Week ending 6th May - UPLB

As a break from climbing mountains on Saturday I tried to answer a question that has been perplexing me recently, namely where are the Indigo-banded Kingfishers?They are usually seen on the stream that runs through the UPLB campus, but I haven't seen them for at least a couple of months. The stream is only easily accessible at a few spots, so I decided to get down to the stream bed and follow it, so that I would be able to cover the entire stream, the theory being they must be on a stretch of water that I can't see from any vantage point. Needless to say this was not what happened. Firstly the stream bed is difficult to get to due to lots of undergrowth, some of which is vicious. The bugs also took exception to my adventures, and lastly the water was pretty rank, adding several unpleasant skin diseases to the list of potential hazards. Bird-wise it was also a disappointing day. Aside from several parties of Yellow-wattled Bulbuls the only birds of interest were a pair of large dark birds that flew down the stream in front of me, and which I took to be Barred Rails.

All in all an unsuccessful day. Tomorrow will be better!

 Yellow-wattled Bulbul

Philippine Bulbul