Waders at San Juan

An excellent morning at San juan, with plenty of migrant waders about. The three main ponds by the entrance road were all partially drained, and full of waders, the first time I've seen them like this. Flocks of Lesser Sandplovers, Rufous-necked Stints, Greenshank  and Marsh Sandpipers were interspersed with smaller numbers of Greater Sandplovers, Kentish Plovers, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers, Wood Sandpipers and Long-toed Stints. There were plenty of herons too, Grey Heron, Little Egret and Great White Egret.

The ponds to the south of the main house had their usual flocks of Black-winged Stilt (200+), with large numbers of Pacific Golden Plovers, as well as more Greenshank and Marsh Sandpipers. A lone Garganey shuttled between the groups of waders. A Great Knot appeared in one of my photographs from this area, though I didn't spot it at the time!

Part of my reason for visiting today was to try an locate some winter ducks, so this single Garganey was a little disappointing, maybe later in the season will be better.

The Philippine Ducks were in their usual place, and all the usual San Juan birds were visible, with the exception of Savannah Nightjar, the second year in a row I've failed to find them here. Also absent were any Brahminy Kite, odd that. An interesting record was a solitary Green Imperial Pigeon, my first sighting here. A Whimbrel was in the mangroves, an unusual spot.

A large proportion of my photographs seem to be of birds in flight. This is due to a combination of long views over the ponds (on-the-ground shots are from long distance), and poor cover meaning the birds are easily flushed when I try to get close.

A mixed flock of Rufous-necked Stint and Lesser Sandplover. Also in this group were 2 Long-toed Stints and a few Kentish Plovers and Little Ringed Plovers

 Marsh Sandpipers (with a couple of Greenshank)

Pacific Golden Plover

 Green Imperial Pigeon, my first at this site

The by now standard in-flight view of Philippine Duck

A single Garganey in a flock of Black-winged Stilts

... now on its own...

... and finally with a flock of Greenshank

When I downloaded the pictures onto my computer I found this bird which had been with one of the flocks of Black-winged Stilts I'd photographed. A Great Knot that had completely slipped my notice while actually there!

Week ending 6th November - IRRI

Very wet weather from our return on Tuesday onwards made this a difficult birding week. On Friday a single Kentish Plover was still present, and the Peregrine was back on its pylon. Plenty of Whiskered Terns were all over the fields, they seem to have settled in for the winter. A small party of Barred Buttonquail were the first of their species I'd seen in a while.

 Grey Wagtail

Whiskered Tern

2nd Nov 2011 - Subic

A much anticipated return to Subic to catch up with three of the key birds I missed last year. Sadly the weather didn't play its part, being quite wet, but unyielding officialdom scuppered the trip completely when I was refused entry to the forest near Hill 394 on my second visit. Apparently it is a 'restricted zone', no idea why. The trip started well (but damply), with Northern Sooty Woodpecker and White-bellied Woodpecker in various areas of the forest. A group of Rufous-crowned Bee-eaters, M. americanus (split from Blue-throated Bee-eater, M. viridis) was at the start of the trail on Hill 394. Purple Needletails zoomed around, and both Brahminy Kites and White-bellied Sea-Eagles haunted the bat colonies. Several Whiskered Swiftlets were on the wires along the road too, all in all a nice selection of Subic birds. Pity about the bureaucrats.

 Red-crested Malkoha

Northern Sooty Woodpecker. Recently split from the birds in the south, this has a red forehead, face and malar stripe, Southern Sooty Woodpecker has a red malar stripe only.

Mud, blood and Flowerpeckers

I took a day out from a family trip to Sabang on Mindoro to explore a golf course (Ponderosa) above Puerto Galera that was reputed to have some good habitat. A track leads from the ninth tee near the clubhouse towards a quarry, along a relatively undisturbed and little used muddy path. Straightaway the habitat looked great, and there was some early calls that were interesting. The main point of interest was a fruiting tree near the start of the track. It was here that I encountered the largest number, and greatest variety of birds. Mainly Mindoro Bulbuls at first, there were also Yellow-vented Bulbul, Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes, Balicassiao, and Black-naped Monarch. A party of small passerines included several of the Arctic Warbler complex (still haven't got to grips with the 3 species that are said to occur here, Arctic, Japanese and Kamchatka Warblers), Lovely Sunbird, Elegant Tit, Pygmy Flowerpeckers, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and my main target species of the day, Scarlet-collared Flowerpecker, a Mindoro endemic.

Another pleasing sighting was the distinctive all-black Mindoro race of Philippine Coucal. Interesting that both Coucals on this island that used to be known as the black island are all-dark, though the island name came from the particularly virulent strain of malaria that occurs here. Purple Needletails at the clubhouse were also nice, my second sighting of them in a week.

The site is a good one, and one that I'll visit again. I'm certain that Mindoro Hawk-Owl would occur, as well as the various Imperial Pigeon spp. and Parrots that occur on Mindoro.

And if anyone is wondering about the blood in the title of the post, its the three or four tablespoons I gave up to the 15 or so leeches that took me for a mobile buffet, not to mention the umpteen mosquitos, the bites of which are still making their presence felt.

The all-black Mindoro race of Philippine Coucal, Centropus viridis mindorensis. There were at least two in the upper stretch of the quarry trail, but were very wary, similar behaviour to their cousins in Luzon.

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. This variable species has 11 races in The Philippines, 10 of them endemic. This is apparently Dicaeum trigonostigma xanthopygmium, the same race that occurs on Luzon. Its main distinguishing feature is its yellow rump.

Female Black-naped Monarch 

Mindoro Bulbul

Week ending 30th October - IRRI, Sabang

An interesting week. It started with a Red-necked Phalarope on the Experimental Farm on Tuesday afternoon. That had gone by the next day, leaving a Kentish Plover and two Long-toed Stints in its place. On my early morning run on Wednesday I heard the usual Philippine Hawk Owls, as well as a Philippine Nightjar in the staff compound, my first record there. Also on Wednesday a Philippine Scops Owl flew over my head as I was waiting in the IRRI car park to collect Fiona.

On Saturday we went to Sabang on Mindoro for a family/ diving holiday. The only birds on the way over were a flock of Common Terns.

Kentish Plover

Common Terns on the crossing from Batangas to Sabang

Red-necked Phalarope at IRRI

A big surprise this afternoon was a single Red-necked Phalarope on one of the paddies at IRRI. It was in company with a hundred or so Wood Sandpipers, a Long-toed Stint and a few dozen Little Ringed Plovers. They are regular migrants through the Philippines, but almost always offshore. They are pretty scarce inland, and this is certainly the first inland bird I've seen (or heard of since I came in 2008).

Week ending 23rd October - IRRI

Quite a productive week, with nice weather most days. On Monday a pair of Kentish Plovers had joined the wader flock on the farm, and were mixing with the LRPs, Wood Sandpipers and Long-toed Stints. They were no longer present on Wednesday. The conditions in the fields are perfect for Rallids, and many have been visible all week, often with youngsters in attendance. This seems to be the time of year to see Slaty-breasted Rails, which are visible daily.

On Saturday a fruiting tree on the UPLB section adjacent to the upland farms had flocks of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, as well as plenty of other fruit-loving species, including a very obliging Striped Flowerpecker.

Barn Swallow posing nicely

Snipe sp. Either Pintail or Swinhoe's.

Pied Bushchat

Adult Slaty-breasted Rail. Very visible at the moment, I'm seeing them daily, similarly to last year. This means that they are either locally migratory (including youngsters), or after raising chicks to a certain size they become much less anxious about being seen.

Juvenile Slaty-breasted Rail

Kentish Plover

Pygmy Flowerpecker in the tree outside my front door

Striped Flowerpecker