The Birds After the Storm

I like seeing bird’s nests. That’s a fact. I get excited whenever a nest is spotted because I marvel at the architecture and uniqueness of each nest. Imagine a bird building such structures with only their beaks and feet! Look ma, no opposable thumbs! How awesome is that?!

I’ve written a post a long way back about the nests I’ve seen so far. I’m happy to add another nest that Jops and I spotted earlier this month. I didn’t post any photos about it since it was clearly an active nest, with the parents flying in and out to feed at least two chicks in it. We were lucky enough to see a nest of a pair of Mangrove Blue Flycatchers!

We noticed both parents staying in one area bringing food in their beaks. We saw the male Flycatcher perch on the side of the nest, where two hungry beaks opened up to receive the food!! That's when we realized the hollow in a small tree trunk was the nest! Upon checking our field guide to confirm our observation, we were surprised to read that their nests in the Philippines haven't been described yet at the time of publication. So it was even more exciting being able to observe something first hand that is not in the field guide yet =)

The shallow hollow in the trunk was about 8ft from
the ground and filled with some nesting material

We returned to the site a number of weeks after and I admit I was quite wary of what we would find. Typhoon Glenda had just passed the week before and we were expecting considerable damage in the trails. I was curious to know if the nest and chicks survived the storm.

The trails have been cleared of debris, but the inner portions of the trail showed considerable damage to the trees and other plants. 

The trails were cleared but were bordered by fallen branches and trees

A lot of the younger trees were bent or broken after the typhoon

Before reaching the nest area, we saw quite a number of birds hopping around the mini-forest's floor. The Hooded Pittas were busy foraging and a pair of Red-bellied Pittas showed up as well. Photographing these birds while they are hopping and sprinting away are a challenge on any given day, but add to that all the fallen branches and brambles... almost impossible to get a clear shot!

Spot the pitta!

Blurred and headless! I love the bright red though =)

We approached the nest and didn't see any bird activity. I tried my best to peep inside using my binoculars and found the nest empty. My heart sank a bit as I considered the worst, thinking that the chicks didn't survive the typhoon. Then Jops was calling me to the other side of the trail: immature Mangrove Blue Flycatchers! There were two!

I hurried to where he was and took some time spotting the small bird singing among the trees. We saw some small movement and there it was, still sporting the scaly feather pattern I love!

Immature Mangrove Blue Flycatcher

It stayed singing on its perch while another one answered back unseen from further inside the trails. I am hoping these two were the chicks we saw previously in the nest and that they had successfully fledged, although I really have no way to be sure of that.

It transferred to a different perch and even flew down to the ground to pluck some food from the soil before flying up a branch again.

Another view of the young Mangrove Blue Flycatcher

I had previously only got some fleeting views of young Mangrove Blue Flycatchers so I was really happy with the long, unobstructed views we got that morning =)

I also got a close encounter with a plump male Emerald Dove which was perched right in front of me at eye level at the edge of the trail.

It stared at me as if daring me to move...
I didn't.

There was also a LOT of Lowland White-eyes in the trails that day as well as very vocal Grey-backed Tailorbirds, although I did not see any of them.

Spot the White-eye!

We were beginning to miss the Ashy Thrushes when we saw one bringing a big, fat, and still-wriggling earthworm in its beak!

Nom nom nom! Hearty breakfast!

Seeing the breakfast worm reminded us we hadn't had any breakfast yet! We made our way out the trail but not before we spotted three Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers preening on a bare branch.

All lined up for take-off?
After preening, of course!

The woodpeckers were busy that morning as we spotted one more intently pecking away at a node of a tree. As it was working, it didn't notice a skink making its way slowly towards it! The skink left it alone after a quick peek.

Spot the woodpecker and the skink!

It was a short birding morning but I got to see the immature Mangrove Blue Flycatchers plus the pittas, thrush, woodpeckers, white-eyes, doves... our list was quite long! Even after a strong typhoon the birds are thriving and well, I guess I can take my cue from them =)

First Birding Trip of The Year!

It was ten days into the new year and Jops and I didn't have any birding trips planned yet. Of course, we had our birding trips wish list at the back of our heads but for now, they were nothing more than dreams.

But! A few minutes after midnight, an impromptu birding trip was decided between Joni, Jops, and me. I was going to be Jaiabird again for a morning and we were going birding in La Mesa.

Yeah, it wasn't a new place to explore, but it has been quite a while since we last birded there and it would great to check out the place again. We got to the park before 8AM, just as some ABS-CBN (a local tv network) vehicles started arriving too. Apparently there was a television shoot somewhere in the park scheduled that morning too. We were happy to learn their set wasn't in the mini-forest. Their cheesy background music made our birding a tiny bit dramatic though and all my videos of the Spotted Wood Kingfisher had a Filipino love song playing in the background.

The entrance road was quiet, with only some movement in the canopy of trees. But Joni, with her sharp forest-trained eyes, spotted a solitary bird perched above us. Upon closer inspection, we found it was an adult Brush Cuckoo! An amazing bird to start our morning with!

Cuckoo early in the morning!

The cuckoo flew off after a few minutes and we moved onwards down the road. We immediately heard high pitched calls which Joni confirmed as Guaiaberos. We moved closer to the trees to try and spot the parrots making all the noise.

Being the plump green birds they are, it was challenging trying to spot them among the trees in front of us. While scanning, we did see some Colasisi, another brightly colored green parrot, as well as some Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers, and Pied Trillers. Lots of Golden-bellied Flyeaters flitted among the branches and some Black-naped Orioles also made an appearance.

The Guaiaberos were calling very loudly and very insistently right in front of us but we couldn't spot them! Once again, Joni's sharp eyes zeroed in on a handsome male Guaiabero, perched (you guessed it) right in front of us.

Such a beautiful, plump Guaiabero!

The parrot stayed for quite a while, allowing us to take its photo and observe it as it called and shifted positions on its perch. Eventually, it flew away prompting us to move on towards the mini-forest. 

It was very quiet when we entered the trail. But we did see some movement on the ground and we quickly spotted an adult Ashy Ground Thrush. It perched on a high branch for a while before disappearing from view. We rounded the trail, hoping for the La Mesa residents but didn't see any. We kept our eyes open for the Scaly Ground Thrush that was reported a while back but it too was absent that morning.

I was hoping for some pittas but we didn't see nor hear any. I tried scratching at the ground with my finger and found it dry, dusty, and hard. I decided that if I were a pitta, I wouldn't risk damaging my tiny toes scratching at such compact earth for food. 

Common Emerald Doves were busy calling and foraging around for food that morning. We spotted one male as it preened while perched on a branch, giving us good views.

Male Common Emerald Dove

Jops went in search of the Spotted Wood Kingfisher while Joni and I took our time in the trail, entertaining ourselves with more Ashy Ground Thrushes that hopped near the trail's edges. We neared the tiny pond and seeing the ripe red fruits of the MacArthur's palms reminded me of the two lifers I saw feeding on them last year: Brown-headed Thrush and Eyebrowed Thrush. I hope to see them again soon! 

Joni and I were spotting another friendly Ashy Ground Thrush when Jops texted saying the Spotted Wood Kingfisher was sitting right in front of him. We carefully made our way to him and once again marveled at the handsome bird in front of us.

Male Spotted Wood Kingfisher
Always a treat seeing this bird. ALWAYS. =)

While observing the bird, the mini forest erupted in bird calls. Calls, not song. The birds all seemed alarmed at something and at first, we thought there might be a raptor nearby. What we found was not a raptor, but resembled something more like a velociraptor!

A big Monitor Lizard, locally called bayawak, was making its way up a big tree, causing panic among the birds in the area. The Pied Fantails made very brave swoops at the huge reptile as it dangled from its perch and the Oriental Magpie Robins were also loudly cursing at the lizard's bold presence in their neighborhood.

At first, all we could clearly see was a
mean-looking claw...

... and then it moved further up the tree,
revealing its dinosaur-like head
Varanus marmoratus

A bold, immature Ashy Ground Thrush flew across the trail, and landed very near us and posed for a while before it was chased by another one. 

I was so surprised by the proximity of the bird, this was the only
shot I was able to take of it before it flew away

It was already 10AM and we had to end our short morning in La Mesa. The birds had quieted down and the Spotted Wood Kingfisher still sat comfortable on its perch. As we headed out, a big flock of bats flew around us, flushed out of their roost, before settling back among the trees.

One of the bats that flew around us and perched
close to where we were standing.

A group of photographers and their forest nymph models decided to have their photo shoot at the entrance of the trail. As we passed them, we politely reminded them to stay on the trails saying there was a huge bayawak, as well as hornets, in the area, and we showed them the photo of the lizard. As their eyes widened, we were pretty sure they wouldn't be disturbing the kingfisher, sitting unseen, just a few meters from them.

Birthday Birding: A Surprise Owl and A Sneaky Crake

Has it been a year already?! It seems like only months since I spent my birthday last year birding in Makiling and here I am celebrating another one. Time flies... and so do the birds =)

Yesterday, Jops and I, together with Joni, Alex, Tere, Trinket, Marites, Brian, and Mang Boy, conducted a guided trip for members of the Nikon Club Philippines (NCP) in the La Mesa Ecopark. I have to say, it was one of the most exciting guided trips... everyone got to see a Philippine Eagle Owl! There haven't been any reports of it being seen in the park although our friends Adri and Nicky have already been hearing it there before in the wee hours of the morning.

We had just started birding in the trail when a huge bird swooped in above us and perched high up an acacia tree. Jops and I didn't have our cameras since we were guiding but NPC member Earl Santos was able to photograph the owl just after it perched! It looked at us briefly, looked around, then flew away. The short and very unexpected encounter with the largest species of owl in the Philippines gave me goosebumps!

Philippine Eagle Owl photo by Earl Santos (Nikon Club Philippines)
Thank you, Earl, for allowing me to post your photo of your amazing lifer!

Everyone in the group also got to see some Ashy Ground Thrush, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, and Emerald Dove. It was a really lucky day because aside from the "LMEP specialties" lots of other birds came out in the open to be observed: Grey-backed Tailorbird (yes, out in the open!), Lowland White-Eye, Black-naped Oriole, Collared Kingfisher, Golden-bellied Flyeaters (with a nest!), and lots (and I mean LOTS) of Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers. One was even observed noisily building a nest! The trip ended towards mid-morning and we all went home happy about such a great morning and an amazing bird list.

Jops and I decided to go back to the Ecopark the following day for my birthday birding. I didn't feel like going anywhere far and La Mesa seemed like the perfect place to bird for my birthday this year. We didn't even get up too early, arriving in the park around 7AM. This time we had our cameras with us. Who knows, we might be lucky enough to see the owl again. Unfortunately, we didn't. We were just really, really lucky yesterday!

Of course, La Mesa did not disappoint. Near the lagoon, we checked out the fruiting ficus tree Joni spotted yesterday and saw a handsome Guaiabero feeding on some of the ripe berries. Lots of Yellow-vented Bulbuls and Lowland White-Eyes were also starting to feast on the fruits. We moved into the mini-forest and saw a nest of an Ashy Ground Thrush very close to the trail. After a few minutes, the parent sat on it allowing me to take a quick photo before leaving it in peace.

Ashy Ground Thrush sitting on its nest.

A few meters away, we saw a Red-bellied Pitta being chased away by a Hooded Pitta! The Hooded Pitta won the battle, driving the Red-bellied Pitta away from the area. We would see both species again foraging in different places in the mini-forest later that morning.

I finally got a photo of the Hooded Pitta showing the red under its tail =)

Further in, we saw a Slaty-legged Crake busy foraging in the scrub. Jops went ahead and waited for it to come out while I checked up on the nesting Common Emerald Dove we saw yesterday. The male dove was still sitting on the nest, so I snapped a couple of photos and left the area to join Jops look for the crake.

The male Emerald Dove sitting on its nest.

I found Jops sitting on the trail, camera ready for the crake if it crossed the path. It did just that yesterday as the group was observing an Ashy Ground Thrush on the path. I won't forget the surprised and happy look on Joni's face as the crake walked right in front of the group as she pointed to the thrush =)

I joined Jops, crouching low, and waited for the bird to cross the trail. I heard some rustling a couple of feet behind me on my right. I slowly turned my head, expecting to see a skink come out. But it wasn't a skink... it was the crake! It was less than two feet behind me... crossing the trail behind our backs! I think I gasped (or squeaked) but didn't move so as not to scare it and announced (quite loudly) to Jops that the bird was behind me. He turned just in time to see the crake disappear into the other side of the trail. It was amazing seeing the bird THAT close! I could clearly see its yellow eye ring with just my glasses on! It didn't allow for any photos though as we were facing the other way. Such a sneaky crake! 

The trail was alive with orioles, kingfishers, white-eyes, and a Large-billed Crow even perched above us. We also got to see the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker from yesterday, still busy boring a hole for its nest. 

Not yet done with its nest-building!

I didn't get any lifers this year (although who knows what tomorrow brings!) but I did get to meet new friends, we all got to share an unexpected sighting of a Philippine Eagle Owl, and Jops and I had a very close encounter with a Slaty-legged Crake! Happy birthday to me! =)