Ipo Dam is a concrete water reservoir gravity dam found in Norzagaray, Bulacan. The dam is located about 7.5 kilometres downstream of the Angat Dam within the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve. It is also a birding site. Sometime in late 2021, photos of the Grey-headed Fish Eagle taken from Ipo Dam were being posted on Facebook and Instagram. Said bird would be a lifer for me. So when Joel Dayao invited me to a birding sortie at Ipo Dam, there was no hesitation on my part in accepting.
We were told to be at the MWSS Ipo Dam gate by 6am. I picked up Ed Santos at his garage in Pasay a little after 4am and soon we were off. We reached the gate at 5:30am and found Jonet Carpio already there, sleeping in his pick up. Soon Loel Lamela and Trinity Gatuz arrived in separate cars. But no Joel. It was getting light and there was no cell signal so we could not call Joel. After another twenty or so anxious minutes, Joel and Gemma arrived and we were off. We boarded small motorized bancas with narrow katigs (outriggers). We were five boats in all - Ed and I were sharing one banca. Jonet and Loel each had their own, Joel and Gemma in one boat and Trinity with her companions in another.
Jonet and his crew
Loel with his boatmates
Trinity and her gang
Joel and Gemma
Ed and I
Some of the scenes around the dam reminded me of Coron Island...
A simple dwelling on the river bank
The first bird we saw was an Osprey high up in a very tall tree. It was not easy to shoot in almost straight up, against the light, in a small banca where every slight movement sends shivers up my spine. (I know this is irrational but though I do not know how to swim, I was not really afraid of drowning. I was more scared of my camera gear falling into to water. Does that mean that my priorities are skewed???).
Uncropped shot of a backlit Osprey perched high up in a tree.
Osprey in better light. In order to get a decent shot, we had to go past the tree so that the sun is behind us (more or less).
After getting our fill with the Osprey, we pushed forward into a sort of aquatic cul-de-sac. I saw a Brown-breasted Kingfisher fly-by but was not able to get good photos. We turned around and proceed upstream. We were the last boat (I don't know why our boatman would wait until all other boats have left before he starts to crank up his engine). In any case we saw them stopped up ahead and when we caught up, Loel was pointing to the trees and shouting Fish Eagle. I saw a bird fly and just lifted my camera and pressed the shutter. However, since I was previously trying to shoot the Brown-breasted Kingfisher which was perched in a dark clump, my settings were all wrong. Managed to salvage a couple of docu shots.
The two birds headed to the trees which made it difficult to see. Loel was still pointing at something and I could hear Jonet's D500 firing rapidly. But we could not see the bird. If we were on land, we would be heading to the guy who saw it and position ourselves beside of behind. Not so easy to do when you are on water. Frustrating... Anyway, we scanned the trees with our cameras and binoculars, ...and scanned...and scanned... until I saw a silhouette behind the leaves. This went on for a few minutes until the bird flew and I just aimed and fired. As what happens in situations like this - less ideal light, busy and dark background, dark bird in motion, - one ends up with a lot of blurred and grainy shots. Fortunately, I was able to get a few usable ones.
Grey-headed Fish Eagle
Everyone seemed to be in high spirits after this encounter. We then moved upstream and landed on an area where Joel and Loel (who had been to Ipo Dam previously), said the GHFE would normally fish. We were not there for long when someone shouted something, cameras were all aimed towards the sky and a split second later you the sound of DSLR shutters filled the air (Jonet, Loel, and me). All the others were using silent mirrorless cameras (sana all...)
The raptor dove and caught a fish in the river in front of us but it was not a Grey-headed Fish Eagle but a Brahminy Kite.
Brahminy Kite
LCD screens were immediately turned on and shots reviewed. Again, there was much excitement as evidenced by the animated talking. Plus the usual wisecracks that are typical in any WBPP gathering. After the talk died down, we settled down to wait but no birds were in sight. The Brahminy did another fly-by but unlike the previous appearance, it did not dive.
Brahminy Kite
Meanwhile several boats passed by and what do photographers do to combat the boredom? Shoot of course. Here are some of Ipo Dam citizens going about their Sunday.
First up was this banca...
Apparently, Coast Guard and Marina rules are not observed here (hehehe)
A group of people who are headed for Sunday worship, I presume
The fluvial traffic seemed busy that day,
Apparently, minors are allowed to drive motpr boats
Seniors too! Relax na relax si Lola
After almost two hours of no bird activity, we got bored waiting so we boarded our boats and headed upstream. Along the way, we saw Large-billed Crows and some Luzon Hornbills. One of the males was kind enough to do a fly-by across our banca.
Luzon Horbill, male
This however is an over exposed shot that is also backlit. So after processing the image of the bird to bring out the features, I ended up with a white featureless sky. I used Photoshop's sky replacement feature to add color.
A little further on we caught up with the worship group.
And then met a basketball team on their way (or maybe returning from), a pick up game. Presenting the Ipo Dammers whose next opponent are the LA Lakers, get it? (my kids are probably rolling their eyes on what they would call a "Dad joke")
We also saw some women fishing by the banks.
And this sight somewhat caught me by surprise... but I realized that he was part of a team doing some survey work.
We continued up stream and we saw a couple of ospreys circling high up. We were motoring along when one flew somewhat near our banca. And I just aimed and fired. As with the Hornbill, I ended with a white sky (first photo). So Photoshop sky replacement to the rescue (second photo).
Osprey
We reached the far end of the dam which was a sort of canal or chute where water from Angat Dam empties into Ipo Dam. After several minutes, we turned around and headed downstream.
And as usual, we are the last boat. We caught up with them bunched together by the right bank and looking at something. Then Jonet went down to get a closer shot. I followed a bit but fearing that I might sink into some mud or lose my footing, I did not all the way to where Jonet was.
Philippine Serpent Eagle
Then we headed back to where we originally beached but the GHFE's were still not there. Loel went ahead to scout. After about 15 minutes we saw them steaming at full spead and as soon as he was within shouting distance, he said he saw a juvenile Fish Eagle further down and we all ran to our boats and went to where it was. Luckily, it was still in the vicinity but difficult to see. We spent the next thirty minutes photographing this bird (or at least trying to).
Grey-headed Fish Eagle, juvenile
Big drops of rain started to fall, and not wanting to be caught in a squall on board a tiny banca in the middle of a deep dam, we all rushed back to port. After paying our boatmen, we headed to the army barracks where we gorged ourselves with pinakbet and succulent inihaw na bangus paired with Ed's magic adobo, washed down by the cold drinks I brought, and finished with Loel's Tibok-tibok! Plus WBPP's brand of camaraderie. A perfect way to end a birding sortie.
Some more photos courtesy of Jonet:
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