DRTy Looks

Dona Remedios Trinidad is a first class municipality in the province of Bulacan. It was created in September 13, 1977 by a decree issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos in honor of his wife's mother. It is the largest town in Bulacan. It lies on the southern edge of the Sierra Madre mountain range. (source: en.wikipedia.org). Because Filipinos love abbreviations, this place had been commonly referred to as "DRT".

It was in the forests in DRT that our birder friend, Jonet T. Carpio, encountered the uncommon White-browed Shama. Although usually a skulker and is more often heard than seen, this particular individual in DRT was not as shy as the others of its ilk. Inasmuch as this species would be a lifer for me and my wife, we made arrangements to visit its home on the range.

Early Saturday morning, the four of us; me, my wife, friends Peter and Wenxing, met up with Jonet near the Balagtas exit of the NLEX. About an hour later we arrived at Jonet's place. "It will be another 15 minute hike from here," he informed us, "and we will be fording a couple of streams." It was a bit of a trek, but with the help of the local porters, we got to the site in good time. 

part of the trail

With us were Benjamin Go and Conrad Olayres. A few minutes after we got settled in, our lifer popped into view. It was so accustomed to the presence of humans (photographers even) that there were times we had to move back just to have the bird in focus. 

a close-up view of the White-browed Shama

Wenxing, me and Peter taking pictures of the shama

Soon we were joined by Paolo Dolina and Steve Albano. Another session with the White-browed Shama ensued for almost two hours. There was even a time when it hopped right in front of Cynthia!

We were relaxing while the shama pursued some prey outside of our photographic range when two more bird photographers came. Mark Chang and Christopher Ferrer who had just some good shots of the Scale-feathered and Red-crested Malkoha were now looking forward for a friendly encounter with the star bird of DRT.

DRTy bird photographers

Having had our fill of the Shama, we all agreed to go for the Indigo-banded Kingfisher which Jonet said can be found by the first stream we crossed earlier. It being a Saturday, there were quite a number of picnickers in the place. "Not likely to show up," Jonet said a bit pessimistically, "because there are a lot of people here."

waiting for the Indigo-banded Kingfisher to show up

But luck was still with us because it was Steve who first saw the kingfisher. It was right in front of us across the gurgling stream. Another photo session took place until the increasing volume of music from a nearby radio drove the tiny bird away.

It had been a beautiful day. Not only did we get close looks at our target birds, but we also had a delicious lunch offered by our awesome host which was even enhanced by good company.

Spotlessness

We waited for almost three hours. It never showed up. 

The slightly drizzly morning was brightened by the cooperative pair of Indigo-banded Kingfishers. For my wife, Cynthia, and myself, together with our friend, Bong, this was a repeat of our experience from last week. This time we were joined by new friend, Crisnick. For Crisnick, this was the first time that he saw (and photographed) the new stars of La Mesa Ecopark.

The other star, of course, was another kingfisher. The Spotted Wood. Elated by our early morning success, we all went to the trail where we hoped for another easy encounter with the Indigo's bigger cousin. Three hours and nada. Were it not for the thrill of getting a picture of the constantly moving juvenile Red-bellied Pitta, it would have been a bitter disappointment for us.

As noon approached and the steady shower not showing any sign of abating, Bong, my wife, and I accepted our being Spot less and agreed to call it a day. Crisnick, on the other hand, since he had not yet seen the Spotted Wood Kingfisher, resolved to stay and wait.

That night I received the good news from our new friend that at 12 o'clock, the bird with a long bill finally showed up. And even hanged around for 30 minutes! Perhaps it favored the patient ones or those who have not yet been given the quaint privilege of beholding his beauty. All I can say is that we were sincerely happy for our friend.

Four Kings - A Winning Combination

The sun shone brilliantly after the storm. It was a holiday. A perfect combination for a birding spree. Even if the destination was just at the La Mesa Ecopark not that far from home. Lately, however, that place had been abuzz with sightings (not to mention posting of photos in Facebook) of two, count 'em, two uncommon kingfishers - the Spotted Wood and the Indigo-banded. Not only were both simply photographable, they were uncharacteristically insouciant to people.

Thanks to the directions provided by Anthony Balbin and Prof. Reuel Aguila, we (me, my wife and buddy Bong Nabong) easily found the place where the pair of Indigo-Banded Kingfishers hang around. During a lull - while the lovely pair was away - Anthony, called us and told us he found the other "star" of Ecopark. We quickly followed him and voila! - the friendliest Spotted Wood Kingfisher ever! 

Our friends, Maia, Jops, and Doc Cha who came after we left gushingly told us that the kingfisher was so indifferent to human presence that Doc Cha was even able to photograph the bird using her iphone!

On our way back to the Indigo-banded Kingfisher pond we met another friend, Jo Solis, who told us that she just saw the Oriental Honey Buzzard. We followed her and caught a glimpse of the raptor before it flew away.

At the pond, there were now more photographers awaiting the famed pair's return. The three of us joined Steve Albano,  Prof. Reuel, Alex Ting, and Leomar Doctolero in the stake-out. Soon Maia, Jops, Doc Cha, Bram, Kath and Sean Melendres arrived. Perhaps knowing that they now have a big audience, the male (who was nicknamed "superman" because his plumage resembles the superhero's costume) made a grand entrance and perched on a small piece of protruding wood and stayed there until we all had our fill.

As we prepared to leave, Sean informed us that he saw White Wagtails at the spillway. "There was also a Grey Heron" he calmly said as if that was as common an occurrence as rainfall in October.

Cynthia, Bong and myself, of course, went to the spillway. Steve followed not long after. Yes, there was the Grey Heron which, if I am not mistaken, was the first time this species was seen here. 

And yes, there were White Wagtails - we saw at least two of them - but they were quite at a distance.

It was while waiting for the migrant wagtails that a Common Kingfisher popped into view. 

It was also while searching for the wagtails that we saw a Collared Kingfisher way out on the concrete spillway.

When Maia, Jops and company joined us, we were rewarded with views, albeit a bit distant, of a Philippine Serpent Eagle!

Beautiful weather, great company, four kinds of kingfishers in half a day's birding - definitely a winning combination!

Ting Wai is Waiting

Our birding buddy, Peter (aka Ting Wai), wanted to get a photo of the Indigo-banded Kingfisher in Villa Escudero.  He had photographed it before but he wasn't happy with the results. Now that he is better "equipped" with the 600mm lens that Canon Philippines loaned him, he wanted to give it another try.

The key to photographing the resident kingfisher was waiting. We set up our gears in the middle of the shallow river and waited. Every now and then the tiny blue-colored bird would zoom past us teasingly. Still we waited. There were times when it would perch but it would do so on a branch too distant even for our long lenses. So we waited some more.

Almost three hours later and bingo! It came at just the right distance at just about the right ambient light. We fired away. The waiting was finally over.

After a sumptuous lunch - how can you not enjoy such delicious Filipino cuisine while the cool river waters flow over your feet? - we headed towards the tree popularly known as the Red-keeled Flowerpecker's home. As soon as we got there we were already rewarded by the presence of the immature flowerpecker yelling for food. 

One of the parents was busy feeding on the red fruits which it eventually shared with its offspring.

Soon raindrops started falling on our heads. We boarded Peter's car and drove to nearby Hacienda Escudero where we discovered to our delight that it was a place where munias weren't hard to come by. As a matter of fact, three kinds were busily enjoying the bountiful fruits of the grass: Chestnut (aka Black-headed) Munias, Scaly-breasted Munias and surprise! White-bellied Munias.

Rain began to fall in earnest. The effects of rising early in the morning were beginning to creep on us. As we drove along the superhighway with raindrops pelting the windshield, pictures of warm cozy beds waiting for us in our respective homes danced in our heads.

Falls Expectations

So much had been said about Taytay Falls. Many pictures of birds taken from that place had been posted on the internet. Mostly of the Indigo-banded Kingfisher. They were so close one can almost touch them, it had been said. So I wanted to go there. Not that I wanted yet another photo of the said kingfisher - I already had some good ones of those. What then? Nothing but good ol' curiosity. I wanted to know what made that place popular among bird photographers. 

When I learned that new friends Irene Dy and Rob Hutchinson were going there Thursday I asked them if my wife and I could tag along. To my delight they said they'll pick us up at 4:30 in the morning.

The night before there had been concerns that it may be quite a rainy Thursday - based on weather forecasts - and discussions whether we should postpone the trip to Friday. I don't know but I suddenly had a sense of confidence and decided that we should follow the original plan. Guess what? It was sunny the whole time we were at Taytay Falls.

The place itself was beautiful! Were it not for the long walk from the parking area to the falls, I'd probably consider visiting this place again. The waters cascading were so clean and fresh and is actually being used to irrigate the rice fields below. It saddens me however that even the basic amenities are lacking. What was once a structure for restrooms now lie rotting through obvious neglect.

We came here expecting birds. Indigo-banded Kingfishers in particular. According to Irene, who had been here before, the kingfishers perch obligingly and quite close for great photo-ops. We stationed ourselves beside the cool stream. Over an hour has passed and still there was no Indigo-banded in sight.

Thankfully, a Rough-crested Malkoha peered curiously though the dense leaves of a tall tree across the stream.

A White-throated Kingfisher was noisily calling not too far from it.

Rob decided to go downstream to see of our target bird was there. A few minutes later he came huffing back and asked us to follow him. Only to lose it again after just getting a glimpse at it. While waiting for the tiny kingfisher to return, we were delighted to see a Grey Wagtail busily hunting for insects on the mossy boulders.

Once again Rob came and told us that the Indigo-banded has moved upstream close to the falls itself. Once again we hauled our camera gear and trekked back to where Rob saw the bird. For a good hour or so, the male Indigo-banded stayed in that area and we were finally able to take its picture.

At around noontime, the picnickers came. Lots of them. We knew it was time to go. 

We were trudging through the narrow trail when Rob stopped and perked his ear. Soon he was pointing at a tree festooned with mistletoes. Both Orange-bellied and Red-keeled Flowerpeckers were picking the fruits. Nearby a flock of Yellowish White-eyes were congregating on another fruiting tree. 

Immature Red-keeled Flowerpecker

Then came the lull.  We lingered awhile hoping that the Scale-breasted Malkoha would appear - after all it had been seen, and photographed - at this very exact location by everyone and his uncle, it seemed like. It never showed up.

But that's how it is in bird photography - sometimes you get what you don't expect and sometimes you miss what you expected - but in all things I am thankful.

Now it's time for lunch and the barbecue that Irene brought looked so mouth-wateringly delicious!

They Come Indigo

Patience is a virtue. A virtue that every single bird photographer should possess. For the three of us, that virtue was pushed to its limit. 


Come early, we were told, and you will see them. So at 6:30 am we were lined up, cameras ready, cool  riverine waters flowing at our feet. Nothing.

Nothing except for a totally unexpected benefaction. We were all eying a mossy rock. Upon this rock the Indigo-banded Kingfisher perches to hunt for food. Many photographs from our friends attested to that fact. However, it was a different bird that suddenly alit on that particular piece of stone that protrudes from the fluvial flow. It was a Common Emerald Dove!

Then there were the attention starved Philippine Magpie Robins who would drop by and make all kinds of poses - all within perfect photographic distance. We tried to ignore them as we wanted to concentrate on the kingfishers. They were just so persistent that we had no choice but to give in to temptation of these avian Circes.

A short coffee break, a quick look at the slumbering Philippine Scops Owl and we're back at our posts. Friends Peter Ting, Tirso Paris and myself resumed our stake-out. My wife, Cynthia, decided not to join us. She and our gracious host, Carmela Balcazar, were engaged in some serious conversation. Now joining us was Ronald, Villa Escudero's resident bird guide. Thanks to his super sharp eyes, we were finally able to get good looks at our quarry, and local celebrities, the Indigo-banded Kingfishers. But these were just fleeting glimpses.


That was pretty much the routine for the whole morning. Lunch time. We savored the delicious food and talked about more pleasant birding experiences.


It was after lunch that the action began to liven up. Sightings of the kingfishers became more frequent and closer. We had some satisfactory photo-ops.


Love them Indigo-banded Kingfishers - they come and they go.