While I've had a couple of birder guests during the pandemic, (one in Jan 2021, and another in March), both were solo guests that I just accompanied for a couple of hours. One was a visiting blogger while the other was a birder friend. I did not even charge anything for it. So my first real new normal bird tour was for the group of Henrick Tan, Delio Tolosa, and Bogs Guevarra last February 18-21.
I went to Capayas on the morning of February 16 to check the birding conditions and to do a bit of birding. Capayas resident bird guide Erwin Edonga has been boasting that the Ruddy Kingfisher has been making an appearance lately. The first bird I photographed that morning was the Black-chined Fruit Dove. Here is a docu shot:
Black-chinned Fruit Dove, male
I didn't have to wait long before the largest of Capayas' Three Kings showed up. What followed was a photo session reminiscent of my experience almost exactly three years ago (February 17, 2019). This bird just stayed there for the next three hours and I must have missed it so much that I ended up with more than 2500 shots in various poses of only three birds - the Black-chinned Fruit Dove, Ruddy Kingfisher, and Blue-eared Kingfisher. But 95% of my shots were of "Rudy". Sharing two of them:
Ruddy Kingfisher
The Blue-eared Kingfisher was also around and in many occasions, it shared the perch with its larger cousin.
Blue-eared Kingfisher
I needed to be back at Darayonan by 11am and up to that point only two of the three kings have made an appearance. From past experience, I knew that the Blue-eared and the Rufous-backed did not get along. So if one were present, the other one would be hard to find. I had almost given up on the third king when it made an appearance but instead of perching on the open buho perch, it went into a darker nook near the barbed wire fence. Perhaps to hide from the Blue-eared. Sharing a not so good shot of the Rufous-backed Kingfisher.
Rufous-backed Kingfisher
I left at around 10:30am, satisfied that Capayas Creek Kingfisher Preserve was ready for its first new normal guest. Being able to see and photograph the Capayas Three Kings in one day (actually, within 4 four hours), is always a good birding day (and also that I had two 64gb XQD cards full of photos).
Two days later, Henrick, Delio, and Bogs arrived. Fortunately, their flight was on time and we were at Capayas Creek Kingfisher Preserve a little after 10am. King Ruddy was already there waiting as if to receive all who came to pay homage. What followed was two days of almost non-stop shooting. The birdlist for the entire trip, by my count totaled more than twenty species. Their photos have been all over Facebook in the past month and a half. Here are a few of the photos I was able to take in Capayas on Feb 18.
Ruddy Kingfisher, this photo was taken at 10:57am. (First shot of the day was taken ay 10:13 - of the same bird)
While shooting the Ruddy, we heard the Lovely Sunbird calling from somewhere above us. Before we knew it, the bird went down to ground level somewhere behind us and we all scrambled to adjust tripods and focus on the perpetually moving target.
Lovely Sunbird, male, 11:11am
The appearance of the Lovely Sunbird left us somewhat breathless. And before we could resume our kingfisher vigil, this bird made a brief appearance at the Aratiles tree.
Palawan Flowerpecker, female... 11:27am
After a brief respite, tripods were repositioned toward the kingfisher's favorite perch and soon, the second Capayas King made an entrance.
Blue-eared Kingfisher, 11:44am
It didn't take long before it dove and caught a fish... 11:48am
Not to be outdone, the Ruddy also ate a split second later ... 11:48am
After taking plenty of shots of the two kingfishers, we shifted our attention back to the other Capayas regulars.
Palawan Flowerpecker, male... 12;04pm
Ashy-fronted Bulbul... 12:09pm
Blue-eared Kingfisher eating, (again)... 12:18pm
Seeing the kingfishers gorging on their food made us hungry as well so we also broke for lunch. But the birding activity resumed not long after.
Asian Glossy Starling... 1:07pm
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird...1:55pm
The third Capayas King, the Rufous-backed Kingfisher appeared at 2:30pm but stayed at a distance due to the presence of the Blue-eared. I was able to get a few photos of the docu variety. The rest of the afternoon was spent on taking photos of the kingfishers and flowerpeckers. Late in the afternoon, another bird made its first appearance.
Blue-paradise Flycatcher, female...4;11pm
My guests decided to retire for the day at around 5pm. We returned to Darayonan, had a couple of cold beers with Bogs' yummy chicharon from Pampanga! Later on, we shared a sumptuous dinner as we relived the day's productive shoot.
The following morning, we were at Capayas a little after 6am and the Ruddy was already there waiting for us. We set up our gear, took some shots while having coffee and pan de sal. Then all three guests went around with Erwin to look for other birds. I had to stay behind to keep watch on our gear and wait for the breakfast to be delivered. While waiting, I kept watch on the kingfishers and they did not disappoint.
Blue-eared Kingfishers in what I assume is a courtship ritual, female on the left, male on the right ... 8:37am
Perhaps love is in the air (hey, Valentine's Day was just a few days ago) because another Ruddy Kingfisher suddenly arrived and for a few brief seconds there were four kingfishers on the two perches!!! But they were too far apart to fit in my lens @%*&$#. I could not even fit the two Ruddy's in one frame. (the disadvantages of a prime). In any case, the second Ruddy stayed only a second or two (I only managed two shots).
Presumably Mr & Mrs Ruddy ... 8:38am
Ruddy Kingfisher, showing the skyblue feathers on its back... 9:00am
Rufous-backed Kingfisher... 9:54am
The female Blue Paradise Flycatcher also made another appearance.
As did the Palawan Bulbul
Meanwhile, Henrick, Delio, and Bogs, were able to get photos of the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Spot-throated Flameback Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Leafbird, Ashy Drongo, Palawan Drongo, and White-vented Shama.
After lunch, I had to go back to the office for a staff meeting and of course, I missed seeing the two Rufous-backed Kingfishers in the same perch (Henrick has already posted photo of this on FB).
Day 3 of the trip was alloted for island hopping. We toured Coron Island's main tourist attractions namely Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoons, Banol Beach, Skeleton Wreck and Siete Pecados Marine Park. Some of the sights...
Kayangan Lake docking area
The view from the Kayangan Lake trail
Twin Peaks, a snorkeling area
A yacht safely moored within the many coves of Coron Island
Exiting Twin Lagoons
And of course, birders will always be birders....
A pair of Pacific Reef Egrets, gray morph off Malwawey Island
Pacific Reef Egret, white morph, at Siete Pecados Marine Park, the park ranger must have been confused because we went to the side of the park that is not frequented by tourists
By the time we went back to the dock, the only thing missing was the White-bellied Sea Eagle that usually glides around the bay. We saw it earlier near Skeleton Wreck but it was too far (we were still at Banol when we saw it). I was hoping that said bird will make an appearance over Lualhati Park. And it actually did. We had to make the van rush to the middle of the reclaimed area and stop just after Luis Bay Traveller's Lodge. Then we quickly disembarked, pointed our lenses to the sky and fired like madmen. I am sure the people around were gawking at us (and probably scratching their heads).
White-bellied Sea Eagle
The following day, while waiting for the van to bring us to the airport, Henrick, Delio, and Bogs, birded within the Darayonan compound and to my surprise was able to photograph a male Blue Rock Thrush, (in good light!) and a Black-chinned Fruit Dove, both of which are first time records at Darayonan. They also got the usual Asian Glossy Starlings, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, and the Olive-backed Sunbird (which they also got in Capayas).
All in all, a very satisfactory first birding tour in the new normal. Thank you Lord for the beauty of your creation and for allowing us to witness them. And of course thank you to Henrick, Bogs, and Delio, for trusting us with your vacation.
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