News of several rare migrants appearing simultaneously at the UP Diliman campus caused another wave of excitement in the birding community. Unlike previous occasions when there is one or two uncommon birds, this time there were several - Narcissus Flycatcher (male & female), a migrant Ruddy Kingfisher, a migrant Ashy Drongo, and a Black-winged Cuckooshrike. This last bird was the one that got my attention. Records show that there have been only five (5) previous sightings in the Philippines. A possible 6th sighting happened in Coron in November 2018 when Loel Lamela saw and photographed it at Capayas one afternoon. I was with Loel that entire trip except for one afternoon when I had to take care of something in town. And true enough, a rare bird appears on that afternoon. However, I am not sure if that sighting was ever submitted to the Rarities Committee which means it was probably not officially recorded. So the 2024 appearance of said bird in UPD is either the sixth or seventh. Whichever it is, it just means that this bird is a rare migrant in Philippine shores and must not be missed. But duties and obligations always get in the way of birding so it was only October 27, after a typhoon, that I was able to visit UP.
Upon arriving, I met Jayjay Sta Ana and a couple of other birders whose names escape me at the moment. But the bird was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later, we saw Adrian and Trinket Constantino who said that they saw the bird earlier. We then walked in different directions in search of the bird. As I was quietly stalking a bird that turned out to be a YVB, I saw/heard Jayjay calling me. I jogged towards him and he told me Adri and Trinket saw it already. We quickly walked to where they were and after a few minutes, it was there along with several Pied Trillers. Sharing some of the images that I was able to create.
Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Coracina melaschistos, a rare migrant to the Philippines. Philippine Lifer # 356 (4th for 2024) and Lifer #583 (Overall).
Thank you Lord for another lifer. Thank you to Adri and Trinket for spotting the bird and for Jayjay for calling me.
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