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)?

Seeing Green

It was one of those weird experiences where we saw green birds - two species from the Dove family - but were unable to photograph them. And that happened at the start and at the end of our three-day birding at Subic. Wednesday afternoon as we entered the Nabasan Trail, we saw a pair of Common Emerald Doves feeding on the ground. As I lowered our car window to take their photo, both flew away. We made a quick round trip, hoping they will be back at their feeding spot. We saw one but again it flew away even before we could lift our cameras. And then on our last day, as we were about to exit the Nabasan Trail, a flock of 5 Philippine Green Pigeons were perched on a tree by the road. But before I could even stop the car, all five flew into the forest, not to be seen again.

Other than that frustrating encounters, we had a very good birding time at Subic. It didn't start well though. For one thing the weather was gloomy that Wednesday afternoon. Most of the photos we got were disappointingly backlit. The first bird we photographed was a Common Sandpiper, taken at the seashore not that far from our hotel.

At the Nabasan Trail, we got some shots at the Luzon Hornbill, Blue-throated Bee-eater and Green Imperial Pigeon.

And that, sadly was how our first day ended. Thursday, surprisingly, was sunny which boosted our hopes of seeing more birds. One of the surprises was a Grey-faced Buzzard.

I thought that would be a good portent.  However, things went downhill after that. All we saw were the "trash" birds - species that we always see at our condominium grounds. So I took some obligatory shots.

Zebra Dove

Brown Shrike

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Even more annoying was the White-throated Kingfisher. They were quite common but so skittish. Each time we would approach one (in our car, by the way) they would fly off, and land a few meters away. We would follow, and it would repeat that routine several times. And that was not just one individual! We encountered a few more and they did they same mocking attitude. Then I remembered a place we visited last year where that kind of kingfisher was more cooperative. So we went to the Ilanan Road and we were not disappointed.

That somehow changed our luck. Soon we were seeing species after species. Foremost was a Philippine Serpent Eagle that stayed put for a long time. And there were two endemics: the Coleto and the Guiabero.

Coleto

Guaiabero

Another species of the parrot family was even friendlier - the Green Racket-tail.

Before heading back to our hotel, we passed by the Volunteer Park hoping to get photos of the Brahminy Kite. And we did! 

With a bonus of a Grey Heron and a Great Egret.

The following morning and our last day of birding was once again a bit gloomy. Despite that we had good shots of a Balicassiao which landed on the electric wire just above us.

A Blue-naped Parrot also posed for us from a nearby tree.

The highlight of the day was getting good looks and getting photos of the three kinds of woodpeckers: The Northern Sooty Woodpecker, the White-bellied Woodpecker and the Luzon Flameback.

Northern Sooty Woodpecker

White-bellied Woodpecker

Luzon Flameback

The last bird we photographed was the skulking Philippine Coucal.

It was one of the most productive sorties we had in this place - considering that it didn't start well - so much so that I was turning into a grumpy old man. Thanks to my ever encouraging, always positive wife, everything eventually went well. Things may look grey, but there is always green at the end.

Did ja view?

Deja vu - noun - a feeling of having already experienced the present situation. French literally meaning "already seen".

Our experiences in Subic the past two days had been quite deja vu-ish . First of all, it was almost the same dates that we were here last year - just one day's difference. Then, for the most part, the scarcity of the birds were an eerie repetition of 2013's dearth of avian sightings. Finally, on a positive note, where we met a pair of newbie birders (Mr & Mrs Jorge Abiva Garcia) before, we had the same experience this year when we met Dr. Rannie Aguilar and his family. 

It was on a Sunday afternoon right at the entrance towards the Nabasan trail that we met the Aguilars. Since it was their first time to go birding in Subic, we offered to take them around the better known birding areas. For a newbie, Rannie had very sharp eyes. It was his keen observation skills that enabled Cynthia and myself to see some of the birds in the forest. Example number one: while I was busy taking pictures of the Whiskered Treeswifts, Rannie and his son's attention were somewhere else. When I approached them he pointed to a Green Imperial Pigeon. It took me a while to spot it.

By the road to Hill 394, he asked me "Did you see it?" I shook my head. He then directed me to the tree trunk across the road. A White-bellied Woodpecker was busy hunting for food.

We went to the Crown Peak area late in the afternoon. Although birds were quite numerous - Blue-naped Parrots, Black-naped Orioles, Blue-throated Bee-eaters and Yellow-vented Bulbuls were all preparing to settle in for the night - it was already too dark for us to get any decent shots. This was very similar to our experience last year. 

We agreed to meet up again the following morning inasmuch as the hotels where we were staying in weren't that far from each other.

It was still dark when we arrived at Nabasan Trail the next day. We waited patiently hoping we would encounter an owl, but none appeared. The sun was already shining brightly when bird activity commenced. Green Imperial Pigeons were still too lazy to leave their roosts. It was the Guaiaberos that were up and about.

We moved on when the bird activity dwindled somewhat. Along the exit trail, Cynthia heard some mewing sounds. We parked our cars and looked for the source of those strange noises. I looked at Rannie who was shooting at something. When asked what it was, he showed us a full body shot of a Rufous Coucal! "They already hid in the bushes," he informed us. I was devastated. The Rufous Coucal is one of my most sought after species. We've been to Subic many times and not once have we seen them. Cynthia noticed the dour look on my face. "We'll come back again tomorrow and we'll see them then," she said consolingly. Still my heart was pained. So I prayed. We were about to board our vehicles when the mewing calls once again resounded in the crisp morning air. One, two, three coucals flew across the road calling to each other. One of them perched in full view. My prayer had been answered. My last lifer for the year was now in the bag.

My wife and I needed to go back to our hotel before 10 am so we could avail of the free breakfast. A little after nine we said goodbye to our new friend and excellent bird spotter. He and his family would be going back to their home in Lucena after lunch so he wanted to make the most of his birding morning.

There weren't new birds along Nabasan trail and the Botanic Garden when Cynthia and I returned after breakfast. Our afternoon birding only yielded a Philippine Green Pigeon.

Tuesday morning, we hit the road to Hill 394 again. Like last year, another target bird, the White-fronted Tit was a no-show. That place only yielded a Luzon Hornbill and a pair of Sooty Woodpeckers.

Just like yesterday, we had to go back to our hotel for our breakfast. We both agreed that we would go home after our morning meal. To borrow the words in my blog one year ago: Our trip was not that productive bird-wise but we did gain new friends. For my wife and myself that is still a plus. And we got a lifer this time.

Two Tings We Know

Cynthia and I joined our friends Peter Ting and Alex Ting (who are not related to each other) on a trip to Bangkong Kahoy along the slopes of the majestic Mt. Banahaw.

Things did not augur well - the inefficiency of the staff of Jollibee's at SLEX where we had our breakfast delayed our arrival at our destination. So much so that we missed the mixed flock wave that passes by the balcony of the house of our friend, Ramon Quisumbing. Together with fellow bird photographer Prof. Reuel Aguila, who joined us there, we waited for another hour hoping another wave would come, but that didn't happen. Our guide, Cris, suggested we go to site where the uncommon skulker, the White-browed Shortwing makes it appearance.

After a strenuous (at least to my wife and I) 15-minute hike we arrived at the place. Inasmuch as the area that the shortwing frequents was quite limited in space, Cris suggested that we divide into two groups. While waiting for the first group to return, the other group can wait for the adult Sooty Woodpecker to visit its nest, was the agreed upon plan. Prof. Reuel and Alex went first. Peter, Cynthia and I kept a close watch at the dead tree where the nest was. About ten minutes later, Cris, Alex and Reuel returned with big smiles on their faces.

"We got it as soon as we got settled in" Alex told us.

Excitedly, the three of us, along with Cris, hurried to the place. Our guide instructed us where to place our cameras and pointed at the spot where the furtive bird was likely to appear. We didn't have to wait very long. Soon the dark colored Shortwing showed up. With overcast skies and dim surroundings, the tiny bird blended so well with its environment that we had a hard time adjusting our camera settings. A couple of minutes and the bird went into hiding again.

"Just wait a little bit more because it will return," Cris assured us.

Sure enough, the female Shortwing repeated its earlier routine. We were now ready and got some good shots of our newest lifer.

We returned to where our friends were waiting for the Sooty Woodpecker. We were comparing our shots of the White-browed Shortwing when I saw something black land at the dead tree where the woodpecker nest was. What followed was a shooting frenzy as the adult female slowly crept to the nest and then proceeded to clean the mess of its offsprings - by swallowing the debris!

When the adult flew off we went to our next target - the nesting Besra. The nest was at some distance and partially covered by the forest. Our presence never posed any threat to the female raptor who was standing over her four cute chicks.

After a sumptuous lunch at Dion's restaurant, we returned to Ramon's balcony, once again hoping that a mixed flock would pass by. A Mountain White-eye made a very quick stop over and a more cooperative Yellowish White-eye posed for a few minutes.

Then rain fell. Hard. For more than an hour. We anticipated that the birds would come out after the downpour but only a Philippine Coucal did and it was at such a far distance it might as well have been on the moon.

Cynthia wandered along the driveway. When she rejoined us later she showed me a photo of a bird she couldn't ID. The image was quite small and I had a hard time figuring out what species it was. It was Cris who confirmed my suspicion that it was a Bicolored Flowerpecker - a lifer for us!

Four in the afternoon and the hoped for mixed flock never came. It was time to go. We thanked Cris for his diligence in showing us where our target birds were. We then said goodbye to Prof. Reuel who will remain at Bangkong Kahoy with his Creative Writing seminar group.

It was a fun and exciting day with my wife and I getting two lifers (more for our two friends) and a great time with the two Tings we know.