It's All About Dove

February 14 - Valentine's Day - the time when couples go out on a date, when romantic cards are exchanged, when guys give roses to their gals. In short, It's all about love.

February 13 - Valentine's Day eve - the time we went birding in Baras and encountered quite a number of species in the Columbidae family. In short, it's all about dove.

The morning didn't augur well since it was drizzling as we drove towards our destination. Thankfully, it stopped after we finished eating our take-out breakfast. As we were about to start birding, we saw the fog lifting up.

At our first stop, we saw this Spotted Dove perched on a nearby limb. Surprisingly there were quite a number as we kept seeing them at the different areas we went to.

At Cancun road, after seeing a Barred Rail, we saw a pair of Scale-feathered Malkohas but unfortunately we weren't able to take any photos at all. Moving a little farther, I saw something colorful perched on a branch. My heart leapt when I focused my camera on it, excited that finally I'm getting a good shot at a Philippine Cuckoo Dove.

By the waterway, I was surprised to find a male Red Collared Dove walking nonchalantly just a few meters away from me.

Although the downpour stopped, the skies were still grey and gloomy.  Perhaps because of that that some of the birds we expected to see were missing. On the other hand, we finally got see and photograph the Luzon Hornbill which a lot of our fellow birders had seen here quite often.

Also, for the first time, we saw a Striated Grassbird out in the open. The many times we've been to this place we never, ever, saw this skulker. Until today. I got a photo but it was still "crappy" despite being photoshopped and all. At least it's no longer my nemesis bird.

At around 10 am it started to drizzle a bit. Time to go. As we were about to leave, Cynthia said that we got photos of almost all of the dove species here, except the Zebra Dove. And guess what, on our way out there it was - as if to say, "Hey guys, I'm here!"

It was a short birding foray at Baras but we were glad that we found dove(s). 

Year End Birding - 2019

It had become some sort of tradition that Cynthia and I spend the last days of the year at Subic. And so it was for the year 2019. We arrived at our hotel around 1pm and after a quick check in, we proceeded to our favorite birding destination - the Nabasan trail. Along the way, just to get our mood started, we took photos of the birds we saw along the way such as the White-breasted Woodswallow, the Spotted Dove and the Large-billed Crow - all birds on a wire.

White-breasted Woodswallow

Spotted Dove

Large-billed Crow

At Nabasan trail, we saw an Oriental Dollarbird perched on a wire. Surprisingly the birds in this place seemed to be more skittish than before - imagine the Brown Shrike darting off from its perch and hiding as soon as our car approached it. Same thing with the White-throated Kingfishers. The Dollarbird we saw was no exception. Luckily we got a shot before it flew off.

The species that stayed within view were those that were perched high up in the tree tops allowing us only documentary shots - like this Philippine Cuckoo Dove, the Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike and the Philippine Green Pigeon.

Philippine Cuckoo-dove

Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike

Philippine Green Pigeon

We started off early on our second day and went straight to the Botanical Garden area. Surprise! - no birds at all! Off to Nabasan trail where we met birding friend, Doc Chito. We all waited for the woodpeckers - any kind - to show up. Nada. My wife and I decided to move on further down the trail, so we bade goodbye to our friend and wished him well. As we neared the intersection going to the Kamayan Resort, we encountered a flock (!) of Blue-naped Parrots. They were, without question, our bird of the day.

Moving on, we finally met a cooperative White-throated Kingfisher.

Other than those two, the only bird we saw was a Philippine Falconet that was way too far for a good photo. Exiting the Nabasan trail, we opted to try the Argonaut Road. Before reaching that place we spotted a Philippine Serpent Eagle blending with the tree behind it.

The Argonaut road was more productive even if the birds we encountered were the more common ones such as the Brown Shrike, Collared Kingfisher, Zebra Dove and a gang of Crested Mynas.

Brown Shrike

Collared Kingfisher

Zebra Dove

Crested Myna

To end our birding day, we stopped over the Volunteer Shrine Park where Brahminy Kites are sure sightings. And indeed they were, soaring beautifully as the sun started to set.

On our final day, we went to the Treetop Adventure Park. The park was no longer in operation but still can be accessed. There we met fellow birder Abner Lu (he was the one who told me about this place) along with his group and our new friends, Thomas Yie and Rodger Yu. True enough, this place was a favorite hangout of the Luzon Hornbills.

Coletos also visited the nearby fruiting tree.

Since we will be checking out at around 11 am, we told our new friends that we had to go ahead and visit other birding places. On our way out, we saw a Guaiabero land on the tree ahead of us.

Back at Nabasan, all we got was a Whiskered Treeswift and a Red Junglefowl.

At Cubi Point, we were glad that the Blue-throated Bee-eaters were back - we didn't see them the past two days we came here.

And that was, in my opinion, and nice finale to our year-end birding at Subic. Although it was quite disappointing (we only photographed 30 species) compared to the previous years we spent here, nevertheless, we enjoyed the last three days of 2019, having met old and new friends during those times. 

There Fewer

The last time we went to Mt. Palay-palay was in September of 2016. Back then I already bemoaned the fact that we saw only a few birds. (My blog about that).

Last Saturday, my wife and I, together with our friend, Peter, returned to this place. We hadn't gone far up the road when I spotted a female Luzon Hornbill perched nonchalantly on a tree. It was a bit surprising considering that several guys were beneath the tree getting ready to mow down the grass on the side of the road. 

I thought that it would be good indicator that we would be seeing more species as we continued our journey. Unfortunately, we didn't. For one thing, it had been cloudy the whole morning, with only a few quick bursts of sunlight. Which resulted in mostly backlit photos, particularly those of the Brahminy Kites flying above us.

The next bird we encountered were the Whiskered Treeswifts. Three of them.

At the gate of the (now closed) Caylabne Resort, the hoped for raptors were a no-show. We just contented ourselves with taking BIF (bird in flight) and FIM (food in mouth) photos of the White-breasted Woodswallows.

On the way back we were lamenting the fact that we hadn't seen any Philippine Falconets - a regular in this area. Just then Peter saw a tiny bird perched on the electric wire. "Falconet!" he shouted excitedly. So we spent more than hour photographing these tiny raptors. Three of them.

At the end of our birding morning, we were saddened to realize that we only saw a total of six species (including a flock of Coletos that flew by). We couldn't figure out why birds are getting fewer there at Palay-palay.

Subic Birding - Day 1 - Good

It had become some sort of tradition that we spend the year end here at Subic. This year was no exception. Unfortunately at the start of our first day, the weather was inclement. We saw birds, some even close, but the dark skies and occasional drizzle prevented us from taking good photos. The resulting images were either too dark or backlit that not even photoshop can fix them.

One interesting observation we had was when a male Luzon Hornbill confronted a Green Imperial Pigeon. I didn't think it was a hostile encounter, more like curiosity on the part of the hornbill. The pigeon was quite unperturbed anyway.

There was also another bird we saw that I believe was a Blackish Cuckoo-Shrike. As I said earlier, photos were not that good to give 100% confidence in its identification.

Weather was a bit better in the afternoon. This time we got a good enough shot of a Rough-crested Malkoha peeping through the leaves.

The star birds of the day were the Blue-throated Bee-eaters.

Our first day may not have have started well, but in the end something good still happened.

Much Bee-eater There

What started off as a lemon ended up as lemon pie a la mode. 

It was one of those bumpy beginnings of an early morning birding. As we entered the Nabasan trail in Subic we saw our friend and topnotch bird guide Nicky Icarangal. He was showing several foreign birders the local avifauna. After the greetings, Nicky told us that they had just seen some Rufous Coucals and they were now going after a Rough-crested Malkoha. While I and birding companions Peter and Wenxing were still setting up our gears, my wife got a glimpse of the Rufous Coucal. A glimpse and some really bad photos.

Other than an attention-starved Black-naped Oriole who kept calling overhead and a flitty Balicassiao, no other members of the avian species were seen. Nicky then called us saying that they have the Malkoha on sight. By the time we got to where they were, only a few strands of the red-crest were visible.

With Nabasan disappointing us, we all agreed to try the Botanical Garden area and maybe see the elusive White-fronted Tit. 

The tall, leafless tree that hosted about a dozen species last month now only showed a pair of Whiskered Treeswifts. There we met our friend Bim (who was with us that lucky February day) along with his wife, Gina and birding pal, Cris. After a while Bim and company decided to take a steeper trail. Since Peter and I were carrying heavy gears, we thought it would be prudent to forego the hike and just continue birding in the area around the Botanical Garden.

Here we saw a nesting Coleto. Then we began seeing green. I got the endemic Philippine Green Pigeon as it dove (no pun intended) from a high branch.

The Green Imperial Pigeon (which actually is more greyish than green, but then there is also a bird named Grey Imperial Pigeon) however remained high in the towering tree.

Of course, the White-fronted Tit was again a no-show.

Back in Nabasan, our misfortunes began to turn around as we saw a male Luzon Hornbill enjoying some fruits.

Near the exit, a Blue-naped Parrot popped into view.

We saved the best for last. We knew that this is the nesting season of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters. Off to Cubi Point we went because the bee-eaters were there. By the roadside were dozens of this colorful insectivores. 

We did one more stop at the area near the Jest Camp. We were rewarded by more views of another male Luzon Hornbill. Some sort of icing on the cake.

Although at the start our birding day was not as successful as we had hoped, the ending was definitely satisfactory. Especially at Cubi where the bee-eaters were nesting. It was much better there.

Oh, I almost forgot. I got a lifer too! It was at the Botanic Garden area. While I was staring at the blue skies I noticed some swifts that were bigger than the others flying above. The wings seemed a bit different too. I took a "documentary" shot. At home I looked at the picture and was ecstatic to discover that my hunch was right. Got myself a Purple Needletail!

Short, Sweet, Sour Subic

It was a short three-hour birding sortie in Subic. Our birding friend, Bim Quemado, graciously invited us to join him in searching for an uncommon bird. This bird had been seen recently here and since it would be a lifer, we thought a visit to this place would be a good idea. We even asked our friends, Rob Hutchinson and Melanie Tan, who spotted this bird just a week ago, for directions.

Those three hours were spent along the road from the Botanic Garden to the gates of the Orica Factory. Just as we were getting in, we already saw an Oriental Dollarbird basking in the early morning sun. Then it took off in the wild blue yonder presumably to search for breakfast.

Showing why it was called Dollarbird...because of the "dollar-shaped" spot on its wings.

There was one tree almost devoid of leaves that seemed to be a stopping point for quite a number of avian species. The sweetest, most cooperative of these, was the Green Racquet-tail.

Then a female Luzon Flameback flew in and began hammering the trunk for some goodies.

While Bim was enjoying himself taking photos of the Flameback (the male even joined in, he told me later) I wandered around and encountered a Blue-naped Parrot also enjoying an early morning meal.

Returning to the bare tree, we were surprised when twelve Ashy Minivets flew in. Twelve! This was the first time I have witnessed this many Ashy Minivets in one tree. Although in the Kennedy Guide it says that they do travel in flocks, I have always assumed that this migrant was a loner of some sort because every time I encounter this bird, there is just only one.

The other birds that came to the tree were Coletos, a single Grey-streaked Flycatcher and some Blue-throated Bee-eaters.

I was taking a short break when I noticed a female Luzon Hornbill on a branch with a strange pose. I called Bim and we shortened the distance between us and the hornbill. Soon the female flew and was replaced on the same spot by the male!

the male is lurking behind

By 10:30 we decided to call it a day but not without taking a gratuitous shot of a White-throated Kingfisher at the Nabasan Trail.

As I said earlier, our main purpose of going to Subic was to look for a particular bird. We were not so lucky to find the White-fronted Tit which was the sour part of an otherwise sweet birding morning. So to compensate for not showing of the White-fronted Tit we will just show our White-front Teeth.