Sighs and Whiskers

To start off the new year, Cynthia and I went to Davao City - primarily to attend her niece's wedding - and of course, inasmuch as we were already there, to go birding as well. Our beginning of the year's birding experience can only be described as having ups and downs - sometimes literally. Please allow me to break it down in a few short stories.

Silvery Moan

Among our target birds here in Davao was the Silvery Kingfisher. One of the places where it's almost guaranteed to be found is at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos. Despite our previous disappointing experiences in that place (we've been there twice and had only a fleeting glimpse of the kingfisher once) my hopes were still high. We decided to spend the morning of Saturday at the Eagle Center. We were greeted by a Philippine Hanging Parrot displaying just above the pond. 

Cynthia and I took turns at staking out the said pond. Grey was the mood as I meandered around the area photographing only a Grey-streaked Flycatcher and a Grey Wagtail (or is it Yellow?). 

My wife, on the other hand, had a Chestnut Munia and an Olive-backed Sunbird.

Three hours slowly passed and there was not even the sound of a wheeet nor a silvery feather. Not getting one of the top birds on my want list was heartbreaking. I can only moan in despair as we returned to our hotel.

Loth and Found

Monday morning we were picked up by our friend, Pete Simpson. He will be taking us further up Mt. Talomo to show us another bird in my want list - the Whiskered Flowerpecker. There will be some strenuous hiking involved, he told us, and I would definitely need a porter to carry my long lens and tripod. Prior to the climb, we met up with Loth, our porter and eagle-eyed birder. Pete, of course, was the expert and really great at spotting birds, but despite being relatively new at birding, Loth indeed had sharp eyes as well and there were times when he was the one who found the birds first. He also helped me direct my lens to my avian subjects because my vision had become somewhat antiquated and I had problems differentiating birds from leaves. Thanks to both Pete and Loth, the Whiskered Flowerpecker was quick tick.

The problem, however, was the ambient light. It had been mostly greyish with just a few bursts of sunshine. Despite seeing lots of birds - or in our case, silhouettes - photographing them was next to impossible. Even though we saw lifers, I could not technically include them in my lifelist simply because I did not see them clear enough to confirm the species (regardless of the assurances of Pete). Therefore, Cinnamon Ibon, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Olive-capped Flowerpecker and Short-tailed Starling, I hope to see you again preferably in bright, sunny weather next time. 

Pete, Loth and me

As we were leaving the place, we were rewarded by excellent views of a Coppersmith Barbet in glorious sunlight. Although the ones found here are of a different subspecies (mindanensis) they still look very much the same as those found in Luzon.

Hidden in Eden

In our spare time, while we were checked in at the Eden Resort, we spent them at the Mountain Trail. The Mountain Trail was that exotic place where we easily chalked up two lifers (Cryptic Flycatcher and Philippine Trogon) nine months ago. Aside from those two at least two more species made our visit to that place really worthwhile - the Ruddy Kingfisher and the Black-naped Monarch. This time though it was a complete dud. We were there in the afternoon and saw nothing but a skittish Grey Wagtail. We came back early in the morning and again saw nothing but that same old skittish Grey Wagtail.

The places around the resort were also disappointing. Birds were scarce and when we saw some interesting species (such as a Turquoise Flycatcher), the light was not cooperating and we saw silhouettes all over again. It seemed like the avian residents of Eden were hidden.

Sighs and Whiskers

Perhaps it was the time of year. Or it could be the weather. But our birding trip to Davao this time was filled with sighs of disappointment. Were it not for the sighting of the Whiskered Flowerpeckers, it would have been a complete disaster. 

We just hope and pray that this experience would not replicate itself for the rest of the year. We look forward to more lifers for us and that our bird photography would be more rewarding.

A Link and a Smile

Please pardon a little shameless plug. My article on the Philippine Eagle had been published in the  September issue of Smile Magazine - the in-flight publication of the Cebu Pacific Airlines. In case you will not be on board this airline during this month, here's a link to the said article: http://www.ink-live.com/emagazines/smile/1727/september-2014/#67/z

Note: the photos not taken by me or our guide, Pete Simpson, were added at the editor's discretion.

Enjoy! …..and Smile!

photo courtesy of Eire Daproza-Rivera

Davao Trip: Logistics and Information

Davao City is a huge place! Birding areas, generally speaking, are about an hour away from the city proper. Here are some tips if you're planning a trip to this place:

Accommodations: We stayed at two different hotels during our stay.

Court View Inn is located at the city proper and is one of the newer hotels in town. The room we had was for P1095 per night. The price includes free breakfast. The room itself is clean, has airconditioning, cable TV and hot shower. The hotel staff are very friendly and helpful. The only nit is that it is not a stand alone hotel. The 41 rooms are located on the 4th and 5th floors of a commercial building with only a single elevator. Nevertheless we highly recommend the place.

Eden Nature Resort is about an hour's drive from the city. The cottage we got cost P2352 (senior discounted) per night. That includes free dinner and breakfast. Our cottage does not have airconditioning but it is cool in the evenings anyway. There is also no Cable TV and the reception for the local programs are quite spotty. Hot shower is available though. The cottages/lodges are at some distance from the reception area and the restaurant, however the resort provides van to pick up and return guests to their respective lodgings. As the name states, this is indeed a nature resort and we did all our birding inside the compound. Also highly recommended especially for nature lovers.

the cottage where we stayed

Check out their website: Eden Nature Park

Transportation: Name it they have it - taxis, buses, multicabs, tricycles and even habal-habal.

Although we had the benefit of Cynthia's brother driving us around, we still had to hire a van to take us to the PEC and Eden Resort. The cost of the van was P2500 per day plus fuel expenses (we paid P1000) and food for the driver.

Since both the PEC and Eden are away from the main roads, a taxi is recommended (haggle for  the cost and arrange for a pick-up as well).

Food: restaurants are everywhere and the food is delicious and cheap!

The restaurants we dined in are:

Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant - excellent fare, and very reasonable price. Either order a la carte or from their self-service section. Check out their Facebook page: Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant

Delongtes Seafood Grill & Barbecue - not as good as Yellow Fin but delicious food nonetheless. Service though is a bit slow. Their Facebook page: Delongtes Seafood Grill

Mamma Maria's Pizza/Gino's Burgers - is located at the first floor of our hotel building. The food here is surprisingly good (considering that these are the fast food joints of Davao). While Cynthia had a single (9-inch) pizza, I had a Mushroom Bacon Burger. For a hamburger sandwich in the Philippines this one is quite big - and only about the same price as a Big Mac at a local McDonalds (where "Big" is an exaggeration). Did I mention that the taste is 100 times better than a McDonalds? Aside from Charlie's in  Pasig and Greenhills, Gino's arguably is the closest to an In-N-Out burger when it comes to taste.

Sito's - is what I would call a "casual dining" place even though it is actually categorized as a fast food place. You have the option of eating "al fresco" or inside an airconditioned area.  Again the food is delicious and unbelievably cheap. Not only that every now and then the waiters would break out in a dance routine for the entertainment of the guests.

Birding Places: Due to our limited stay, we were not able to bird Davao to the fullest. However here are some of the places we visited.

Bacunan Beach is not a beach resort but simply, a beach. Thanks to Pete Simpson, we saw lots of shorebirds here. To get there I suggest you contact Pete (email me for his contact info).

Philippine Eagle Center is the place where the national bird is being bred in captivity for future release in the wild. Needless to say this is a very birdy place. Bulbuls (Yellow-vented, Yellow-wattled and Philippine) can be seen here. Various sunbirds and the Little Spiderhunter had also been observed. If you're lucky you might even see the Silvery Kingfisher.  Fore more details see their website Philippine Eagle Center

Eden Nature Park, as mentioned earlier, is also a good place to see mountain birds. Everett's White-eyes are guaranteed here. At night, if you're patient enough you might see the Mindanao Scops Owl. Outside the resort is an uphill trail where towards the top Whiskered Flowerpeckers can be observed.

Davao Trip: Day 3 - Eden, and then…..

It was because of the heavy downpour last night that we had to cancel our date with Pete Simpson for this morning. The original plan was to meet up with him at the Eden Nature Resort's gate and from there climb up the trail to where the Whiskered Flowerpeckers play. Last night's deluge made that steep trail the slide center of Davao. Concerned about the safety of our cameras - not to mention our antiquated bodies - we called off our appointment with Pete with heavy hearts. 

Surprisingly, the morning was sunny and bright! After a buffet breakfast, we birded the area around our cottage which was dotted with extremely tall trees. Once again, all we saw were Yellow-vented Bulbuls. I was already at the point of exasperation but my more patient spouse kept searching for some movement in the canopies. Finally she saw a flock flew in. Everett's White-eyes! This was our primary target species here at Eden Resort. As in any white-eye flock, the feeding group was frenzied in their movements.

Eventually the white-eyes moved on. I wondered why this flock was composed only of Everett's White-eyes. Normally a flock moving through the forest would have several species symbiotically feeding together. I half expected Sulfur-billed Nuthatches, Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers, maybe some kind of flycatchers or fantails to join them. That wasn't the case here.

Once again there was silence. Long, frustrating silence. There would be some movement…we would look….and it would just either be another Yellow-vented Bulbul or a bullying Brown Shrike. Are we in a forest in Mindanao? I kept asking myself because it certainly doesn't feel that way.

Another movement. I looked and was somewhat relieved to notice the bars on its breast. Finally, not a Bulbul or a Shrike. A female Violet Cuckoo was definitely a surprise. Problem was it was too far up for me to get a decent shot. 

Another problem that I encountered were the gnats! Those tiny flying insects must have had a convention that morning and agreed in toto to attack my eyes. Each time I removed my face from the viewfinder of my camera, wham! a gnat would smack into my eye. Then another. And another! You could almost hear the shouts of "banzai!" as they would zoom then slam into my organs of sight. So for the most part I had my eyes closed. Of course birdwatching wouldn't be what it was if the "watching" part wasn't there. Even worse was that I am slightly hearing impaired and therefore could not even listen for birds. To partially solve this nuisance, I covered my eyes with my hands and peered through the tiny gaps to look for birds. If I find a photographable one, I would paste my right eye to the viewfinder and close my left, then take pictures. After that it was a race on which gets to my eyes first, my hands or those pesky gnats.

As we returned to our cottage, I again saw the little brown bird that was perched on a tall fern frond yesterday. I couldn't make a proper identification then because it was rather dim (it was drizzling yesterday, remember?). Now that the skies were clear, I was quite sure that this was a Grey-streaked Flycatcher. 

Eleven in the morning and check-out time. We headed back into the city and stayed at the Court View Hotel (the same place we stayed at on our first day). As we were finishing lunch and thinking of a birding place to go to afterwards, we received an unpleasant news. It was so heart-breaking that Cynthia and I both agreed to just stay in our room that afternoon to mull over things and fight the depressing feeling that was overcoming us.

I got sick that night. High fever coupled with a sore throat made sleeping almost an unachievable task. The following morning we dismissed anew any plans to go birding. We ate breakfast just because we had to. Our flight back to Manila was scheduled for 1:35 that afternoon. When we got to the airport at around 11:30 am, we were advised that the flight had been delayed indefinitely. Dismay added to my already weak physical state. At last at 4:05 pm we were off. Everything was a just blur to me since then.

Davao Trip: Day 2 - Dud Birding

Birdwatchers in the Philippines have coined the phrase "dude birding". Basically, it means seeing birds with the least amount of effort - usually from a car window. Now allow me to add another term to the ever growing compilation of birdwatching lingo: Dud birding. It means getting a perfect zero in trying to find your target birds.

And it hurts even more when you travelled great distances to find certain species and ended up with absolutely nothing.

On our second day in Davao, we hired a van to take us to the Philippine Eagle Center. Thanks to the kindness of its Director, Dennis Salvador, we were admitted into the facility way before its normal opening time of 8 am. Cynthia and I immediately stationed ourselves by the pond where target bird #1 - the Silvery Kingfisher - was reportedly hanging out. Minutes excruciatingly crept by. Only the Pacific Swallows and noisy Yellow-vented Bulbuls kept us company. Then a flash of black-and-white! But it was gone before our brains could even react. With even a smidgen of a doubt I cannot call it a "sighting"…and therefore could not claim it as a lifer.

I left my wife by the pond to continue the vigilance while I tried to look for the other two target species:  the Yellow-wattled Bulbul and the Little Spiderhunter. Roaming around the area all I saw were Philippine Bulbuls and Olive-backed Sunbirds.

Cynthia and I then switched positions. I stood by the pond and eyed it with the patience of a vulture. My wife, in turn, looked for the birds on our want list. However all her wanderings yielded only Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers.

Then it was time to leave, Cynthia had a lunch date with her ex-officemates from PNB an hour's drive away.

That afternoon we checked in at the Eden Nature Resort. It was drizzling…leading to a torrential downpour later that night.

Davao Trip: Day 1 - Shore Enough

As soon as my wife and I had checked-in into our hotel, the text messaging began. It was fast and furious. The time and place for the rendezvous had quickly been agreed upon. That being settled we indulged in a leisurely lunch with Cynthia's brother, Chito and his family.

Two in the afternoon, we met up with the guy with whom we exchanged text messages earlier. Pete Simpson, a Brit and a birder, then led us to Bucanan Beach. "Plenty of shorebirds here" he declared in his clipped British accent. It was low tide and sure enough there were shorebirds galore. Except they were too far. Soon Pete was calling out species by species. "Oh easy for this chap, he's using a bloody scope!" I thought to myself. 

I wanted to go nearer but Pete warned me that the shore was mushy at certain areas and my foot just might get stuck. I was giving this warning some serious thought when a couple of fishermen walked from their boat to where we were. And not one of their four feet was swallowed by the mud. Throwing caution to the wind I lugged my gear (with the big lens, mind you) and sauntered over to where the birds….and bunch of frolicking kids were. Which, of course, resulted in the sudden flight of the shorebirds.

I admit that I am not one of those grampas who enjoy the presence of kids. So with self imposed patience I waited until the kids have had their fun and had moved on to another part of the beach. 

The birds, as expected, flew back to the shore albeit more wary than ever. Finally I was able to see and even able to identify the majority of them. Greater Sand Plovers and Kentish Plovers mingled with the Grey-tailed Tattlers and Terek Sandpipers.

There was even a snobbish Whimbrel who preferred to be alone.

One species though that seemed to not mind the presence of humans was the Chinese Egret which was so insouciantly hunting for fish by disturbing the shallow waters with its foot.

At around 4 pm, Chito came to pick us up. We thanked Pete for taking us to this place which was sort of a mixture of the Paranaque Coastal Lagoon (for the trash - though not as many) and Olango (for the shorebirds - though not as many).

It was quite a fruitful first day of birding for us. Sadly the following days were not as good.

Da WOW Experience, Part 3

Day 4 - It's a Shore Thing

September 24, 2010 - the 1st Asian Bird Fair officially opened today. We were busy visiting the various booths and meeting foreign birders throughout the whole morning.

After lunch as things quieted down somewhat, Cynthia and I were walking back towards our hotel room when we met two young delegates from Hongkong. We told them about the Collared Kingfisher that frequents the coconut groves near the hotel. They were very grateful and in return they informed us that there was a Little Heron by the breakwater area behind the hotel. We quickly gathered our gears and rushed to where the Little Heron had been found. When we asked permission from the guard if we could enter the breakwater explaining that we would be looking for shorebirds, he confirmed that there were indeed birds there when the tide was low.

Of course, the tide was low the time we were there and it wasn't long before we saw our first bird. It turned out to be a lifer - a Grey -tailed Tattler! Just then the Little Heron flew in and landed at the pier across from us. I was busy taking shots at the heron when a small bird emerged at the top of the berm adjoining the pier. It was a Common Sandpiper and another lifer for us! While I was shifting back and forth in viewing the Little Heron and the Common Sandpiper, another bird came flying in. Brownish with a long curved bill..a Whimbrel! Our relatively short stint at the waterfront yielded four species of shorebirds. Not bad at all!

Common Sandpiper

Little Heron

Grey-tailed Tattler

Whimbrel

The rest of our afternoon was spent in pretty much the same way as we did that morning. That night the bird fair participants were once again treated to another buffet this time hosted by the Primer Group, local distributors of Columbia apparel. Another day, another buffet. It's a sure thing.

Da WOW Experience, Part 2

Day 3 - Hail the King!

Bright and early in the morning of Sept. 23rd, my wife and I quickly got out of bed. The crisp mountain air was rife with the smell of pine trees. Birds were twittering as they greeted the slowly rising sun. Both flowerpecker species (Orange-bellied and Red-keeled) were already busy among the flowers. A Pied Triller was trilling up above us. But this morning we are focused on a single mission: to find and photograph the Sulphur-billed Nuthatch. You might think..okay, that's a reasonable endeavour. Well, not exactly. In the first place I don't even know if that species occur here at Eden Nature Park (no sightings have been made yet, as far as I know). I just thought that inasmuch as there are hectares of pine trees here and since Sulphur-billeds love pine trees, ergo they should abound here. Logically it seemed feasible enough but as any seasoned birder knows, logic sometimes go down the drain when it comes to looking for a specific bird. So armed with hope, no, make that fervent faith, that we sought our target nuthatch. Roaming the pine forest and developing a crick on our necks from constantly looking up, we were about to head to the restaurant for our breakfast when I saw some movement about halfway up the trunk of a tall molave. Raising my binoculars and focusing on that particular spot, my heart stopped. A Sulphur-billed Nuthatch with a caterpillar in its beak! I was incredulous! What self-respecting nuthatch would find prey in a molave tree and not in a pine tree where it should be? Defies logic, don't you think? Nonetheless, it was mission accomplished. We then proceeded to have a leisurely breakfast elated from our unbelievable stroke of luck. 

We were even given a bonus when we we saw and photographed this scruffy looking Black-naped Monarch.

Around 9 am Chito picked us up and brought us to the Philippine Eagle Center. There we were greeted by Dennis Salvador, Executive Director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, who happens to be Chito's friend as well. At the center we came face to face with the king of Philippine birds, the Philippine Eagle. We can't help but be awed by the majestic look of this bird. Sadly they are critically endangered creatures and we laud the efforts of the Philippine Eagle Foundation in trying to preserve a national treasure.

It was about midmorning and because there were about 7 jeepney loads of school children visiting the center at the time, birding wasn't very fruitful. 

Three in the afternoon and we were at the Insular Waterfront Hotel where the 1st Asian Bird Fair was going to be held. Three pm and our room wasn't ready yet! Considering that their check-in time is two pm, that was a bit exasperating! So we mingled with fellow participants until finally at about 5 pm we were ushered into our room. We barely had time to freshen up and get ready for the welcome dinner hosted by the Davao City government at the Matina Town Center.

Four buses escorted by the local police unloaded the delegates and participants at the Town Center at around 7 pm. Dancers in their native costumes swayed to the beat of drums as the guests started to pour in. Lovely young ladies welcomed us by putting ethnic necklaces on us. Lines were formed to partake of the raw tuna (sashimi) and roasted calf. These were just the appetizers! A sumptuous dinner buffet followed. When everybody had their fill, the welcome ceremonies began. We witnessed a grand pageantry that included native songs and dances, a hip-hop dance exhibition, beauty queens and a fashion show. It was a festive night that made us visitors to Davao feel like kings and queens for a night.

Da WOW Experience, Part 1

My wife and I came to Davao basically for three reasons: to visit Cynthia's brothers, to be a part of the First Asian Bird Fair and oh yeah, to go birding.

Day 1 - Clueless

We decided to go earlier than the scheduled Bird Fair which was going to be held on the 24th and 25th of September so that we could fulfill reasons 1 and 3 (we thought that it would be better to "case the joint" before the throng of participants in the bird fair go there). A little before noon of Sept. 21, we were aboard the Cebu Pacific airbus that would take us to our destination in southern Philippines. When the stewardess offered some snacks and drinks we readily availed of such goodies (it was lunchtime after all). Major, major mistake! We were surprised when the stewardess asked for P280 for a couple of pastries and 2 cans of soda. Being our first time to fly Cebu Pacific, we were clueless as to their policies when it came to serving food. Apparently they were not free. Lesson learned. On our return flight, as soon as the stewardess offered snacks, we took out the food that we brought along with us and smiled lovingly at the flight attendants. Anyway, about two hours later, we were relaxing at the home of Chito (Cynthia's brother) and his wife, Terry, enjoying the fresh fruits that they served.

Day 2 - A Taste of Paradise

The following day, Sept. 22nd, Chito drove us to the Eden Nature Park and Resort. As soon as we have checked in (thanks to the management and staff, we were allowed to check-in earlier than the official time), we immediately explored the trail right next to our cottage. Just at the start of the path, we saw a White-bellied Munia. But the Munia was too deep in the vegetation that it was next to impossible to photograph it. Surveying the narrow and long mountain trail ahead of us we both agreed not to continue the trek justifying our decision by excuses like "the path is too narrow for my big lens/tripod combo" and "the forest cover is too thick that the sunlight barely reaches the ground - not good for photography". Actually the fact that trail loop was about 4 kilometers long and included some 45 degree inclines (note the plural) were just too much for our ancient legs.

So we turned back and instead explored the grounds in front of our cottage which was dotted by tall pine trees. This was where we got our first lifer of the trip: The Everett's White-eye! Inasmuch as it was nearing lunchtime, we ambled towards the restaurant where we saw some Philippine Bulbuls and our second lifer, the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker.

Everett's White-eye

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

Lunch was a sumptuous buffet (the first of many that we will have in Davao). Here we were joined by Guada Gamboa, Eden Nature Park's Marketing Assistant. She introduced us to the resort managers Celia and Tina. Cynthia and I took this opportunity to sell them the idea to promote Eden Nature Park and Resort as a birding area. All three ladies were enthusiastic and promised that they will take our suggestion to upper management.

That afternoon, the sweet ladies of Eden sent one of the resort's drivers to give us a private tour. One of the places the ladies asked the driver to bring us to was the zip line and soccer field. There are always birds sitting on the wires they told us. They were right, of course! As soon as we got off the tram, White-breasted Wood Swallows were lined up on the electrical wires (and on the tree branches, too) , occasionally swooping down over the soccer field and then returning to their perch. Here a Long-tailed Shrike hunted for bugs a mere 12 meters away from me. It would perch on a wire then fly down on the grass, grab an insect, swallow it and fly back to the wire perch. This routine was repeated several times and I just stood there enjoying the scene. And sometimes getting distracted by a Richard's Pipit sunning down the slope and a Striated Grassbird that popped out every now and then beneath the wire which the shrike uses to spot for prey.

White-breasted Wood Swallows

Long-tailed Shrike

Richard's Pipit

Striated Grassbird

Cynthia, who was trying (and failing) to take pictures of the wood swallows in flight, called my attention when she saw a kingfisher suddenly fly across the soccer field and alighted on one of the goal posts. As I turned to go after it, a Spotted Dove walked slowly in front of me. After it entered the dense grass of the field I turned my attention back to the kingfisher which turned out to be a White-throated.

Spotted Dove

White-throated Kingfisher

At around 5 pm, the driver came to pick us up. We had an early dinner and retired back to our cottage shortly after. The cool mountain air felt so refreshing and it wasn't long before we were fast asleep.