A Quiet Morning up Makiling

This week, instead of catching up on some of the birding trips that I have still to write up, I have decided to blog about this morning’s trip. That way it is still fresh in my mind and I can use the past blogs on weeks when I don’t get out much….which is often. After a midweek meeting, which Paul also attended, we decided to try for a quick bird this weekend. Due to working commitments it could only be a short trip, so we decided to walk up Mt. Makiling again. However, due to a change in circumstance this year the mountain has not been revealing its usual gems. Here’s why…

In the last few months of last year, two students from UPLB (University of the Philippines, Los Baños), were found dead up the mountain. For security the mountain was closed off and there was no access. The mountain opened again a few months back but with an addition: a heavy duty barrier. You can no longer drive up the mountain until 8am, once a guard has arrived to let you in. Now I’m all for security and if these measures were in place to protect others, then who am I to change their way. The issue for me is that you now cannot gain the altitude needed to get to the ideal forest for the birds early enough in the morning. I have seen a number of stunning birds which I am now going to miss because I just can’t get up there fast enough. So we now park at the bottom and trek as far up as we can before it gets too hot for the birds and for us.

As usual, Paul picked me up at 5 and it wasn’t long before we were walking past the sleeping guards at the barrier. Paul still left our entrance fee on the desk, but they did not stir. We started up the road. The road has also been improved since last year and was easy underfoot, but this is a small blessing when compared to the absolute void of bird life that we could see. We heard some calls further up and slowly made our way forward. The sun was just rising, so we couldn’t see much. Then a large form moved out of the trees and away, being mobbed by a smaller shape but that’s all I got. Most probably a small bird defending itself against a larger bird of prey, but I will never know.

A large butterfly flew out in front of us, which made us both stop and search for it. I guess it was a butterfly as neither one of us got good eyes on it but from the speed it floated by, I think a bird would have stalled! At one point I turned the corner and saw two Emerald doves (Chalcophaps indica) on the road, which then flew up over our heads and then were gone. That was about it going up. We stopped at the Buko stands (the halfway point which we normally drive past) for a rest and then decided to start our descent. It was turning out to be a REALLY slow day.

There were a few more exciting birds as we descended. As we walked I saw a slight flutter and decided to have a look through my bins, and I’m glad I did. A male Spotted Wood-Kingfisher (Actenoides lindsayi) stood on a branch, posing for us for a long time. This is a great bird and I waited as Paul took pictures. A nice little guy, though very hard to see as its green spotted colour blends so easierly into the background. I could tell it was a male from its blue head and cheeks.

Just as we were getting to the end, Paul spotted a Balicassiao (Dicrurur balicassius) on a nest. A tiny little, mossy looking thing, balanced very delicately on the end of a branch. The female was on the nest with her head sticking out one end and the tail out of the other. It didn’t look like the type of nest I imagined it to have, but I am still learning. As we got to the car we found a tree fruiting nearby, so sat to watch that for a while. But, like the rest of the day, there was little bird activity.

Recently I have spotted a pair of Red-rumped Swallows (Hirundo daurica) circling outside our windows at home and I am convinced that they too are nesting nearby. So I asked Paul. He said they probably were and knew of where they did nest to show me. So shortly after leaving the mountain, we were scrambling down a verge to get to the under-side of a bridge on the university campus. It seems that all of the RR Swallows use the underside to nest on. We watched as these amazing birds shot through the archways and back out, chirping as they went. Their nests are similar to those of other swallow species. Paul took some pictures and I’m sure he’ll post them on his blog soon.

After that we returned to IRRI. A quiet morning on the lower slopes of the mountain which, I fear, is something that will start to become the ‘norm’ if we can’t make it to the top in time. Which is a terrible shame, as there are so many beautiful birds up there which we use to see regularly.  

You can find Pauls blog here, where he posts most of his pictures.

Rice-bite: Bogey Bird…still not seen!

Just a short one today as this week has been mostly taken up by numbers, stats and graphs. Even though I know some readers might be interested in this, as they are also in the field of research, I don’t think the majority of my readers would be interested.

Instead I thought I would tell you of a quick twitch which I went on, with Paul, after work on Wednesday. Paul has spent a bit of time at the base of Mt. Makiling looking for a flycatcher this week. Though he had not seen it, he had constantly picked up a Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus), a national rarity that is stunning in itself, and also an Indigo Banded Kingfisher (Alcedo cyanopectus), or IBKF, which as you know from ‘Rice-bite: Bogey Bird‘ has developed into a target for me but even though I keep trying, I have not seen them!!

It is also strange to not have seen this species as they aren’t particularly rare!! I have seen six different species of Kingfisher this year in the Philippines, all different yet all stunning!! In fact it was watching a Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) out of the window of my room on my first day here when I had one of my ‘You’re not in the UK anymore’ moments. I see them regularly but hear them continuously as I am out in the field. But the IBKF eludes me!

Paul picked me up from work and we shot off to ‘the spot’ where he had seen them. He had seen both a male and a female there in the last few days, so I was optimistic. We parked the car and rushed down but as we were getting close, I knew we were going to be unlucky. There were people, lots of them, exactly where we wanted to be standing. They, obviously not birders, were talking, laughing and making a bit of noise.

They passed us as we got close and we stood there, hoping the IBKF had just hidden oppose to fly away from the noise. We even tried a little further up the waterway in both directions in an attempt to see any hiding. But there was no sign if them…

We stood to the side for a while looking for other birds but with a wind blowing through there was very little about. We slowly made our way back, checking the waterway again but not seeing anything. My bogey bird is still a bogey bird.

We did pick up a smaller prize mind… as we were walking back to the car, the forest wagtail was on the road in front of us, giving Paul the chance to photograph it. Though not a new bird for either of us, it is still incredibly stunning to see and very rare in the Philippines. Paul describes the whole twitch as “looking for a fiver but finding a tener*”.

Next week I am off to sunny Isabela again for a week of data collection. So the blog might be a bit late depending on when I get back, which in turn relies on good weather and results.

* I understand this might get lost in translation to other nationalities that read this blog. A fiver and a tener are £5 and £10 notes respectively.

Can Lightning Strike Twice??

After floating around on a birding high for the majority of the week, we decided to try Mt. Makiling again this weekend. Thinking of all the great birds we saw last week we wanted to see if they were going to stay around or if they have moved on elsewhere.

5am was a struggle this week. Having been up early for most of the week, then ending up going for dinner the night before (which led to a ‘few beers’ somewhere) I was really tired. So with only 4 hours of sleep in the bank, it was difficult. But the idea of seeing yet more birds up the mountain kept me going. Paul arrived shortly after I got to the meeting point and we made our way into the early light of morning.

Similar to last week, it didn’t take long before the birds made their presence known. At a similar spot to last week, movement on the road stopped us in our tracks. Ahead was a small bird making short jumps in the road. This gave it the appearance of a small kangaroo, as it bounced around in the headlights for a short time. It jumped over to the right, then down into an irrigation channel and then back up to the dirt, dug from said irrigation channel, then stood there preening. It was a juvenile red-bellied pitta (Pitta erythrogaster ). It wasn’t as colourful as the adult we saw last week but still a really nice bird. Having been here almost 10 months now and not seeing a single Pitta, I have now seen two in the space of a week!! They are just like buses!!

After the pitta flew off we continued up to the usual parking spot and left the vehicle. At this point the path was a little misty and as the early morning sun was trying to break through both the canopy and the mist, it left bright beams of light on the path. It gave the jungle an eerie sense of suspense, as you could never see too far ahead of you. Very similar to my early thoughts on the jungle being something out of Jurassic Park or Predator!

We passed by the spots we spent a lot of time last week which were full of new birds, but this week they ran quiet; the branches that the Ferruginous Flycatcher had been hunting on were empty, the spot on the path that last week was buzzing with activity gave us nothing this week. Though we heard a thrush-like call where I saw the Eyebrowed Thrush last week, no other signs of the birds existed. Such a contrast.

Before we reached the camp site near the top, we were treated to a Blue Headed Fantail (Cyanoptila cyanornelana), some Luzon Flamebacks (Chrysocolaptes lucidus) which provided brief glimpses, but mostly a low rhythmic thumping song as we traveled, and a Balicassiao (Dicrurus balicassius), not to mention a number of small flowerpeckers buzzing around the tree trunks and through some of the undergrowth. At one of the usual trees a small mixed flock seemed to be busying themselves. Mostly comprised of Elegant Tits (Parus elegans) and the Sulphur-Billled Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis isarog – though this has changed recently I believe).

We stopped again at the campsite, had a sit down and a drink of water. Hearing voices further up the track, we were probably not the first to walk up the mountain this morning, so it might explain some of the absence of bird life but not all of it. As we sat and chatted a large flock of Stripe-Headed Rhabdornis (Rhabdornis mystacalis) were fluttering around the same tree as last week. Sitting and trying to see each individual, Paul spotted a female Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) and went to take pictures. As he did he also spotted another female and a male. Again, in the same tree as before. I managed to see a female a few times but the male eluded me.

The noisy people further up persuaded us to turn around and start heading back, no birds would be around that noise. It was even quieter as we descended, but we were still treated to a brief glimpse of a Pechora Pipit (Anthus gustavi). Half-way down I saw a tree that looked in need of watering, so excused myself briefly. When I returned to the path Paul was crouched down being a tree stump. He signed me to keep quiet and then mouthed the words Philippine Trogon (Harpactes ardens). I kept low and quiet. Sure enough, moments later a stunning male flew onto a closer tree branch and seemingly watched us on the path for a moment before disappearing off into the canopy. A stunning bird the trogon, definitely one of my favorites.

Just as we were approaching the bottom of the path, close to the car, Paul turned to me and said

“I can hear some kind of bird of prey”

I stopped and listened. Sure enough a high pitched call came through on the wind. It could be close. I started scanning the trees when Paul told me to look up. Gliding on the updraft from the mountain edge were two Oriental Honey-buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus), their typical long-necked silhouette gliding above us calling. At one point, one of them seemed to fly close to the other and then tumble downwards, very fast. I was hoping I was about to see some stunning breeding behavior  but they just returned to gliding at altitude. We returned to the car.

We stopped again half-way down to see if we could pick up any migrating raptors but the cloud was low and we didn’t see or hear anything else. We called it a day and returned home.

So did lightning strike twice on Mt. Makiling? Unfortunately not this time. We did see some great birds; the trogon, honey-buzzard and pitta to name a few. But the day was in the shadow of last week which was a stunning bird trip. I just guess that all the conditions were right last week and everything just felt like a short stay. But we wouldn’t have known unless we had a look…

I wanted to just drop a short note to explain that over the next few weeks I am due to be away. I leave for Isabela in the morning and am there all week. The following weekend I am on a trip away somewhere new, so I might end up posting blogs during the week after my return. If all else fails, normal service should resume on November the 11^th after what is planned to be an incredibly busy week!!

Many Migratory Visitors to Mt. Makiling

WHAT A MORNING!! I think this morning’s birding trip could have been the best trip up Mt Makiling EVER!! As we are within the autumn migration, Paul thought a quick trip up the mountain in the morning may be fruitful but we had NO idea what stunners we were going to get.

Having been there many times before, we know the route really well. There are a few corners where we have seen rarities in the past and we planned to spend a little more time there this morning but it seemed like around every corner there was something else new and exciting. The only possible way I can describe it is its like walking through your house one day and finding a celebrity sitting in each room. Someone you recognize but never actually seen in real life!

OK, maybe I oversold that last bit but you get the idea. In fact we saw the first stunner even before we got out of the car!! We were driving up the uneven road and the vehicles lights were bouncing all around the vegetation around us. As we turned one corner I saw something on the road jump up and flutter forward about a metre. I pointed it out to Paul. By now it had jumped up and flew into the undergrowth. As it flew I called out its most distinguishing feature, its red belly and knew it could only be one bird…the red bellied pitta!!

Regular readers will know that I have a longing to see a pitta!! These colourful ground birds often are seen flying away on mountain routes (road or path). In Bohol I had just missed out on another species as the guide in front scared it away. But I had seen this one!! A real non-birders bird, as in, it’s stunning to look at and even non-birders would enjoy seeing one. It has been a long time searching, but at last I saw one. We got out of the car and quickly found it again sitting in a branch in a nearby tree. The light wasn’t great (as the sun had just risen) but you could clearly make it out. What a bird.

We kept going up the road until we had to park up and continue on foot. After the pitta we had a feeling it was going to be a good day. Sure enough around one of the first corners Paul spotted a Ferruginous Flycatcher (Muscicapa ferruginea) flying out from a perch and back again, hunting, in a true flycatcher movement. With a slightly reddy/brown colour we stood and watched it hunt. Another spectacular bird.

Travelling up the trail we came across a number of flocks of mixed species. These are great for finding a number of different birds as they all fly around together. So lots of elegant tits and sulphur-billed nuthatch’s that travel up and around the mountain together. As we passed one corner we heard another call from the canopy and decided to investigate. It wasn’t long before a very rufous coloured bird came into view and, very considerately, sat on an exposed branch whilst we stood and watched. The Rufous Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone cinnamomea) is like no other and was easy to pick out of the forest background. It sat for a long time calling whilst we just stared.

The morning was really starting to become something special. Around another corner a different mixed species flock kept us busy for a long time. Pechora Pipits (Anthus gustavi) seemed to be everywhere and every new stretch of path seemed to provide us with a quick glimpse of another. A Philippine Trogon (Harpactes ardens) nosily made its way through the forest before landing in a perfect photographic position for Paul, its deep red chest advertising it from a great distance. As Paul was pointing up to take a picture, I saw movement on the ground and whispered “Don’t move, Ashy Thrush on the path” but just as we both looked down it flew off quickly. I described it to Paul and he didn’t think it was an Ashy as I had described an obvious pale eyebrow. Consulting the book later it turns out the bird was an Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscuruc), another aptly named bird.

We reached the massive bolder which blocks the path over half-way up. This spot is where we normally come across the hornbills and macaques. It is also the spot where the leeches seem to start, so from now on I was extra careful to keep an eye out for the little blood-suckers making their way up my arms, legs and neck. But even this extra vigilance couldn’t stop me noticing the birds. Shortly after the boulder a very loud, yet musical, call came from the nearby tree. I knew it was something special as Paul looked at me with a look I have come to know as ‘What on earth is that?!’ After a short search we found the bird. A good size black-bird with bits of brilliant blue highlighting its head and parts of its wings. The Philippine Fairy-Bluebird (Irena cyanogaster) has been rumored up Makiling before but Paul has never seen it…until now. A stunner that, unfortunately, didn’t stick around for long. Unlike the next bird on a nearby tree that just sat there watching us walk by, a Drongo Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris). This bird was black but through the bins I could see a number of colours shine through the black of its feathers, a bit like the gloss on top of oil. It sat there for a long time whilst Paul took some pictures and then we left it.

This was turning into an epic day. Paul kept mentioning that each bird was new up Makiling for him and how difficult some of these are to see, especially as most of them were migratory! I was truly being treated today. Then, as we reached the clearing near the top, Paul got sight of yet another beautiful bird. It took a while for me to find him as it was another flycatcher, so kept flicking around, hunting. I was scanning what looked like a dead bush and wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for….until I found it! Sat there was a bird which I can only describe as an inverted tequila sunrise!!

With an orange throat that blended down into its bright yellow belly. The Narcissus Flycatcher (Eumyias panayenis) male is one of the brightest birds I have ever seen. Along with its yellow eyebrow that seems to cut through the black of its head, it gives the slight impression of a lightning bolt as it strikes out at its prey. It took me a while to find but when I did I couldn’t take my eyes off of it!! We watched it until it disappeared into the canopy and then started to check out the rest of the life around the clearing. We spent a long time checking out a small blur that kept disappearing into some vegetation on top of a tree. It was clearly a nest but what was it?? After seeing it arrive and then disappear a good number of times it turned out to be a White-Bellied Munia. We have these on the farm, so not really a new bird but you never know until you look.

I was exhausted by this point! So much excitement for so many birds! I don’t know why but the mountain just seemed to be alive this morning! We continued up the path but as we went we were overtaken by a pair of walkers. This generally means others will scare the birds away, so we decided to head back. Checking out all the spots with birds on the way back.

It was generally a quiet decent, but at one place we heard a noise and then whilst investigating an olive-green snake appeared out of the vegetation and VERY quickly made its way up the bank and away. This is my first land-snake and the shear size (about a metre) and speed was impressive. Then, near the car, Paul spotted a Grey-Streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), our fourth flycatcher of the day and one he expected more than the others. We got back in the car and started on our way home. But the mountain still had one more gem to reveal…

We were halfway down the mountain road when Paul started shouting, jumped out the car, grabbed his camera and started chasing a bird which was fluttering between the branches in front of us. In the haste all I could make out was “National Rarity”. Fluttering in front of us was a Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus). The field guide portrays this wagtail as a brown-ish bird with a chest stripe, but it is SO much more. In ‘real-life’ the wings are also black and white and absolutely gorgeous. I was afraid that if I ever saw this bird I would mis-identify it as something else but now I have seen it, I know I won’t. Paul followed it for a time, taking as many pictures as possible as proof of its occurrence. I stayed back, not wanting to scare it away before Paul could photograph it, but still having a good look through my bins!! A brown shrike appeared and scared it away, but we had had some amazing views. What a morning.

I don’t know if it had something to do with the weather, the time of year or if Paul and I were just REALLY lucky today but the number of birds we saw was unbelievable. Every new stretch of path seemed to offer us something new and different, every movement in the tree was another bird and every bird seemed to show itself well for a short period of time offering us some great views. Bird-watching isn’t always like this but it’s days like these that make me so glad that I get up at the crack of dawn and walk long distances, for hours, because you really never know what is going to be around the next corner.

Paul has published some of his pictures here on his blog. Check it out!!