If you have read my blogs before you will know that I absolutely adore going birding up Mt.Banahaw. It was my first birding trip in the Philippines up a mountain (even though Mt.Makiling is closer) and my first real experience in a rainforest. Every time we have been, something amazing turns up. It really is fantastic.
So when Paul suggested Banahaw again a few weeks back, I jumped at the chance. The main driver behind the decision was that another stunner of a bird had been photographed nesting up in the mountain. The Whiskered Pitta (Pitta kochi) is a beautifully coloured ground bird, in fact the Philippines is home to a number of pittas, but the whiskered is suppose to be one of the most demanding to actually find in the wild. This new nest on our doorstep was looking good. It is also the first time that I could bring Clare along, as she has been ill and couldn’t make any of the previous trips to my favorite mountain.
So at 4:30 the alarm went off, which this week wasn’t unusual as either Clare, myself or both have been out in the field, so the early mornings are starting to become standard. We quickly assembled our gear and met Paul at the ‘usual spot’, then drove out into the morning.
As uaual we stopped off at Bangkong Kahoy Valley retreat where we caught up with the owner Dion and all the recent bird sightings on the mountain, with a cup of coffee. The pitta was seen a few times but not recently after the chicks had fledged. In fact on the way we spoke of how unlikely we were going to see these birds as it was too late in the morning (it was light already) and we still needed to make our way to the site. We quickly drunk the coffee and we set off to meet our guide, Tony.
We drove a little further up the road and parked in the normal place. We then met Tony and started our climb up the mountain. Having not been for a long time I expected little difference in the landscape but short of a few less flowing trees and the trail a bit more washed away it was very similar to previous trips. We climbed slowly to see what was about.
Our first stop was what we heard, oppose to saw. The mountain tailorbirds were calling again and Paul tried to entice them in with the bird calls on his ipod, but unlike before, they did not fall for it. Maybe they were the same individuals that we had previously seen and wised up to our little trick. I did get eyes on a chestnut-faced babbler and a few white-eyes however. We moved on.
We walked the route I am very familiar with and turned off into the jungle to get to the small waterway, which we followed up the mountain. This still wasn’t new to us as we had been by this way almost every time we have come. Then, as we got to the part we normally cross over and continue around the valley, we turned and started to head up the stream (which is a term I use loosely. It was more of a stream bed with puddles than an actual stream). The nest had been spotted by someone walking up the waterway to see higher up, a complete accidental find. The path was level for a bit and no more challenging than the previous walk but then it suddenly became very rugged! We stopped at the foot of the valley looking up and Tony informed us it was going to be like this all the way up and asked if we wanted to continue. We all agreed thinking that it would be good to see the landscape that the pitta liked and if we were to return very early one morning, what kind of route we would have to navigate in the pre-dawn morning. So off we set…
It was difficult. It was hard and by no stretch of the imagination a path that was used regularly. We were often scrambling up a steep incline of wet vegetation, on loose mud on top of wet rock. The forest was alive with the sounds of at least one of us slipping at any time…except Tony that seems to have mountain goat qualities, even more impressive was that he was doing all this in flip-flops! There were times when I was climbing up behind Clare and I would stop on what I thought was secure ground when all of a sudden it would give way and I would have to make a grab for something to keep me up. We climbed for what seemed like a very long time and asked how much further. The answer was upsetting, we had only travelled about a third of the way. We had to continue for twice as long again and it wasn’t going to get any better.
For some reason, I have always been better going up the mountain than I have going down. I guess it has something to do with gravity, but I am much better at fighting it than going with it. I looked back at the route that had given way underneath us and then looked at Clare that seemed to have struggled a little with the latest climb (she has much shorter legs than us, so couldn’t make some of the steps that we could) so decided it would be best if we started back. I knew this route of the mountain pretty well and felt confident that I could indeed navigate all the way back if we needed to. We talked to Paul and had agreed to meet back at the stream. So as Paul and Tony shot up the valley, Clare and I turned around and tried to make our way back down.
Going at our own speed and taking a bit more time to think about my footing, we made it in good time. The land was still giving way and the rocks were still covered in slippy moss, but we made it down. We sat down by the stream for some snacks and water but then realised that we had indeed become the snacks for the local mozzie population. So we walked a little bit further up the route, away from the water, and waited there. As we waited we kept perfectly still and quiet, hoping to get something good flying down to the water but with the exception of hearing a large flock of something pass over us in the canopy, the area was a little short on wildlife….aside from the mosquitoes of course.
It wasn’t long before we heard the other two on their descent down. Once they were with us again Paul asked if we had seen anything good, no I replied and explained that it had been very quiet. He said it was terrible as he had just been up to the site and seen two incredible birds, lifers for him in fact. Then described the island thrush and the flame-breasted fruit-dove to me as well as what it was like further up the trail. I was gutted. I had missed out on these two stunning birds but Paul is optimistic that there is no reason why they wouldn’t be there again when we return to try and find the pitta.
We then started back down the mountain, along the same route as we had climbed up. Again, stopping at the same spot for the babbler, white-eyes and this time a few sunbirds to brighten up our day. It was quite cloudy and occasionally we were covered in a light mist of rain but at least it wasn’t really sunny, that really does take it out of you when you’re on an exposed mountain path. Then, as we were just getting back to the small village where we park the car, Tony spotted a few smaller birds in the trees. So we stood and tried to find them. First was a mountain verditer-flycatcher, a cute little blue bird with black markings around its eyes that gives it a slight impression of wearing a lone-ranger eye-mask. Then we spotted a pygmy flowerpecker that seemed to be buzzing around the flowers on a bush and then all around the tree above our heads. Both are brilliant birds and a great way to finish a trip up the mountain.
We paid and thanked Tony and made our way back to the retreat for another coffee. We talked about birding and the plans for the long weekend (we get Monday off this week also) and then made our way home. The combination of the earlier week with climbing a mountain must have taken its toll as the ride home was quieter than usual. Once home we both just dumped our stuff and sat down. We were knackered. I was also still feeling a little bit gutted about the two missed birds but I guess I will have to learn from this experience and have to push myself a little further in the future if I want to see new species. Birding, especially in the Philippines, is not an easy hobby by far.
Paul did manage to snap a few of his birds which you can see here, on his blog.
Ricebirder 