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.

Back to Baras

Saturday morning, we decided to go birding at Palo Alto in Baras. The very first bird we encountered as we entered the subdivision was a Stripe-headed Rhabdornis.

 

As expected, the White-throated (Brown-breasted) Kingfisher was at its usual perch on the electric wire.

 

After having our take out breakfast, we moved on and saw the migrant Grey-streaked Flycatcher. Unfortunately it was backlit.

 

Along Alfaro road, near the waterway, we had a hard time focusing on the hyper-active Red-keeled Flowerpecker.

 

Moving on we got better shots of the usual denizens of this place: the Scaly-breasted Munia, Paddyfield Pipit and Zebra Dove.

Scaly-breasted Munia

 

Paddyfield Pipit

Zebra Dove

 

We also saw a pair of Spotted Doves perched on a bare tree.

 

The Eastern Cattle Egrets were quite plentiful. I got a BIF (Bird in Flight) of one of them.

 

Back at the waterway, we were surprised to see a White-breasted Waterhen. This was the first time we've seen this species here.

 

Along the creek, the expected Pied Bush Chats were busy hunting for prey.

 

Since it is already the migrating season, I told Cynthia we should visit the rocky area and who knows the Blue Rock Thrush might be there this time. As we passed the area, we didn't see any bird at all. However as we were going back, I noticed a bird on top of the low cliff. "There it is!" I told my wife excitedly.

 

That was the highlight of our trip. As we were about to leave we chanced upon a big flock (about 20 of them) of Red Turtle Doves!

 

Near the exit we got a not too good shot of our last bird of the day - the Whiskered Treeswift.

 

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.