YELLOW-THROATED LEAFBIRD near Sabang
- One of nearly 20 endemics confined to the island of Palawan. This one, like many others, is easy to find and was picked up a number of times in just a few days there.
JAVAN ('PALAWAN') FROGMOUTH near Sabang
- Confusion still reigns over the identity of the Palawan Frogmouths: some say they should be lumped within Sunda, some call them Javan, although many others believe they deserve full
endemic species status.
Report and all photos by Sam Woods/Tropical Birding
22nd March: Puerto Princesa to Underground River National Park, Sabang (PALAWAN) Lowland, coastal limestone forest and mangroves.
Another early start was required to take the only daily flights to the Palawan capital of Puerto Princesa. We had originally planned a stop for Chinese Egrets and shorebirds at Garceliano Beach near the capital, although when we arrived there were horrified to find an extremely high tide rendering the whole area birdless - we quickly changed the plan, ate an early lunch and then boarded our vans to make the journey to Sabang that would be our base for exploring the endemic-rich coastal, limestone forests of St. Pauls (recently renamed Underground River National Park). Palawan often turns out to be most people's favorite Philippine island, due to a combination of easy endemics, some of the largest most in tact tracts of rainforest and frankly, because much of it is an idyllic paradise island of beaches, mangroves and lush bird-rich rainforests. Between Puerto Princesa and our resort in Sabang we passed by some deserted scenic beaches with superb vistas over the South China Sea, and along the way we encountered some fabulous stretches of forest and tree-lined limestone outcrops that are good spots for some of Palawan's coolest endemic birds. A few weeks before I had checked out some areas in preparation for the main tour, when an unplanned stop for some emergency car repairs, alongside a scenic tree-lined river, had caused me to stumble onto some superb flowering trees that had proved a real boon for nectarivores. And so it was we made our first stop there along the way in the hope that some of the trees would still be in bloom. Thankfully they were and it did not take long to find our main target, with a stocky male Copper-throated Sunbird and Palawan's own endemic nectar specialist, with the aptly named Palawan Flowerpecker, in addition to a whole bunch of other nectar feeders including Pygmy Flowerpecker, Little Spiderhunter, several stunning scarlet-breasted trochilus race Purple-throated Sunbirds, and a few Olive-backed Sunbirds. Our next, 'emergency' stop was made alongside a stretch of Palawan's idyllic western coastline for another low-flying squadron of needletails, this time a group of Brown-backed Needletails, to add to the Purple and Philippine Needletails already recorded on Mindanao earlier on the tour. All along the way we ran into small vocal groups of the endemic pusillus 'race' of Slender-billed Crow, heard giving their instantly recognizable, high-pitched and distinctly un-crow like calls, a subspecies that many believe should be given full species status, and so is frequently referred to simply as 'Palawan Crow'. We then rose up onto a scenic forested ridegtop, where the hoped-for Ashy-headed Babbler that had been present there only a few weeks previous failed to show, although we did begin seeing our first Palawan endemics with several Yellow-throated Leafbirds, high flying flocks of Palawan Swiftlets (a recent split from Island or Uniform Swiftlet), a White-vented Shama was observed giving its fluty song from a low roadside perch; and best of all a gorgeous Blue Paradise-Flycatcher popped up on the opposite side of the road to the showy Shama. A short walk further down the road and we picked up another of the Palawan specialties, when we found a pair of lemon-yellow and black Palawan Tits singing in a bare roadside tree. Only a few hours within Palawan and we were getting a real taste of some of its very best birds. Aside from this haul of endemics, we also heard our third target pitta species of the trip, when a Hooded Pitta called closeby, that Don at least got fantastic views of. The others were not left smarting for long over this though, as I had another territory lined up a little further down the road, that paid off handsomely, when on playing the tape only briefly, the bird came crashing in and perched up within a few feet of our stunned, beaming faces. One of the main reasons for taking time on the way into Sabang was to stop for Palawan's endemic nightbirds along the way, so we needed to ride out some time waiting for dusk. Some of this time was spent scanning some huge tree-lined limestone outcrops that jut out above the surrounding coastal forests, giving a truly magnificent backdrop to birding this quiet coastal road. A short time later I picked up the gleaming ivory casques of a small party of Palawan Hornbills that we had been hoping for and can sometimes be found roosting in this area. We then got ourselves in position for the nightshow, although with light not yet fading a pair of calling Ashy-headed Babblers (that had failed me earlier in the afternoon) were fair game and typically gave excellent views when responding to a little gentle playback. As we waited along the deserted road for the onset of dusk, the first bats appeared and soon after we were treated to the sight of an Oriental Hobby hunting the bats low over the road, catching three bats in under 30 minutes, not a bad way to while out the time until the time for owling! Soon after dark our first night bird appeared with a pair of calling roadside Large-tailed Nightjars. The frogmouths we were after were also soon calling, although the first of these gave us the run-around until we found a nice cleared area where we found a much more cooperative individual that just sat there growling back at us from its low perch. This funky bird with its ridiculous oversized whiskers continues to confound birders as to exactly what it is, currently listed as Javan Frogmouth, this island form gives a call that is not known in other populations of the widespread Javan that may itself warrant splitting into several different species. To add to the confusion some have also considered this 'Palawan' Frogmouth as a unique form of Sunda Frogmouth, while others of which the majority of opinion seems to be weighing behind consider the frogmouths on Palawan to be another as yet undescribed species, being referred to widely as simply Palawan Frogmouth. Whilst soaking up the frogmouth our final night quarry, Palawan Scops-Owl uttered its own quiet, almost inaudible growl. The call of this bird is completely deceptive as you can be standing right in front of one, and the call can be difficult to hear even then, so the toughest thing is not to risk flushing the bird as you can walk right into it. Which is basically what happened initially when I went towards the source of the quiet growling and failed to notice the bird, perched vertically on a low vine until I was right on top of it, so that when everyone else came in for a look the bird flew with only me getting one unforgettable view. Thankfully after an initial, panicked period of silence the bird began calling once more and we managed to find it a short distance from its original perch, where the eyes glowed bright red back at us while we lapped up this impressive endemic scops owl. 3 target nightbirds, all 3 seen so we headed to our resort for celebratory beers and to plan tomorrow's 'assault' on one of the most stunning birds in the Philippines - as we would be seeking the breathtaking Palawan Peacock-Pheasant.
The exquisite male PALAWAN PEACOCK-PHEASANT
St. Pauls - the only 'true' pheasant in the Philippines.
This showy male PALAWAN PEACOCK-PHEASANT provides one of those rare problems for a bird photographer - how to get photos of a bird that is often too close! Digiscoping was generally useless (although I did manage to get the shot on the left through a scope), so I shot this one hand held with the use of a flash as the bird was only a few feet away at the time. Although the natural light shot through the scope reveals the full, phenomenal colors of the bird best. If this is a prority bird for you then this is clearly the time to go for it, as this rediculous individual has made this species shamelessly easy to see!
24th March: Underground River (St. Paul's) National Park, Sabang and Garceliano Beach, Puerto Princesa (PALAWAN) Tidal mudflats and mangroves.
Don had also missed the peacock show the day before through illness and what with there still being a few birds in the same area for the rest of us we boarded our banca once more and waded the short distance ashore, to enter the kast forest that is the peacock's well-documented stomping ground. In addition to the 'almost guaranteed' Palawan Peacock-pheasant we all had superb views of a perched Oriental Dwarf (Rufous-backed) Kingfisher, that had only given brief views for most the day before as it typically zipped by at lightning speed, and a pair of Stork-billed Kingfishers were also in the same area. With little else showing we returned to the boat and made the short ride to another bay where we paddled to shore again and entered the forest in search of Palawan's coolest endemic babbler once more. On reaching the spot where it had performed so poorly the day before, the bird was immediately heard calling. This time however, only the shortest burst of playback brought the Falcated Ground-Babbler screaming into view, that then perched up magnificently in an open gully in the forest that even allowed a few of us to get full on views of this cracking endemic babbler in the Swarovski scope. Other notable birds included our only tour sighting of Mangrove Whistler, as well as Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, Common Flameback and a couple of young Red-bellied Pittas that bounced off the trail in front of us. After a final lunch at the Last Frontier where we were able to watch a Palawan Hornbill leaping around in some trees right by the dining area, we departed for Puerto Princesa, stopping en-route to pick up another pack of low-flying Brown-backed Needletails, our first, much belated view of a Plaintive Cuckoo, a small active party of well-named Fiery Minivets (that included a vivid orange-red male in their group) and a Sulphur-bellied Bulbul for Don who had missed it during his bout of flu. We then returned to the mudflats near Puerto Princesa hoping for a more favorable tide on this occasion. Unfortunately the tides were extremely high at this time, leaving little exposed mud. However, we did come across a band of roosting egrets which after some scrutiny was found to hold at least two of the endangered Chinese Egrets that we were seeking there. Shorebirds were thin on the ground due to the unfortunate state of the tide but we did find a few Gray-tailed Tattlers roosting in the mangroves. We then retired to Princesa, taking in a superb seafood restaurant perched on the edge of the mangroves, that even has Prince Andrew on its long list of past celebrity diners and after tucking into the locally produced food, we were able soon understood why.
25th March: Iwahig Penal Colony and Rasa Island (PALAWAN) Lowland rainforest and coastal scrub and woodland on Rasa.
The Balsahan Trail, bizarrely set for a birding area within a safe correctional institution, is a key site on Palawan for a couple of endemics that are never recorded at St. Paul's - notably Melodious Babbler and historically (although very rarely in recent years), also Palawan Flycatcher. One of the logistical problems we had not expected there was unseasonally heavy rains the day before our arrival, leading to the swelling of the river that runs alongside the trail and a rising of the formerly little brooks that we needed to cross to reach the best areas for these key endemics. Thankfully Arding, our driver and Iwahig employee, was on hand to aid us all across what is usually little bother to cross in little more than walking boots. We all eventually made it and to my relief we soon heard the Melodious Babblers calling on cue, and were soon getting to grips with a group of three-four birds perched up in a subcanopy vine tangle. With these falling conveniently early we were getting into the privileged position of what do we look for next? Well the flycatcher of course! My hopes really were not high for this site (we had a stop planned for our final birding of the tour, which has been a much more reliable stakeout in recent years), as nobody had reported seeing at all in the current season (with many tours having visited the area). Indeed Nicky our resident, experienced Filipino bird guide had recently revealed he had never encountered them on the Balsahan at all. What the hell we thought, we had the time so we should try and ease the pressure on tomorrow's final birding stop. So we headed in to the thick stands of bamboo that they generally favor (and which makes them often challenging to see), and received little response to a bit of strategic playback. Unsurprised we turned to leave and immediately a Palawan Flycatcher piped up and gave a brief snatch of song close by. I waited for a time to hear it again and identify the source of the sound, but the bird had fallen stubbornly silent, so I tried a quick burst of playback whereupon, this shy retiring flycatcher zipped straight in (flashing the bright reddish tail past us as it did so leaving us in no doubt as to what it was), and perched right out in front of us singing away within 10 feet of the whole group who were all fixed firmly on this bonus find. We had served our time in Iwahig and so then headed for our final main destination of the tour - the sleepy, peaceful coastal town of Nara, our base for exploring nearby Rasa Island. After a lunch and rest in Nara from the severe afternoon heat, we boarded another banca and set sail for Rasa, a 30 minute ride away. From the boat we picked up our final new birds of the tour - first our last Imperial Pigeon of the tour, the striking Pied Imperial Pigeon, here on Rasa in its element as it is a small island specialist, and then a little later the first of the roosting Philippine Cockatoos came sailing in from the mainland. Using a scope while on board a Filipino banca is not easy to say the least, but in between the drifting motion of the boat we all managed scope views of these ivory birds, all of us keen to get a good look at their burnt red vents that makes this species unique from all other cockatoos. These critically endangered 'parrots' are now extremely localized, having suffered a dramatic decline in recent years due to a lethal combination of habitat destruction and intensive hunting for the cage bird trade. Thus they are now very difficult to find anywhere away from Rasa, (having formerly been a regular sighting at St. Paul's there are no very recent records at all despite much good habitat remaining in that national park). So it was well worth the journey to watch playful gangs of these extremely rare cockatoos landing on the edge of island, before they headed deeper inland to roost. We then returned to Nara for our final late farewell dinner, before our departure the next day.
26th March: Nara to Puerto Princesa and departure back to Manila.
Essentially a departure day, we made the journey back to Puerto Princesa to fly to Manila and connect with international flights back. Although we made a stop along the way for a last few looks at some of Palawan's endemic birds, including another view of the scarce Palawan Flycatcher at a site we would more normally expect to run across it, Handsome (Shelley's) Sunbird, Yellow-throated Leafbird and a Sulphur-bellied Bulbul or two. It was then off for our good-byes with talk of the next trip (because us birders are always looking to the next trip and the next haul of new birds at the soonest opportunity) - Argentina next perhaps for Don and Doris, and only a few weeks later Mark, Shirley and Richard would be in Andean cloudforests of southern Ecuador pursuing such treats as Jocotoco Antpitta and others.
Source :
http://www.tropicalbirding.com/tripReports/TR_Philippines2007/TR_Philippines2007.htm
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