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It was another disappointing trip to Infanta. The reason I could think of was that the fruits and the flowers were now gone. And the surprisingly late rainy season.
Our very first bird though was seen and photographed while we were still halfway to our destination. Rather the usual Barred Rails, it was the comparatively more shy Plain Bush Hen that posed at the roadside.
Although the usual wave of mixed flocks did appear around 10 am, they were now farther than where they used to gather and therefore much more difficult to photograph.
Thankfully, the migrants were more cooperative. Of course, one can never miss the Brown Shrike.
This Grey Wagtail kept flying over the road ahead if us then suddenly stopped and perched on a boulder. We wondered why it had one foot raised up all the while it was resting on the said boulder.
And finally, we were rewarded with some good views of a colorful male Blue Rock Thrush. We saw a female earlier, but it was on a tall tree branch and was terribly backlit.
Again, just like last week, our birding trip was cut short by a downpour.
The migrants have arrived! In urban settings, the most commonly encountered winter visitor from the north is the Brown Shrike. Local birders make it a point to record - and of course, post in Facebook - their FOS (First of Season) sighting of this species. We are a part of that group.
The past week or so, during our more or less regular walk around our subdivision (read: physical exercise), my wife and I were always on the lookout for this migrant bully. We saw one a couple of times then but I was too lazy to bring my camera with me. Yesterday, Cynthia reminded me to bring my photographic gear so that we can "officially" prove the presence of Lanius cristatus in our neighborhood.
We were nearing the end of our walk and still had not seen our target bird. My wife suggested, as a consolation, that we just focus our attention on the Olive-backed Sunbird family that is a sure find as they frolic among the yellow bell-shaped flowers along Astoria Street. As soon as we got to that place, the very first bird we saw was....a Brown Shrike! It was so cooperative that it was I who gave up taking its picture.
As expected the Olive-backed Sunbirds were there, too. It was mostly the immature ones that posed for me.
Not too far from there, a pair of Zebra Doves were busy feeding on the street.
There were the usual Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Yellow-vented Bulbuls nearby as well but these were the "trash birds" of our subdivision that I no longer felt obliged to capture their images.
Anyway, being successful in recording our FOS Brown Shrike, with a couple of bonuses all in one spot, my enthusiasm for birding seem to be migrating back to my soul again.
Our early morning birding at the campus of the University of the Philippines at the onset was a disappointment. Brown Shrikes and Yellow-vented Bulbuls were the only species that were active. Oh, and a pair of Black-naped Orioles that looked like they were checking out if the new building being constructed was according to their specifications.
Of course, we got a de rigueur shot of the resident sleeper, the Philippine Nightjar.
"Let's try the lagoon and see if we can find the Common Kingfisher there," I suggested to Cynthia. It was a good suggestion because I got a tip from fellow birder, Mads Bajarias about the kingfisher inhabiting the lagoon, but I honestly didn't know exactly where the lagoon was. So my diligent wife started asking around and as serendipity would have it, the very first person (persons, actually - there were two of them) were off-duty security guards who gave her precise directions to the lagoon.
A short walk and there it was! It wasn't long before we got a glimpse of our quarry. However, it was too far even for my long lens and I just got a "documentary" shot.
For close to two hours we waited for this "common" kingfisher to reappear and hoped it would be on a much nearer spot. Meanwhile our long wait had been alleviated by seeing two migrants: the Grey Wagtail and the Arctic Warbler (no good shots on both, unfortunately) - our FOS (first of season) sightings of both species.
Almost two hours had passed and our kingfisher was still teasingly refusing to show itself. I was getting antsy - yes, impatient, and also literally being crawled over by ants.
"Let's go!" I told my wife.
"Aw, c'mon, let's give it a few more minutes." she pleaded.
But I was adamant. She bargained by sweetly suggesting we go further down the trail "and maybe see some other birds?" I gave in. How can I not with that sugary smile and star-filled eyes.
Even before we started to take the trail I saw it! I saw our Common Kingfisher with a fish in its beak! What followed was about half-an-hour's stalking and trying to get close enough so I can get the sought after FIM (food-in-mouth) shot. Which was a trying experience in itself because I would only take a few steps closer and it would fly off and alit on a branch farther away. Shouts of "Aw, c'mon, stay still, will ya?" punctuated those chases. Eventually, the tiny bird flew to where it was impossible for me to follow it.
"Did you get a good shot?" Cynthia asked eagerly.
I reviewed my photographic efforts and smiled at her.
We were already in the parking lot and packing our gear when Cynthia shouted, "Kingfisher!" I hastily pulled my camera out of the bag and hied to where she was standing and pointing at something.
It was another FIM shot, this time with a Collared Kingfisher.
Aw, c'mon, don't you think that that's a nice bonus?
