Week ending 2nd October - IRRI, Makiling

Typhoon Pedring disturbed our tranquility on Monday and Tuesday with high winds, but not much rain. Not much to report from the farms. Whiskered Terns are now on every pond, and a large flock of Oriental Pratincoles has congregated on the upland farms. There are still plenty of Wood Sandpipers about, as well as Little Ringed Plovers, but the passage waders have moved on (barring a lonely Black-winged Stilt).

On Sunday I drove up the mountain as far as I could, to Agila Camp, at first light. The path to the top has been cleared recently, and it looks great for ground birds. I did get good views of a White-browed Shama, as well as disturbing two other birds that were just a blur of feathers. There was a fair dawn chorus, with calling birds including lots of Grey-backed Tailorbirds, some Luzon Hornbills, White-browed Shamas and others. A fruiting tree attracted Red-keeled Flowerpeckers and Buzzing Flowerpeckers, and a surprise was a pair of White-bellied Munia in some bamboo, I normally see them in the rice fields. The first Grey-streaked Flycatcher of autumn was hawking insects from a dead tree. A lone Guiabero was the only Parrot sp. On the way down a Red-bellied Pitta flushed off the road, but didn't hang about sadly.

At the base of the mountain the fig tree outside TREES lodge is in fruit, and I enjoyed good views of Red-keeled and Striped Flowerpeckers, Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, Guiabero, Coppersmith, Philippine Bulbul, Lowland White-eye and Yellowish White-eye.

Lesser Coucal

Stripe-headed Rhabdornis

Striped Flowerpecker

Coppersmith

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Monitor sp.

Gecko sp.

Two images showing the path and extent of typhoon Pedring.