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. 

Subic Birding - Day 3 - Best

Although we did not see a lot of birds on our third day, those we saw were very friendly. They would even come close that some of our shots were full frame!

First off were the Balicassiaos

Then a Guaiabero were as curious about us as we of it.

The highlight was when a Rough-crested Malkoha, normally a skulker, not only popped-put in the open, it was so close to us and even gave us several poses.

Not to be outdone was a Philippine Bulbul who even chose a flower (fruit?) to perch on.

When we went to the area near the bay, this Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker was so focused on finding its food sometimes just a few feet away from us.

Finally, a White-throated Kingfisher just sat on the wire as we took pictures of it from our car window. Which we found rather strange because the past couple of days, they would fly off as we try to approach it in our vehicle.

Subic Birding - Day 2 - Better

Although the weather was still inconsistent, we had better results in our second day of birding in Subic.

When we first saw this bird, I was surprised! I know that it was a White-bellied Woodpecker. However, it had a yellow-crest instead of the usual red. A few days later I consulted our friend, Desmond Allen, an ornithologist, and he said that it was most likely a genetic variation.

Another surprise was when we saw a Common Sandpiper standing next to a flower garden.

That afternoon we chanced upon a mixed flock of mostly dark-colored birds. It was Cynthia who got the better shots this time.

Balicassiao

Bar-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

Coleto

As we were about to leave, a very cooperative Philippine Bulbul posed for me.

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.

Missing Tit

Early Saturday (March 4) morning I got a Facebook PM from birding friend Bim Quemado. "If you're interested, the White-fronted Tit is easy here at Subic" was his message. A couple of weeks earlier, our friends from the Baguio-Benguet Birding Group also posted photos of this species. The White-fronted Tit was my nemesis bird. Cynthia and I never saw it despite our many attempts.

Sunday afternoon we drove to Subic and proceeded right away to the place Bim said he saw the Tit. Three hours of searching and nada. Early the following day we went back. Again, three hours of waiting and staring at the trees with red flowers and still no Tit. I thought I saw it fly across the road but somehow never found the place where it landed. Or was it just my imagination playing tricks on me.

Although not seeing our target was a heart-breaker, birding wasn't that bad at all. This is the time of year when the Blue-throated Bee-eaters start their nesting period. There were dozens of them congregating on the electric wires waiting for their turn to visit their respective holes on the ground.

Some even displaying a unique posture.

Having spent most of our time looking for the imaginary bird with a white forehead, we were not able to photograph much of the avian denizens of Subic. Here are some that we got:

Blue-naped Parrot

Large-billed Crow

Coppersmith Barbet

Coleto

Luzon Flameback

Oriental Dollarbird

Stripe-headed Rhabdronis

White-bellied Woodpecker

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!