Siburan Prison - 30 Dec

I took the opportunity to make a flying visit to Siburan while staying on nearby Pandan Island. A permit is required from the tourism authority in Sablayan (09294280431 or 09159953895), who will also provide you with a guide to take you to the prison. Once there it is a quick matter to hire an inmate (I had Archie again), and then it's birding time. The birds were tough as always here, and it took a while before we saw anything. The main target species here is the Mindoro endemic Black-hooded Coucal, of which we eventually heard about 10 birds, and had a brief glimpse of one. A similar story can be told about the Blue-crowned Racquet-tails, one bird briefly glimpsed while being surrounded by a flock calling very raucously. There were other birds of course. Philippine Fairy Bluebirds are quite common here in the taller trees. I also had the mindorensis race of Bar-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, and a migrant Oriental Cuckoo.

All in  all not an easy day's birding, but worth the detour!

 Oriental Cuckoo

 Whiskered Tree-Swift

Bar-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, ssp. mindorensis