The Holy Grail among Palawan's twenty-seven (27) endemic birds, is without a doubt, the Palawan Peacock Pheasant, Polyplecttron napoleonis, locally called Tandikan.
According to wikipedia:
The Palawan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis) is a medium-sized (up to 50cm long) bird in the family Phasianidae endemic to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The spectacular male has a black body with blue marks on the wings, a grayish, finely speckled back and tail with blue peacock “eyes,” white marks on the face, and a red eye-ring. Females are mostly brown but with a white face. It is known as tandikan in the some local Palawano (peras in Southwest Palawano), Tagbanwa, and Batak languages of Palawan.[4] It is featured prominently in the culture of the indigenous people of Palawan. The bird is also depicted in the official seal of the city of Puerto Princesa.
Its conservation status is Vulnerable and very difficult to see in the wild. One may argue that it is even more, or at least just as, difficult as the Philippine Eagle. For several years, there was a lone male Tandikan at the Underground River ranger station. It would eat food scraps from the rangers and became rather friendly to humans. Sadly, it disappeared in 2018 and presumed dead (probably due to old age). Then another male was seen at the Crocodile Farm grounds. This was actually a rescued bird that was palced in one of the cages at the Croc Farm but escaped from its cage and stayed in the area for sometime. Outside of these two, I don't know of any site where one can go and have a high probablility of seeing the Palawan Peacock Pheasant. So when news of a newly established site called Birdwing, reached my ears, I began making plans on visiting. Said site will officially open in January 2025 but when I found a hole in my schedule, I asked if I could visit. Fortunately, I was given permission. I flew to PPC on the evening of December 28th and spent much of December 29 at the Birdwing hide. December 28 in PPC was very rainy. Another guest was at the hide that day and saw the female briefly and a shadow/silhouette of the male. So my prayer was to be given some respite from the rains. I was at the hide from 6am to 3pm. And while it was generally gloomy and overcast, with poor lighting conditions, there was no rain during my entire stay. Thank you Lord!!!
Here are some of the images that I was able to create:
The first bird to entertain us was the endemic Palawan Bulbul who I found out loved the Badyang flowers/fruits.
A White-vented Shama also kept flying around but it was hard to get a decent photos due to its black color (my camera's focus won't lock in). Squirrels and Palawan Tree Shrews were also darting about. The third bird to make an appearance was a Common Emerald Dove.
Then Totong, my guide for the day, whispered "sir, Peacock, babae"... and there it was...
The female pheasant stayed for about seven minutes based on the time stamp on my photos. Then it was back to the Bulbul, Shama, and the Squirrels and Shrews.
Approximately fifty (50) minutes later, Totong whispers again, "peacock sir" and this is what appeared:
At first I thought it was the female again but noticed that it was a different bird. Totong said its probably the juvenile. This bird stayed longer allowing plenty of photos and unlike its mother, was not bothered by the sound of my camera's shutter. It was also much nearer to the hide. I assumed that it's a male due to the blue spots on its tail.
The pheasant suddenly darted back to the bushes because of the arrival of two of these:
As per our habit, I began reviewing my shots during the lull. But because I had a late night and an early start, I was soon dozing off. I was half asleep when the Emeralrd Dove suddenly perched on the vine nearest to the hide. Grabbed my camera and began firing a burst. Totong who was scanning the bushes with his binoculars probably didn't see the dove perch was startled as I began firing like mad. (hahaha).
After the dove left, the other Birdwing regulars kept us entertained.
The juvenile Pheasant made its second apperance together with an Ashy-headed Babbler. Since I didn't have a good photo of this bird, I ignored the pheasant and tried to get a photo of the Babbler. The key word being "tried". I was not successful as the bird kept jumping and hopping. It came as close as three meters to the hide but covered. Then I happened to glance up and saw another new arrival which stayed only a minute and was partially hidden most of the time. I was fortunate to get one decent shot.
All this time, the juvenile pheasant was busy pecking the ground and walking around. Per my camera's time stamp, it was there for around fifteen (15) minutes. It was almost 9am already when Totong whispered, "sir, lalaki, nandyan na, sa kaliwa". My heart raced faster when I saw the main target bird, quietly enter the clearing. I was tracking it and waiting for an open shot and as soon as it was visible, I pressed the shutter and after three shots, the "Full" sign began flashing on my view finder! Perfect timing as always. I quickly got my memory card pouch in my left pocket, chose a fresh card, off the cam, open camera door, pop out the full card, replace, turn on, aim, focus, fire at will!
The bird stayed for approximately five (5) minutes allowing for plenty of captures. Sharing some.
Then it darted off to the bushes but after two (2) minutes, it was back for another photo session. This time it stayed for another five (5) minutes.
And finally a photo of another endemic...
The Babbler photo was taken at 11;15am. Per Birdwing record, the male pheasant also makes an appearance at around 3:30pm onwards. So I was mentally debating if I should stay and wait for another chance or leave after lunch and bird along the way. The chance of seeing the pheasant again won out but the skies turned even darker and none of the three pheasants came out anymore until 3pm.
As a parting gift, the Birdwing denizens gave me two more shots.
A few minutes before 3pm, the skies turned even darker so we decided to call it quits and rushed back to the vehicle. As soon as we reached it, it started drizzling. So we went back to the city and they brought me to the airport.
Thank you so much to Birdwing for allowing me access to your hide even before the official opening. It is much appreciated.
Some comments:
a) The hide is very well made. With chairs, camera portholes, a small wooden counter to rest your camera and put other stuff. It is clean with a big trashcan (with garbage bag). There is a mosquito repelent in the hide in case you forgot yours (I did). It reminds me of the hides in Thailand outside Kaeng Krachan. Good job Birdwing!
b) The trail which is an incline and could be muddy when its raining, has wooden handrails and steps carved on the soil. Very helpful to the guests! Bravo for this Birdwing.
c) The personnel - driver, guide, caretaker - are all very respectful and ready to lend a hand. Again, bravo!
Some Tips to fellow Birders who will visit the site:
Be quiet inside the hide. The main targets are very skittish. I was at the hide for 9 hours with my guide and our driver. At one point the hide caretaker was there as well. We hardly spoke a word and when we did, we whispered. Being noisy will scare away the birds and you might not get to see them. Worse, you might scare them also for the other birders who will come after you. And the months of investment by the hide owners may go down the drain. So please refrain from the usual wisecracks and asaran, even after you have gotten your dream shot. Celebrate quietly. Also, keep your movements inside the hide to a minimum.
If you will play games on your phone or tablet while waiting, make sure that the light emanating from your gadget is not bright. It is a possible distraction. There is no cell or internet signal in the area. Not even a nearby Piso wi-fi. (Buti pa sa Capayas!)
The hide has other rules, like no smoking within the hide, which the caretakers discuss with you upon logging in. I appeal to fellow birders to follow these rules, as well as the fees they charge. These people invested on the site and it's only proper that they reap the benefits. The fees are comparable to those hides offering a Pheasant in Sabah.
Camera and Lens tips. I use a Nikon D850 (full frame sensor) with a 500PF lens. This is just the right length. A 600 prime might still be okay but an 800 prime might be too long. The pheasant is not a small bird and majority of my shots are either frame filling or require only minimal cropping. Hence it might not fit in the frame of an 800 prime plus a cropped body camera. Of course Sony's 200-800 and Nikon's 180-600 will be perfect because one may zoom in and out as needed.
A mirrorless body will also be more ideal on two counts. a) the shutter is silent. My D850 has a loud shutter and I noticed that the female pheasant would react to it. At one point, I switched to my D500 because it has a quieter shutter. Although the shutter noise did not bother the male and the juvie. b) High ISO capability. Mirrorless bodies, I am told, can do high ISO's which you will need because the light is not that great. For my D850, I usually do ISO2500-3200 as my limit. At this levels yesterday, my shutter speed was between 1/20 and 1/30. The fastest I had was 1/80.
This post will not be complete without thanking Lorna, my wife, and my kids Ella, Luis, and Leon for putting up with my birding addiction and allowing me to go onthis much needed me time (hey, it's not a hobby, but a calling!). And of course thank you Lord for the reasonably good weather.
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