breasted Munia.

When I joined her, what I saw were Chestnut Munias!

From there we proceeded to our breakfast place. It was full and there wasn't any parking spot available. Thanks to the help of the security guard we were able to get a parking space. We then enjoyed the best tapsilog there is. After the sumptuous breakfast we went to the MSI area in U.P. Feeding in an aratiles tree was a Red-keeled Flowerpecker. It was so active that I only got a documentary shot.

Then we took the obligatory photo of the Brown Shrike.

A family of Olive-backed Sunbirds were also feeding on a flowering plant.

High above a Black-naped Oriole was bringing food to its nestlings.

A Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker was already busy that early.

And so were the Golden-bellied Gerygones.

Next stop was at the Astronomy area for the Long-tailed Shrike.

Then at the place where the Grey-streaked Flycatcher hangs out.

On our way home we stopped by the Hardin ng Rosas. This time Black-winged Stilts were closer.

And the Common Moorhen was basking in the sun.

On the way out we saw a flock of Eastern Cattle Egrets perched on a tree.

We decided to make another stop over by the Marikina River. Again, this time the Egrets (a few Little and a single Chinese) were closer.

Little Egret

Chinese Egret

The Whiskered Terns were busy diving for food.

For an "unplanned" birding sortie, we were rewarded by quite a number of species and closer views of the more common ones.