It's Where Avilon

The Avilon Zoo in Rodriguez, Rizal had been hosting some uncommon migrants lately. Last October a pair of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings stayed there for some time. Late January of this year, local guide Mhark Gee posted a photo of a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, taken at the zoo premises. That of course triggered an onrush of bird photographers to Avilon. My wife and I, along with our friend, Peter, were part of a group that went on Saturday, Feb. 3rd.

Majority of us arrived a little before 8 am. After more than an hour of waiting, the hoped for cuckoo was still a no-show. Then the local Besra came flying in and teasingly flew from tree to tree. Cynthia was quicker with her camera and got a shot of the raptor.

Time slowly passed and still our target bird was nowhere in sight. As if to relieve the building tension among us, a Common Kingfisher visited the nearby pond and hunted for food, giving us photographers some FIM (food in mouth) shots.

Not long afterwards, its endemic cousin - the Indigo-banded Kingfisher - obligingly posed for us as well.

Then Mhark told us that another cuckoo, the Rusty-breasted one, was at the trees near the parking area. Now this was one very cooperative (and I'd say somewhat narcissistic) bird, as it gave us different poses like a model.

At noon we decided to join our fellow birders who were already having lunch at the restaurant area. That was when Mhark shouted, "It's here!" What followed was a frenzied shooting by 16 excited bird photographers of the awesome looking cuckoo. For about an hour, this beautiful migrant made all of us go cuckoo. It was the three of us (me, my wife and our friend, Peter) who gave up as we were already feeling the pangs of hunger. We were all happy that we got our first lifer of the year.

Because of the two chestnut migrants (the cheeked starlings last year and the winged cuckoo this year) the Avilon Zoo had become one of the interesting local birding destinations. Hopefully more will come even those without "chestnut" in their name.

One Fine Day

Ever since we moved to our new place we have not been able to visit our favorite breakfast buffet place as often as we would have wanted. Cafe Sweet Inspirations now being twice as far as when we were at former abode was the main reason for that.

Friday night I was mulling on where to go birding on Saturday. Shall we go back to Infanta and hope that our recent luck would continue? I checked the weather forecast and it said that there would be rain on that part of the country. 

Then there were the recent postings of photos of the pair of Narcissus Flycatchers taken in U.P. Diliman. A male of this species was also seen there way back in 2011. Not seeing it after several attempts moved me into creating a sarcastic video. 

http://ornithographer.blogspot.com/2012/11/figment-of-imagination.html

October 31 of 2016 we saw the female at Bangkong Kahoy. The day after that, a male Narcissus Flycatcher was reported seen at a tiny patch of woods near the Redemptorist church in Baclaran. That was one successful twitch we had. The curse had finally been broken.

So as I pondered that Friday night, since our beloved restaurant was not that far from U.P., then the conclusion was quite obvious. I turned to my wife and with all seriousness I could muster, I told her: Let's have breakfast at Cafe Sweet Inspirations tomorrow, then go look for the Narcissus afterwards. She smiled and hugged me in response.

Needless to say it was a most satisfying breakfast we had that Saturday morning. With stomachs full, we then proceeded to "Frogs" area in U.P. The first bird we saw was a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo.

After that we met University professor, and fellow birder, Carmela Espanola, who was so kind to show us where our target birds had been observed.

While Cynthia was stalking some birds down the trail, I stayed where the bamboo grove was. Somehow I felt as if someone was whispering to me, telling me to turn around. So I did. At a distance I saw a bird with an orange breast. Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, I thought to myself. I raised my camera to my eyes and as soon as I focused on the bird, I realized it was what we were looking for. "Narcissus!" I yelled to my wife. The moment she came next to me, the colorful flycatcher moved a bit closer to us.

Soon it flew away. My wife continued looking for other birds and I still remained hoping the male Narcissus would return. It didn't. But then the female showed up.

After that, we both agreed to now look for other birds in the campus. Not that far from the flycatcher area, we encountered a Red-keeled Flowerpecker picking on the fruits of the aratiles tree.

Driving around the Rotunda, I noticed a patch of grass and told Cynthia, "How come there are no Pipits here." I have barely finished the sentence when I saw two, yes two! Paddyfield Pipits. 

Then, of course, there was the obligatory shot of the friendly Long-tailed Shrike. This was taken from our car window and was almost full frame from my wife's comparatively shorter lens.

We then drove to where a Ferruginous Flycatcher was seen around this time of the year back in 2010. Seeing it again was a shot in the moon, a hope against hope kind of thing. Of course it wasn't there. On the way out Cynthia suggested, "Why don't you take a photo of the Woodswallow? You know, just to complete our day." So I did.

Starting the day with a sumptuous breakfast, getting our target birds, and then going home with the sun shining brightly and without the dreaded traffic. It was indeed one fine day.

Reflections

It happened again. An impromptu twitch that resulted in another heartache. We saw our target bird alright, I even got a photo, albeit not even close to a "documentary" shot. Still the seemingly unending frustrating experiences lately had me reflecting deeply.

Our trip to the Avilon Zoo premises actually wasn't bad. Thanks to fellow birder and guide, Mhark Gee, we got a good harvest of bird photographs. The highlight of which was some close shots of an immature Rusty-breasted Cuckoo.

There were the usual birds that fed on the fruiting ficus tree.

Crested Myna

Immature Black-naped Oriole

Coleto

Lowland White-eye

Red-keeled Flowerpecker

And of course, the "trash bird"..

Yellow-vented Bulbul

However, those uncommon migrants - the Chestnut-cheeked Starlings preferred the fruits behind the leaves and at a farther distance. Even Mhark was baffled by such behavior since they were out in the open just the day before.

Trust me that is a Chestnut-cheeked Starling.

And that was the reason for my self-reflection. This morning while I was doing my daily devotional, one Bible verse stood out prominently. It was God's answer to my introspections.


"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1st Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Halloween Birding

October 31. Halloween. The eve of All Saints' Day. This is when ghosts, ghouls and various evil spirits supposedly celebrate their allotted time before the saints take over the following day.

This was also the time when four birders decided to try their luck at the valley between Mt. Banahaw and Mt. San Cristobal. For me and my wife it was the desire to add two more lifers to our list: The Luzon Sunbird and ver rare Von Schrenck's Bittern. For our companions Ruth (who kindly did the driving) and Doc Cha, it was getting back into the thrill of watching birds once again.

Just before the resort parking area we saw the brothers Lepatan, along with the local guide Jason, photographing something. We joined them and were informed that there were both male and female Narcissus Flycatchers in the trees in front of us. Perhaps it was the halloween spirit that haunted us because we only saw glimpses of the female and none at all of the more colorful male (which I have failed to see despite several attempts for the past 5 years).

When we asked Jason about our target birds he informed us that we had to follow some protocol regarding the bittern. The space where it can be seen was quite limited and also they prefer that no more than 4 people be there at the site at any given time. Since there was already a group that was ahead of us, we were asked to wait for our turn which would depend on how satisfied the present viewers would be.

The Luzon Sunbird, on the other hand, had not been seen for about a week now. The flowers that they feed on were no longer in bloom, Jason said. But we can still give it a try he encouragingly told us.

While the Lepatans were waiting for their two more brothers to join them, Ruth, Doc Cha, Cynthia and myself were entertained by a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo atop a tree near the restaurant.

With the group now complete we all hiked to where the Sunbirds were last seen. It was also near the place where Jason would be showing the White-browed Shortwing to the Lepatans. 

While waiting for the brothers to return from the shortwing site, a Turquoise Flycatcher gave us some good view, although a bit far.

Then it was Ruth's and Doc Cha's turn to see the Shortwing. We didn't go with them because we've already photographed this species in the same spot about 3 years ago. While they were there my wife and I kept looking at the red flowers that the sunbirds supposedly feed on. No such luck however. Only a Red-keeled Flowerpecker showed up and it was so high up that we were not able to get a decent photo.

We did see other birds while we were waiting for our guide to return from the shortwing site. One of them was a Philippine Serpent Eagle flying over. 

It was also while we were in the "waiting area" that it rained off and on. In between downpours birds would reappear. That's when we saw a flock of Mountain White-eyes, and a Buzzing Flowerpecker.

Mountain White-eye

Buzzing Flowerpecker

After everyone had seen the shortwing, Jason got news from his brother Chris that the Von Schrenck's had not showed up yet. We hiked back to the restaurant and since it was almost noon we had our lunch.

After lunch we had a debate whether the bird we saw near the restaurant was the very common Brown Shrike or the rarer (and possible lifer) Mountain Shrike. We hadn't come to a definite conclusion yet so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Since news that the bittern was still a no-show, we tried for the Narcissus Flycatcher again and got the female this time.

At 2:30 pm it appeared that we would never be able to get the chance to see the bittern. With heavy hearts we all decided that it's time to go home.

It was a disappointment for me because I dipped on my two target birds for the trip.

Well, it was Halloween so all I could say was: Boo!

Spotty, Fie!

Maybe it's because I don't have my good luck charm (aka my wife) with me. It was one of those rare occasions where I went birding without Cynthia. It was a mutual agreement anyway: I go birding in the morning while she house sits then she goes to a baby shower in the afternoon and my turn stay at home.

The day before I got a message from birding buddy, Bong, that a female Spotted Wood Kingfisher had been seen at the La Mesa Ecopark. Although not a lifer, it would a welcome break from my long hiatus in going out to take pictures of birds.

Saturday morning, Bong, Raymund, myself, and resident birder, Anthony, staked out the kingfisher. After two-and-a-half hours, the only kingfisher we saw was the Collared kind. 

The weather wasn't cooperating either as the skies were blanketed with grey clouds. And the local birds - the Pied Trillers, Lowland White-eyes, Black-naped Orioles and Pied Fantails - frustratingly kept staying in the uppermost branches of the tall trees. Backlit photography all the way!

Around 9:30 I bade my friends farewell. As I turned my car around, I noticed my buddies frantically taking shots at something. "Cuckoo!" Raymund said. I unpacked my gear, jumped out of the car and joined the frenzy. The Rusty-breasted Cuckoo played with us as it perched on a branch, stayed for a couple of minutes, then fly to another branch, posed a bit then fly again, until it was out of sight.

And that was it. I renewed my farewell to my friends and drove home all the while thinking: Fie on you, Spotty bird! Disappointing four birders who were drenched in sweat on that humid morning. And thank you, Rusty-breasted bird, for giving those four birders the much needed thrill and driving them cuckoo with your antics.

Happy Birdday

I already have a blog title in mind even before we went birding last Saturday morning: Happy BRT Day! (sounds like happy birthday, right?). BRT stands for Blue Rock Thrush, an uncommon migrant to the Philippines. Our friend, Bert Madrigal, posted a photo of one taken at the campus of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) in Diliman, Quezon City - a place close to our residence. He saw three of them according to Bert. That was our incentive to go birding on my birthday.

My wife and I were at the Science Complex (where the BRTs were seen) at 6:30 am. Three hours later and I had to accept the fact that my planned blog title would never be used after all. Not a single Blue Rock Thrush showed up!

But it was my birthday and I would not let minor disappointments ruin it for me. Cynthia and I made lemonade out of lemons, so to speak. We saw quite a number of birds, albeit the usual suspects found in U.P., but the Lord in His graciousness showed us two species that were rarely seen here: A Rusty-breasted Cuckoo and a Black-chinned Fruit Dove - both still in the immature stage.

Immature Rusty-breasted Cuckoo

Immature Black-chinned Fruit Dove

The good old reliable Philippine Nightjar was still in its usual roosting place.

There were other birds that we saw and photographed too but these were the highlights of our day. 

Despite not seeing our target species, my birthday birding trip to U.P. was still an enjoyable one considering that I wasn't feeling well the day before. This was definitely a great tasting lemonade.