Rusty Birder

I had to go to work on the day of the Metro Manila Shake Drill and as I didn't want to be caught in possible traffic and be late (I hate being late!), I decided to go to work before the 10:30am city-wide earthquake drill and also sneak in an hour of birding in the UP Diliman campus.

I drove straight to the Marine Science Institute building and was greeted by a small flock of Lowland White-eyes flitting in the tall acacia tree by the parking lot. As I got my gear ready, I could already hear Black-naped Orioles and Coppersmith Barbets calling. I got a bit excited: could the balete trees be fruiting?!

I walked towards the small row of ficus trees and I was right! Dark red berries dotted two of the three trees in front of me. A Black-naped Oriole was there busy feeding on the ripe fruit.

Black-naped Oriole

I tried taking some shots and realized with some frustration that I was verrrrry rusty. I haven't been birding for more than a month and knew that I needed to "flex" my birding muscles first. It didn't help to have faulty equipment but that's another blog post.

The Oriole finished its breakfast and flew across the street. My birding eyes started focusing properly again and I saw one, then two, then three, then more Coppersmith Barbets! They were there feeding on the fruits, hopping from one branch to the next!

Of course, as I struggled with my camera, I couldn't get any decent shot...

The best shot I got of a Coppersmith Barbet that morning...

I sat on the sidewalk, like how I sat there many times before, and allowed myself to watch the Barbets feeding. After a while, they kept still, probably already full from all the fruits they ate. And then the Yellow-vented Bulbuls came. It was their turn to feed =)

An out-of-focus Yellow-vented Bulbul. Sadly, my best shot...

A Collared Kingfisher stated calling from behind the building so I stood and tried to spot it. Spot it I did but I was too rusty to get any photo, even as it stayed preening on an exposed perch for quite a while. Oh well, I got good views anyway =)

I checked the time and it was time to go. It was a quick birding trip and a not so birdy morning, but I did get great views of the birds and that was more than enough for me. For now =)

An Unexpected Barbet

It was one of those routine days. I had just finished my first tutorial session for the day and was walking back to the car when I saw a bird fly in and land on the tree beside my car. As I approached, I took the time to spot the bird which I assumed to be the very common Yellow-vented Bulbul. I didn't find the bulbul... because the bird turned out to be a Coppersmith Barbet! It was such an unexpected bird in the tree-deprived parking lot!

I think I let out a very huge gasp when I saw the Barbet out in the open because it flew away leaving a neat hole where it was perched. It was building a nest! I promised myself I would bring my camera the following day and try to photograph one of the most colorful birds I've seen (so far.)

A very neat barbet nest hole

The following day, I went to the school earlier than my usual schedule to check out the Barbet. As I got out of the car, I already saw the flash of red on the forehead of the Barbet which was now peeping from inside the hole. 

I slowly approached the kaimito tree and positioned myself behind another parked car. I took photos as the Coppersmith Barbet cocked its head this way and that, looking around at its surroundings. I did not venture any closer so as not to disturb the nesting bird. No matter how "unconventional" its nest is, a nest is still a nest and should not be disturbed. The Barbet would pop out of sight inside the nest, then pop its head right back out of the hole. I was smiling by myself and I thought I was probably the only person in the campus aware of this bird being in their school!

Soon, it was time for me to go to my student who would be quite upset if I were late for our tutorial session. I said goodbye to the unexpected barbet and wished it a successful breeding season. =)

Good luck, Barbet!

UP Birding Redux

It has been a while since we last birded in the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman campus so the scheduled guided trip was a great opportunity to go around the different birdy sites. There were more birders than participants so we had a relatively relaxed activity. Even before the participants arrived, birders were already enjoying views of four Coppersmith Barbets on our scopes.

Here's one of the four barbets perched on a tall tree near the library.

We moved on towards the Beta Ep walkway and were treated to a noisy Pied Triller "laughing" atop a tree. When it flew away from its exposed perch, we entered the path and were surrounded by chirps of flowerpeckers and sunbirds moving unseen through the trees. We met up with the second group of participants who were lucky enough to see a Grey-streaked Flycatcher by the entrance of the walkway.

Nearing the other end of the path, we took our time observing two White-collared Kingfishers nonchalantly bathing in the warm morning light.

One of the two kingfishers we saw.

Walking along the oval, we saw more Pied Trillers (there were so many that morning!), Golden-bellied Flyeaters, and Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers. The high school students we were guiding also enjoyed watching a Brown Shrike dive to the ground in search of a meal. As we were trying to spot some woodpeckers in the trees beside the tennis courts, a raptor flew just above the tree tops! As birders looked at each other with huge round eyes, the unspoken message of "Let's go after it!" was felt for a heartbeat. But the call of duty to guide was stronger and we proceeded to the Lagoon instead of chasing after the unexpected raptor.

We were rewarded though by another excellent sighting: an immature Brush Cuckoo! We were trying to spot a Grey Wagtail when Maan and Jasmin called our attention to the young cuckoo perched on a tree. Some of us got too close and it flew around us to perch on a higher tree. It stayed there for a while and everyone enjoyed watching the bird while it ate a very hairy caterpillar.

The immature Brush Cuckoo resting after its "hairy" meal. Photo by Jops Josef.

The rest of the lagoon area was quiet with the construction going on. The group was able to spot some Zebra Doves along the path though. Our last stop was to check out the Philippine Nightjar in its now-popular day roost.

Sleepy Philippine Nightjar... sorry we woke you with all the ruckus.

We ended our UP guided trip with this beautiful bird and the promise of possible raptor sightings in the campus. I guess its time for quickie birding trips in UP to start again. See you there! =)