Four days at Infanta/Real

For the past five years, one of the productive birding areas reachable by car from Manila on a day-trip, has been a thirty kilometer stretch along the Marilaque Highway covering the towns of Real and Infanta. About a month a month and a half ago, I had the opportunity to be there for four days. Not consecutively but in a span of three weekends. The first day was May 21st with Alex Ting. Alex's main goal was to test and become more familiar with his new gear. Mine was to hopefully catch some rare lifers, namely, the Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher and the Short-crested Monarch. And maybe to get better photos of the Rufous Paradise Flycatcher. Alex got to practice on his new gear and collected a few lifers along the way. I, on the other hand, dipped on all my targets (hahaha). But I did manage some good photos. Sharing some of them.

Images from the May 21 sortie

Philippine Cuckoo Dove

Yellowish White-eye

Citrine Canary Flycatcher

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Sulphur-billed Nuthatch

Bi-colored Flowerpecker

Olive-backed Flowerpecker

Buzzing Flowerpecker

Philippine Fairy Bluebird

Philippine Fairy Bluebird

White-eared Brown Dove

Northern Philippine Hawk Eagle

Northern Philippine Hawk Eagle

The following Saturday, May 28 was WBPP's Fun Bird Race. Being a member of the organizing committee meant that I had to be there the day before to do some preparations. So on May 27, I went up to Infanta/Real with my teammate, Ven Rojas, along with other Bird Race Committee members, Loel Lamela, Bert Madrigal, and Djop Tabaranza. Fellow WBPP member Roy Daantos was also with us. We were there to do prep work but we did squeeze in some birding (siyempre naman, nandun na kami eh).

Images from the May 27 advance trip

Cream-bellied Fruit Dove, nesting

A pair of Philippine Serpent Eagles

I am not sure what this is but I believe it is a Buzzing Flowerpecker

Elegant Tit

Philippine Fairy Bluebird

Elegant Tit

Grey-backed Tailorbird

Philippine Fairy Blue Bluebird

Cream-bellied Fruit Dove

The following day, May 28 was Bird Race Day. We were competing as Panty Hose Gang but since two of our original members were not present, we had two additions. Team 1 was composed Alex Ting, Homer Pialda, and Luisa Nicole Lim Sy while Team 2 were Ven Rojas and myself. Our strategy was to compete as two teams but to bird as one so that we have more eyes (as if we were such good spotters).

Images from the Bird Race, May 28

Buzzing Flowerpecker

Sulphur-billed Nuthatch

Grey-backed Tailorbird

Flaming Sunbird

Olive-backed Flowerpecker

Yellow-vented Bulbul

You know it's a bird race when even the YVB, ETS, AGS, and Crows are photographed. Points din yun! (hehehe). As the competition was coming to a close, Ven and I checked our list and we had nineteen (19) species. We desperately looked for a Eurasian Tree Sparrow so we could complete twenty (we were unsuccessful).

Blue-headed Fantail

Elegant Tit, sheltering from the rain

Philippine Bulbul, juvenile

White-eared Brown Dove

Philippine Hanging Parrot

Elegant Tit

Pacific Swallow

Team 1 placed fourth while Team 2 tied for 6th (should have been 5th but we missed reporting one species. Neither team got a podium finish but we were all happy with our performance. After all we did not set out to win the competition. All we wanted was to bird and bond with our fellow birders. My only regret was that a couple of teams photographed the Grand Rhabdornis, which would have been a lifer for me. This led me to organize another trip the following Saturday, June 4th.

The June 4 sortie

For this trip, my companions were my PHG teammates, Ven, Homer, and Nicole. We arrived at Sweet Potato's house a little after 6am. And immediately we were shown a nesting Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove.

A docu shot of a Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove, building a nest

While we were trying to photograph the dove, Sweet Potato, our pseudo guide, yelled Malkoha and we all rushed to the vantage point. We could see the bird but it was also a challenge getting a clear shot. Fortunately, it stayed long enough for a few relatively open captures.

Scale-feathered Malkoha, straining its neck as if to mirror our efforts to get a clear view

Scale-feathered Malkoha

After the Malkoha left, we went back to the dove. There were two of them and we had previously observed that one would fly to the tree across the road and get twigs and bring it back. The other one stayed building the nest. In one of its return trips, the bird perched on a branch in front of me and I was able to press one burst but had the wrong settings. I watched the same branch and true enough it went back there and this time I was able to get several open shots.

Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove with some nest material

Then two more birds made an appearance...

Philippine Cuckoo Dove

Coppersmith Barbet

The Barbet was shot at 8:03am so our first two hours were productive. I felt it was now time to go and look for the Rhabdornis, my main target for the day. Through the birding grapevine, I learned that it was seen at the back of the house of a certain "Aling Nida" situated somewhere before the chapel. Sweet Potato said he did not know where it is and brought us to the chapel. To cut the long story short, we did not find the house, nor did we see the bird (#@&%$#). A visit to the site where the Rufous Paradise Flycatcher and the Short-crested Monarch were last seen was also unproductive.

We stayed a couple of hours more but the good harvest of first two hours of the day was not replicated in the afternoon. Still, we went home happy with our photos and the camaraderie shared during the day.

Thank you Lord for giving us the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of your creation.

Note: Nest photography is always a controversial issue. None of the nests in these photos were approached or disturbed. Actually they cannot easily be approached since they are either high up in a tree or separated by a cliff/gorge. needless to say, all were photographed from a safe distance.