New and extinct species: Tabunan and Olango

This blog is second in a number of blogs from the beginning of January when I went away, with Paul, to see a number of new birds and new birding locations.

For the second day in a row, the alarm went off at 2:45 and we were in our car being driven to the first site by 3. This mornings wish-list comprised of a number of birds but the two I was really hoping to see was the Hawk Owl and the Cebu Flowerpecker. Both of which require a little explanation…

Last year a paper was published on the taxonomy of the Hawk Owls that can be found around the Philippines. In fact, a number of kind people posted this article on my FACEBOOK wall (Thank You). The race upon Cebu has been separated into its own new species (Ninox rumseyi).This was our main target for the day. It was the new bird that Paul wanted and I love owls!

The second target, which I was hopeful of but Paul was more ‘realistic’, was the Cebu Flowerpecker (Dicaeum quadricolor). Amongst birders, this species has been thought to have become extinct a short time ago. However, with much work being conducted in the forest with the owl, one of the research team claim to have always seen these birds at one particular spot. The news has spread through the birding community and now there are more reports of identified individuals. I was feeling lucky and really hoped my luck could pull this bird ‘out of the bag’!

We arrived just before dawn. At one point on the mountain road we passed a basketball court (not an uncommon sight here in the Philippines) with huge speakers which were blasting out dance music. We could hear the music for a great distance before we got there and as we passed the glass literally jumped within the window. Everything in the cab vibrated and Paul and I had to wait to continue our conversation. I must be getting old because that was just too loud!

Anyway, we arrived and met two ladies that were also joining us for the day. They had stayed at the guides house during the night and claimed to have heard the owl just 20 minutes beforehand! We stood in the middle of the road with torches, scanning the trees but there was no movement. So we set off into the jungle.

Even though it was dry, apparently it had rained during the night and the path had become VERY slippy. Several times one of our group (not the guide of course) could be heard falling over or slipping down the path. It was by far the worst jungle path I have ever walked. Several times we stopped to listen out for owls, only getting a slight ‘Hoot’ every now and again. That was until we reached a clearing!!

We spaced out and could hear them near by. After some poor-to-moderate impressions of the owls we got our first fly-by. Skimming just over our heads as it came by to investigate the strange sounds. Someone got a torch on it for a split second before it vanished into the morning darkness. Whilst watching the dark, I saw it fly back over and away. Then, out of nowhere, a second flew low over us. Who ever had the torch must have seen it coming as they lit it up for the entire flight, giving us perfect views of the bird in flight, brilliant.

We continued to watch this pair of owls circle around the clearing until the sun started to rise and the owls were replaced with giant fruit bats. We then started to make our way up the mountain, deeper into the forest. It got steeper and slippier but with the sun coming up it became easier to find my footing. I still slipped a few times, but I managed to stay up right at least.

Halfway up the trail the guide stopped us and we waited. This was a spot for the Black Sharma (Copsychus cebuensis) an island endemic. The book describes the bird as shy but it was only a few minutes before one was heard calling close by and then seemed to appear out of nowhere, perched up high staring at the five people stood motionless on the trial, trying to get a picture of it. It fluttered amongst the branches for a long time before it seemed to get bored of us and move on. But we had seen it, another one of the days target birds and it was pretty easy to see, once we were in the right spot.

We continued up the trial which, nearer the top, became more like rock-climbing than mountain trekking. A few times we had to use metal poles for support as we climbed over jagged boulders. At one point there was what seemed to have been a stair-way put in, but the steps had fallen away, so using the edges as a support, we climbed up to a small viewing platform. This platform was about 6 foot square, with benches along two sides. The view was spectacular. This was where we spent the next few hours, watching birds come and go. We were positioned on the side of the canopy which overlooked a large area of forest. Behind us the trees grew higher, completely hiding us from view.

As we sat a number of birds were seen around us. The Balicassiao that occurs there has white patches, different than all the others I have seen, it reminded me of a magpie from home. The subspecies of Coppersmith also appeared in a close by tree, showing off its amazing red-face, again different than all the other coppersmiths that I have seen. We also got some great views of a Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) with its stunning crimson head as it flickered among the trees in front of us. A beautiful bird.

But as the day went on, my feeling of luck declined. We put in a lot of time at the platform but no Cebu Flowerpecker was to be seen. Whilst sat there a breakfast delivery turned up by two young local boys. It was a little embarrassing as they managed the whole route in flip-flops, where as we had just scrabbled up in walking boots. Plus we were caked in mud where-as they seemed to just arrive, clean and not out of breath.

The others ate their breakfast as I kept a look out. Every little movement or noise and I would be on it. This was a last push, if we didn’t see it soon we would give up and head back… But it did not show. Apparently it had been a few months since the last ‘sighting’, so it could have been anywhere, if indeed it was still around. We shrugged our shoulders and started to make our way back down through the forest. For me this bird is still extinct.

As we were travelling down Paul and I talked about the rest of the day. Though we had been travelling and birding for many hours, it still wasn’t midday yet. So we decided to head back to Olango to try and clear up there. By the time we reached the bottom of the forest we paid and thanked our guide then jumped in our car which took us all the way back to the ferry port, to jump across to get back to the elevated platform out in the wetlands.

Again, we spent a few hours as the sea came in, this time with the assistance of one of the wetland guides we managed a solitary curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) which had been on our wish-list from the previous day but we also noticed a number of Red Knots (Calidris canutus) which we hadn’t expected. We left before the sea became too deep over the rocks again and went home.

It had been a long day and the jungle route was one of the most difficult I have had to scramble up ever. So I was shattered. We went back to the same bar from the night before, because it was actually quite good, and again listed the species for the day. It wasn’t such an early morning the next day, but we still had to get up and pack. We were moving out to our next exciting location…

A Flying Start to a Birding Adventure, Olango.

This is the first of a small number of blogs which I will try and publish this week. In the first week of January, Paul and I had planned a week of birding adventures, at a number of locations. As I had spent all of Christmas working on my report, I took this week as my holiday and as a little reward. So at 3am, Saturday 5^th January I woke up, grabbed my stuff and met Paul downstairs before we made our way into the night towards the airport. We were going far…Our first destination was Cebu.

Cebu is one of the busiest Islands in the Philippines and I believe it is known as the ‘gateway’ to the Visayas. It is a long and thin island, which can be found in the West of the Visayas. I have heard this island come up in conversation a number of times, from several people, so I was looking forward to taking a trip and seeing what it was like. We landed in the morning, found a hotel, grabbed a quick breakfast and then made our way to the port. From here we grabbed a small ferry, with a little bit of balance and skill needed to walk the thin boardwalk to come aboard, and made our way across to a smaller island. After arriving, we grabbed a small tricycle and made our way to Olango, our destination for the day.

My experience in the Philippines, so far, has been such that bird-watching isn’t as hugely popular as the UK. Yes, I have met a number of hugely dedicated people who love to go out and bird. I also follow a number of blogs from the area that I enjoy reading. But from someone use to the massive network of twitchers, the Philippines still has a long way to go to catch up with the ‘birding-scene’ of the UK. BUT Olango is different. This site is the Philippines first RAMSAR site, a title it was awarded within the last few years. We paid the entrance fee, plus an additional charge because Paul wanted to take pictures, and we set off. We walked a small distance through the mangroves until we found a number of large concrete cubes, which were placed in a row, leading out to a structure in the water, which seemed way out in the distance. As we passed from block to block I saw a huge number of fish in the crystal clear waters. They used the blocks to swim between and hide. I recognized several species from those seen in aquariums back in the UK. Stunning.

We got to the structure, which was an elevated square platform, with a few bamboo seats and a roof. We stood and assessed the surroundings. We could see for miles. Ahead of us were clumps of mangroves, growing from the white sand and clear waters. In the distance, we could see the sea and had planned our visit to coincide with the tide coming in. Behind was a large sandy-island, with only a trickle of water passing by, though this would change soon. We had come to see the waterbirds!

Everyday during this trip we had a number of species on a wish-list. Today’s had been the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), among a few others. As we were walking to the platform we saw a number of Far Eastern Curlews (Numenius madagascariensis) which have one of the largest bills I have ever seen in the wild. The tip seems to be just above the water surface as the bird walked. I wonder how many times it trips, head over beak? Probably never but the though amused me for a while.

Obviously being a RAMSAR site, it is of huge importance to waterbirds, so over the next 4 hours, we sat and watched the sea slowly come in and surround us. As the sea came in, so did the birds. Hundreds, if not thousands, of waders all walking up at the waters edge. Hundreds of Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) along with good numbers of; Green- and redshanks, sandpipers, tattlers, plovers, stints and Great Knots. Three different species of terns flew by. In fact, as the water had overtaken our platform, the Little Terns (Sterna albifrons) surrounded us and were hunting just off of the platform. I could make out every feather detail with my naked eye as it dived right next to us. Amazing.

Paul also pointed out a new egret for me, the Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes). Individual birds were dotted around us and some even built up a little confidence and got closer, so I could take a closer look as they chased prey through the shallows.

As the sea was coming in, it seemed to funnel in front of us and this was where we saw huge numbers of birds fly in. It was whilst watching these flocks that we spotted our target for the day, the Eurasian Curlew. Yes, I have seen the bird before, so it wasn’t new for me. But I love seeing birds ‘from home’ over here in the Philippines. There were a number of mixed flocks that flew in, giving us a perfect opportunity to compare the different bird species and get a good look at them as they went.

We spent four hours sitting there as the sea came in around us, but as the terns left us we decided that this was probably it for the day. There were still a couple of species we had hoped for the day, but we were happy with what we had seen. We walked back, having to wade some of the way as the sea had come in over the top of some of the cubes, then tricycled/ferry/jeepney’d it back to our hotel for a quick wash and change before finding a nice bar for dinner. It was over dinner we recalled and recorded all of our species, getting 36 different birds for the day, not bad for here.

After dinner Paul went off in search of the day’s football scores, but with a full day and early morning planned I returned to the room to get some sleep. It had been a great day with lots of travelling, I was knackered. But with the prospect of spotting an ‘extinct’ species, the following day was going to be exciting