Makiling the mediocre - 20th Oct

After last week's triumph I was very keen to get back up the mountain to see if the fall had persisted. Sadly it hadn't! A much quieter day, though it had an almost identical start. A juvenile Red-bellied Pitta hopping around in the middle of the road. Much more confiding than last week's adult in almost the same spot.

Once we started walking we really noticed the difference. Overall the forest was a much quieter place, with few noisy twittering flocks, and very few birds visible at all at first. Of course hard work usually pays off in these circumstances, and we started to see some nice things. At least two pairs of Luzon Flamebacks were along the trail, along with a Luzon Hornbill (only seen briefly, but heard regularly). The male Philippine Trogon was in a very similar place to previously, and a mixed flock contained several Elegant Tit, Sulphur-billed Nuthatch, Blue-headed Fantail and Arctic Warbler. The rest spot at station 14 was lively again, with a large, noisy flock of Stripe-headed Rhabdornis which seemed hardly to have moved at all. A flock of Yellowish White-eye came through the same place, and they were accompanied by several Lowland White-eye (unusual at this altitude). Also with them were two female and one male Narcissus Flycatcher, so at least some of last week's magic was still around!

The trip down was uneventful, barring a brief glimpse of a Pechora Pipit, and a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards displaying far overhead.

One of two female Narcissus Flycatchers, with a more flighty male in the same flock. I have now seen Narcissus Flycatcher 3 times in the Philippines (for a total of 5 birds), and every sighting has been on the same 30 yard stretch of trail on Makiling. Curious.

One of a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards. Their distinctive profile allows these birds to be easily identified even when far overhead like this.