HRH Pamarayeg III

There are many exceptional Philippine birds but for most, if not all, Filipino bird photographers, the Holy Grail is photographing the Philippine Eagle in the wild. However, it is not an easy task because there are not that many of them left, about 400 pairs in the wild (according to the GMA7 news report an hour ago) or between 82 to 233 breeding pairs (according to wikipedia). Whatever the correct number, this bird is critically endangered. Its habitat is another factor. It lives in dense forests located on mountain slopes that are difficult to reach. Thus for Manila-based birders, seeing a Philippine Eagle in the wild usually involves a 4d3n trip to Mindanao (at the minimum) and costs a pretty penny.

Early in my birding life, in 2014, a Philippine Eagle nest was sighted somewhere in Davao. As expected, Manila birders flocked to this site. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to go that time. The next reported sighting was in Kalinga but that sounded like a long shot so I did not even think of going for it. In 2018, a young eagle was hatched in the Cinchona Forest Reserve in Bukidnon. This time I scheduled a trip with Ven Rojas for July 8th of that year. But work pressures and my mother's health forced me to cancel at the last minute. I intended to reschedule the following week but it turned out that July 8 was the last day it was seen. The fledgling named Pamarayeg, left the area after that day. Sometime in late 2019, there was talk that there is an expected hatching in the first half of 2020. I vowed to myself that I will not let the opportunity pass but Covid intervened.

Then last September 4, 2022, my eyes widened when I saw an FB post from Dr Miguel de Leon saying that Pamarayeg III has been sighted and is open to accepting visitors. I am sure that a lot of messages flew across social media that night and the following days as birders from different parts of the Philippines discussed the news and made plans to see the new king (or prince). It was also not a good time for me so I was not in a hurry to make plans. But I guess when you really want something, and pray for it, the universe conspires to make it happen. So on Sunday, September 11, at approximately 1pm, I began my journey to visit HRH Pamarayeg III when I boarded a grab car that will take me to NAIA 3 where I will meet Ven Rojas and Loel Lamela for our flight to Cagayan de Oro city. After a couple of hiccups regarding Ven's carry-on, we finally boarded the plane a little after 4pm and landed at Laguindingan Airport a little before 6pm. Met our driver, Robert, had a simple dinner along the way and reached our hotel in Malaybalay around 10:30pm. Check-in was quick and upon reaching my room, I prepared my gear and slept. I asked for a wake up call at 3;30am but was up by 2:30 (excited much!). We left the hotel at 5am, stopped by Jollibee but it was still closed so we opted for 7-11. Robert, our driver made a wrong turn which caused a bit of delay but we finally reached Cinchona around 6:30ish where we met our chief guide Blacky and the two porters Jave and Rico. Gears were quickly gathered and we were soon off to see Pamarayeg III but not before taking the obligatory selfie or group hug at the gates of Cinchona.

The Eagle seekers

We were covered from head to toe for fear of leeches (Limatik in Pilipino). Our trek began at approximately 7am and before long we were drenched in sweat and gasping to catch our breath. The trail was not really steep and even relatively level in some parts but it was a bit muddy and there were obstacles like fallen trees, vines, thorny plants (rattan), etc. That we were huffing and puffing was due more to our poor conditioning than the difficulty of the trail. Every time we stopped we inspected each other to see if we had picked up any hitchhikers (Limatik). True enough we wound find them in our shoes and sometimes pants. Alcohol would be sprayed or poured on them because we were told that they die when doused with it.

After almost two hours, Blacky signaled us to be quiet, then he and the two porter/guides went ahead and fanned out to search for Pamarayeg III while we stayed put catching our breath and inspecting each other for Limatik. We also took the opportunity to re-apply Off Lotion to the exposed parts of our body and even to our clothes. We were also told that Off-lotion scares off the leeches.

A few minutes later the guides returned saying that they have seen the young eagle but there was no clear shot. They fanned out again in another direction. I followed them down a slope and after maybe 18 meters, they stopped, looked up, then looked at me, pointed up, and motioned that I go to them. I excitedly went to Rico, walking as fast as I could without tripping and rolling down the mountain. When I reached him, I looked up and had my first glimpse of Pamarayeg III.

HRH Pamarayeg III, my actual first shot taken at 8:57am, September 12, 2022. Lifer #479, #339 on the Philippine list and #7 for 2022. Shot handheld.

After several bursts, Pamarayeg III favored me with a look. Shot also handheld

Because the spot I was shooting from was not ideal, our guides looked for better vantage points. They found another one a few meters downhill through a small gap in the leaves. Loel and I had to take turns because it could only accomodate one photographer at a time.

A slightly better angle but still neck-breaking. Still handheld

Loel decided to bring out his big 600mm which needed a tripod. He set it up in this vantage point. Luckily, Blacky and Jave found me another spot a few meters to the left and slightly behind Loel where I was also able to set up my tripod. We stayed at this area for the next two hours. Since the shooting window was very limited, Ven looked for another vantage point some where else to our left and higher on the slope. We couldn't see or hear him.

Here are some other images I was able to create at this vantage point.

HRH Pamarayeg III

After about two hours, Pamarayeg III stretched its wings, turned around and stayed partially covered by leaves for a few minutes. Then it flew away. Blacky and Jave scrambled to look for it. The latter came back and called us to go with him. We brought our gear but left some of our bags. Anyway we will pass by them when we go back. We went down a slope to a stream and went up the opposite bank and found Blacky in a small clearing pointing to a tall tree in front of him. Pamarayeg III was perched on said tree but was partially hidden by some branches. After a very short time, it flew away gracefully but the many crisscrossing branches prevented any clear BIF shot. All I managed was this shot.

BIF shot of Pamarayeg III

After the eagle flew off, Blacky and Jave left to search where it perched next. While we were waiting for them to come back, Rico, the other porter/guide arrived to inform us that Ven wanted to go back down already and he will accompany him. Soon after, Jave returned and said they found where Pamarayeg perched so we gathered our gear and followed him. At this point my legs were aching but I expected that. It was my lower back that was really bothering me (from too much standing and bending backwards to look up). I needed to sit down but was afraid to sit on the ground because of the leeches.

While walking to where Blacky was, Jave spotted the eagle after just several meters from our previous spot. It's whole body was visible but it face was partially covered by leaves. Seeing that if it moved several inches to the right, we might have a clear shot, we lowered our tripods and waited. While waiting, the ever alert Loel saw a mixed flock on the trees on the opposite side bank. He was able to photograph a Black and Cinnamon Fantail (sana all!) and see an Apo Myna fly-by. I, on the other hand was able to photograph my second lifer for the day. Cinnamon Ibon.

Cinnamon Ibon, #480 on the Lifelist; #340 on the Philippine List; and #8 for 2022

The eagle finally moved to the right and we fired burst after burst. However after downloading the shots in the computer, I am not very happy with this sequence. Pamarayeg III then flew to another perch and we followed our guides down the slope, across the dry stream bed, up the opposite bank, and to a spot near where we initially stopped about 4 hours earlier. The shooting window was also a narrow gap between the leaves and branches. A few inches on either side meant a partially covered eagle. We had to set up our tripods so close to each other that Loel, had to flip out his camera's LCD screen and shoot sideways (from his camera) because there was no space for him to stand between our tripods. All aches were forgotten as we marveled and admired the young and majestic Philippine Eagle named Pamarayeg III. I quietly whispered a prayer of thanks to the Lord for giving me this opportunity.

We stayed at this vantage point for another one and a half hours. Here are some images I took from this vantage point.

HRH Pamarayeg III

Our two remaining guides sat down to eat their lunch while Loel and I shared a pack of hopia (all my trail food were in the backpack that Rico brought down with Ven). With our memory cards filling up (I was down to 55 shots on my current XQD card with a last 32gb in my pocket), and batteries starting to drain, we began our trek back at around 2pm. But we agreed with Blacky to bird along the way. We were still hoping for a mixed flock (Greedy birder that I am, I wanted more lifers!). Twenty minutes into our trek, Blacky pointed a nest of a Mt Apo Shortwing near the trail. Loel and I decided to wait and see if the adult bird will visit the nest to feed the chicks. Jave built us a natural hide about ten meters away using branches and leaves where we hunkered down to wait. It was now 2:15 and we agreed to wait until 2;45. There was no sound for the first twenty minutes prompting us to amend our self imposed deadline to 3pm (my back and legs were complaining!). I think we first heard or sensed the bird at around 2:35-2:40pm. But being a skulker, it was difficult to get a good open shot. I was able to manage only one.

Mt. Apo Shortwing, #481 on the Lifelist; #341 on the Philippine list; #9 for 2022

We gathered our stuff at 3pm and started the long downhill walk. When climbing mountains, I am always more scared going down because I fear that I will trip or stumble and roll down the mountain. True enough, I slipped three or four times and once my right foot sunk into the mud halfway up to my knees. The two walking sticks really helped. I usually bring only one but Ai Mee Valencia insisted that I bring two (maraming salamat Mee for that advice!). We finally reached the park after a little over an hour of walking and found Ven pakuyakuyakoy, looking revided, wearing a fresh (borrowed) shirt, new slippers (borrowed also) and having merienda. It took Loel and me another thirty or so minutes to clean off all the mud in our shoes.

Salamat po Lord sa lahat ng ito! Salamat sa mga KGV - Kitanglad Guide Volunteers at Cinchona - Blacky, Jave at Rico! Salamat sa lahat ng efforts ng RSKBC to preserve and protect this National Treasure. And of course, big thank you to my companions, Ven Rojas and Loel Lamela for the fun and memorable trip!

Postscript...

When we got to the hotel an hour or so later, I immediately went to the bathroom, peeled off my clothes to inspect if I picked up any limatiks. Not a single one on my entire body! For those interested, this is what I did/wore:

On my head: A cap and a head/face cover similar to those worn by motorcycle riders. This covered my whole head, half my face, and my neck and nape. I placed off lotion on this and on my cap periodically over the course of the day. Thank you Ed Santos for the Moto head gear.

On my body: I found a runners shirt at Decathlon. Bought the long sleeved version and used this as under shirt. It helped absorb the sweat. Over it, I wore a Columbia long sleeved shirt. Both were tucked in to my pants. I also wore gloves and the sleeves of my shirt were tucked into my gloves, I meant to put a rubberband but left it at home in Manila. Loel's extra was also left behind.

On my legs: This is our secret weapon (courtesy of Homer Pialda), I wore pantyhose (over my undies of course). Now you know why we are called the Panty Hose Gang. Then usual birding pants tucked in long white sports socks. Pants and socks were liberally sprayed with off lotion.

And of course, constant checking throughout the day. Limatik proof. Proven by actual experience. Two of the three birders who went up wore pantyhose, the third did not. One of us came back down with 10 or so limatiks. :-)

Good luck to all who will pay homage to the King! May he favor you with good views and photo opportunities.