BTS (Back To Subic)

Friday morning Cynthia asked me "Do you want to go on a joy ride?"

"Where to?" I asked.

"Subic," she replied.

I was shocked! I never expected her to even think of going there. In my previous blog (see Reflections) I mentioned that at my age, driving long distances would be a real challenge. And yet my wife seemed confident that I still can do it. Then it suddenly dawned on me: it will be our 17th wedding anniversary on Sunday, that's the reason Cynthia wanted a "holiday" in Subic. So we quickly packed up and off we went. Thankfully the traffic wasn't much of a hassle and we got into our destination in about 3 hours. We had a sumptuous lunch at our favorite restaurant, Cocolime. We then checked in at Mango Valley Hotel, the place we always stay in everytime we visit Subic. After about an hour's rest ( a much needed one for me) we explored the nearby areas and got a few shots of the common birds there. 

Paddyfield Pipit

 

Brown Shrike

Zebra Dove

Sadly, the seashore was now being "reclaimed" probably in preparation for establishing a subdivision or a commercial space.

From there we proceeded to Cubi Point. At a bare tree were some Philippine Green Pigeons.

 

Large-billed Crows were all over the place.

 

So were the Crested Mynas

 

In another bare tree was a Pied Triller.

 

We searched the vicinity of the church but didn't find any Blue-naped Parrot.

It was getting late in the afternoon and the weather wasn't cooperating as well so we returned to our hotel and went to bed early.

The next morning, after breakfast we proceeded to Nabasan Trail. Along the way was a cooperative White-throated Kingfisher.

 

At the entrance to the trail was a pair of Green Imperial Pigeons perched way up high.

 

Then a flock of Philippine Hanging Parrots came and landed at a tall tree. They were very active and stayed mostly in the shadows. I was lucky enough to a shot of one out in the open.

 

At the trail we encountered a pair of Sooty Woodpeckers.

 

On the way out we glimpsed on some Philippine Falconets.

 

Flying overhead was a Brahminy Kite.

 

We returned to Cubi Point but unfortunately not a single Bee-eater was there. Before leaving Subic we had lunch at Slabs together with Cynthia's daughter Ginger and her kids.

We were quite disappointed at the apparent lack of birds. Could it be because of a lot of road repairs were being made (including Nabasan)?

I Love Caylabne

Caylabne is a private resort in Cavite. It reopened recently after being closed for quite some time. We were grateful to our friend, Peter, for making the arrangements to get us inside this resort to do some birding.

But first, allow me to express our sadness at the lack of birds along the road from Ternate to the gates of the resort. This used to be one of the better birding areas not that far from Metro Manila. It was here that my wife and I got some lifers, such as the Plain Bush Hen and the Blackish Cuckooshrike. We have brought birding friends from Hong Kong and the U.S.A. here and they were not disappointed. However, our experience yesterday was unbelievably heartbreaking. We only saw two species of birds, Brahminy Kites flying overhead and a single Philippine Falconet!

Brahminy Kite

Philippine Falconet

As we approached the gate of the resort, Cynthia yelled "Peregrine Falcon!" which she saw land on the tower. It was partly hidden so we couldn't take any pictures. So we waited for it to fly off. After about 15 minutes it flew and soared away never to return. Luckily, I got one shot that turned out to be good enough.

As we traversed the road to the resort, I saw a dove feeding by the roadside. At first I thought it was a Red Turtledove, but looking at the documentary shots that I got, it turned out to be an Island Collared Dove - a total surprise!

Our next encounter was that of a Collared Kingfisher perched on some dead branches.

Then we saw the pond and there were perhaps more than 50 Philippine Ducks there. We stayed there for a while until the skittish ducks sort of got used to our presence.

Even before we approached the pond, my wife already saw a White-bellied Sea Eagle perched on a tree near the water's edge. However, it was too far for us to get some good shots. It was while waiting for the ducks to come closer that a pair of these eagles flew over and offered better photo ops.

Having our fill with the ducks, we moved on. Hearing some screeching sounds, Peter parked the car and we searched for the source of that noise. It turned out to be four or five Guaiaberos feeding on a fruiting tree.

During some pauses when we were trying to locate the green parrots from among the green leaves, a Grey-streaked Flycatcher would attract our attention by flying after an unfortunate insect and the perching on a branch in full view.

We then had lunch at the resort. After that, on the way back to the entrance, we passed by the "garbage dump" hoping to see some Bee-eaters but they were a no-show. The only bird in that area was a Little Egret near a small pond.

Were it not for the birds we saw inside the grounds of the resort, our birding sortie would have been a total disaster. That's why I love Caylabne.

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.

Nothing New

Honestly, I had my expectations at zero level even before we arrived at Infanta. The past 5 visits to this place had been sadly disappointing. To dip so badly while others enjoyed good views, some even quite close, of uncommon birds, of species that would have been lifers for me and my wife was heartbreaking. And now the promise of another potential addition to our list brought us back here.

As if our previous torturous experiences were not enough, not seeing our target bird for today added to our misfortunes. Perhaps it was due to the inclement weather that only a few birds showed up. The sunbirds were nowhere to be found and the usual wave of mixed flocks never happened.

There were birds alright, but nothing new - two species of flowerpeckers, the Buzzing and the Pygmy and a couple of endemic raptors, both of which were either backlit or simply too far for good photos. Remember, the weather was gloomy and even had drizzles, so photography was really a challenge.

Buzzing Flowerpecker

Pygmy Flowerpecker

Philippine Serpent Eagle

Philippine Falconet

At around 11 the drizzle turned into rain. As we drove through the downpour, I pondered on what just happened again. My inner self whispered: It's nothing new.

Subic Birding - Day 1, Only This and Nothing More

"Once upon a December quite dreary while I pondered weak and weary
Having driven quite a distance and my body feeling sore
Our car barely stopping when Cynthia heard a tapping
As of one urgently rapping, rapping that's for sure
Tis some woodpecker my wife was quite sure
Only this and nothing more"

I was reminded of Edgar Allan Poe's poem about the raven as we had an encounter with the White-bellied Woodpecker at the Nabasan Trail. We had barely parked the car when the loud tapping filled the morning air. We did not have any problem finding the bird and we got our shots right away. I hoped that that would be a good beginning to our birding trip to Subic. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way. We did see a lot of birds, but photographing them was a different story. The local avian population somehow seemed more skittish now. For the whole day that we spent birding we only photographed four more species aside from the White-bellied Woodpecker: White-throated Kingfisher, Whiskered Treeswift, Blue-throated Bee-eater and Philippine Falconet.

Only these and nothing more.

White-bellied Woodpecker

White-throated Kingfisher

Whiskered Treeswift

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Philippine Falconet

The Road Less Birded

It had been quite a while since I last saw postings of bird pictures taken from Mt. Palay-palay. That seemed strange because this place is one of the birding spots close to MetroManila. Perhaps these days birders were being drawn to the "more productive" sites such as Subic, IRRI, and recently, Bangkong Kahoy Valley.

When friends Peter and Wenxing suggested that we try Mt. Palay-palay on Saturday, I hastily agreed. This is basically roadside birding stretching from Ternate going up to the Caylabne Resort. We've had good experiences here before so we hoped that we would be seeing multitudes of bird species. Thus began our trip to the road less birded.

Our first encounter was the endemic Philippine Falconet - one of the world's smallest raptors. Lots of them! At one point there were 7 birds perched in a single tree! A bit far but who's complaining.

After the falconets, birds were as scarce as snowflakes in the Sahara. We just saw one (!) Luzon Hornbill and even failed to take a photo because it was too high in a tree and didn't even stay long for a photo-op! The Brahminy Kites were there alright but they were soaring so high up. 

On our way back I was lucky enough to photograph one perched on a tree across the road.

The only other birds of note were the swallows/woodswallows.

Pacific Swallow

White-breasted Woodswallow

While Peter and Wenxing were "kiting" (taking pictures of the Brahminy Kites) a small flock of Striated Swallows perched on the electric wire above where Cynthia and I were taking refuge from the scorching sun. The swallows were taking turns flying off then returning to their perches. My wife and I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice our BIF (birds in flight) shots. Once again, I was outshot by my better half and thereby living up to that description.

We got photos of the Coppersmith Barbet, the Coleto and the Stripe-headed Rhabdornis. However, the shots were only of "documentary" quality because these birds were all perched at quite a distance from us.

As we prepared to go home, I took some photos of the Long-tailed Macaques roaming the area. Somehow the look on the face of one of them reflected the mood we were in.

Leaving Mt. Palay-palay it became clear to me why this 17 kilometer stretch had become the road less birded.

Shoes to Blame

With the recent spate of birding bad luck still haunting me, I was a little worried about our upcoming trip to Mt. Palay-palay in Cavite. More so because we will have our new friend from the U.S., Zach DuFran, joining us. Since this will be Zach's first time to bird in the Philippines, I was afraid that my misfortunes would continue to plague us and thus deprive our American friend of seeing a lot of local birds.

As we drove towards our destination, Peter (who was driving), my wife, Cynthia, and I were amused because Zach was so excited at seeing even the most common birds such as Yellow-vented Bulbuls, Striated Grassbirds and Cattle Egrets. And yes, he wanted to take photos of those.

Near the gate of Puerto Azul, Peter parked his vehicle and we locals unloaded our cameras while Zach was in high heavens photographing the cooperative Brown Shrike. Now armed and ready, we got back into the car and began the ascent. It wasn't long after that we saw a male Luzon Hornbill! Unfortunately, it flew off before we could take photos. We parked once again and waited, hoping it would reappear - but it didn't. It's still probably my bad luck I thought to myself woefully. 

Then there was some commotion in the nearby trees. "Yellow-vented Bulbuls," I half murmured. But somehow I had an urge to look at them through my camera. "Stripe-headed Rhabdornises!" I exclaimed. (Note the plural). 

Next came our first encounter of another endemic, the Philippine Falconet, perched on a wire.

As expected a Brahminy Kite soon came soaring overhead. Then the kite started harassing another raptor. An Oriental Honey Buzzard flew by totally ignoring the bullying of the smaller Brahminy. We were so surprised by the appearance of the Honey Buzzard that I only got a silhouette.

Eventually we saw the Luzon Hornbill again, this time the female, but it was too far off for a satisfactory shot. A small flock of Pygmy Flowerpeckers foraged on a tree not too far away but they were so active and preferred the inside of the foliage that once again we failed to obtain any respectable picture. While my companions were still looking at the distant hornbill, I noticed another raptor flying overhead. It was smaller and had a different color from the usual Brahminy Kites. I blame my excitement for the blurred photos but at least they were good enough for me to identify it as a Grey-faced Buzzard.

It was also while we were waiting for better views of the Hornbill that Cynthia and I noticed a bird behind the electrical post. 

"It's a woodpecker!" my wife said. I slowly crossed the road so I could get a better view but, as my luck (the bad one) would have it, all I saw was a flash of bright red that zipped from the pole to a tall tree where it instantly became invisible. There were a couple more red flashes after that but that's all there was to it.

Frustrated by the uncooperative Hornbill (not to mention the Luzon Flameback), we continued on our way. I saw something and asked Peter to stop and do a reverse. There, perched on a bare branch was another Philippine Falconet. We all got out of the car, took pictures to our heart's content, and was even given a bonus when another Falconet, presumably its mate, joined the other one.

Next sightings along the way were a White-breasted Wood Swallow and more than thirty Striated Swallows all perched on the electric wire.

White-breasted Woodswallow

Striated Swallow - one of about 30 on the wire

We parked by the gate of the Caylabne Resort. Perhaps half an hour passed and not even the resident Brahminy Kites showed up. With nothing much to photograph, we decided to take a group picture. Luckily, an ice cream vendor was around so we politely asked him the favor of taking the group shot. 

To show our gratitude we bought some chocolate crunch popsicle from him. We were finishing the refreshing ice cream when I saw a bird flying swiftly and then landed on the tall communication tower behind the Resort's gate. 

"I'm pretty convinced that is a Peregrine Falcon," I told my skeptical friends. It was Cynthia's sharp eyes that confirmed that I was not just imagining things. Unfortunately, the raptor stayed at the back side of the tower not allowing for any good photographic shots. Until it decided to fly off. Again, it was my wife that provided photographic confirmation of my identifying skills.

Inasmuch as all of us got good looks and photos of the Peregrine and an apparent turn-around from our heretofore not too good luck in getting images of the birds we saw, we all agreed that it's time to continue with our journey. I was already seated in the car when I saw a bird alight on a branch of the tree across from me. "Philippine Bulbul!" I announced to my companions. "No, wait! Blue Rock Thrush! Blue Rock Thrush!" I couldn't control my excitement. I really did not expect to see this species in this kind of environment since it usually prefers the concrete ledges of buildings.

After the Thrush left, we were all smiling at the bonus that we were just given. That is until I saw another raptor thermalling above us. It was huge, bigger than the Brahminy. It soared slowly, sometimes even stopping in mid-air, allowing us such unusual photographic opportunities. It was only during our lunch at Puerto Azul that we were able to confirm its identity: a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle. A lifer for all us.

Everything was anti-climactic after that. It was almost noon, the weather had become unbearably hot, so it was time for lunch. The only species added to our list were the Pacific Swallow and Asian Glossy Starling.

As we endured the terrible traffic on the way back to Zach's hotel, many things came to my mind. First, we were so glad that Zach was not disappointed even for just half-a-day's birding. My initial fears, thankfully, never materialized. Then, of course, was the obvious change in my birding luck. Cynthia said it's because we bought popsicles from the ice-cream vendor. Maybe that's true, since kindness and generosity has its rewards. Personally I think it's my shoes. Allow me to explain: I had been using my Columbia hiking shoes whenever we go birding until a few months ago. That was when the upper right section of the sole of the right shoe became loose. So I retired the Columbias and in its place I used a new pair that we bought in the U.S. (Realtree brand). Call it coincidence but since I started using that new pair of shoes I did not do well in my birding trips (please read my previous blogs). Last week, using an epoxy, I fixed my old Columbia shoe and that was what I wore when we went to Palay-palay. Let the bird sightings we had there provide the proof to my claim. Need I say more?