The Philippines - Part 3 (Bohol): December 2024

30th November

On the 30th, we flew to Cebu and immediately got a taxi to the ferry terminal, knowing we'd missed our ferry due to our over optimistic timings. However, we clearly saw the right lady behind the desk as she charged us the equivalent of £1 to transfer our booking (in business class) to the next available sailing, only 30-minutes waiting time. We had the upper floor of the ferry to ourselves and enjoyed a gentle two-hour sailing (only terns seen) to Tagbilaran Port where a private taxi (via booking.com) was waiting for us. From the port to Camelo Farm (near to Bilar) was a 2-hour drive and we arrived in the dark where dinner was waiting for us on our porch... nice touch! Camelo Farm is a wonderful place, in the countryside and only a 45-minute swift walk to the nearby national park.

1st December

Due to our late arrival last night, we didn't emerge with much enthusiasm this morning, so we walked around the grounds comprising rice paddies, scattered trees and gardens. Brown Shrike, Collared Kingfisher, Brahminy Kite and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters were garden birds, while the paddies held both Common and Swinhoe's Snipe. 

We then packed a day bag and walked the 45-minutes or so to the Raja Sikatuna National Park entrance, passing Bilar where we grabbed food and drink. We had to negotiate more paddies where we found Whiskered Tern, Wood Sandpiper, Barred Rail, Paddyfield Pipit and Eastern Yellow Wagtail. At the entrance, we were annoyed to find out we needed a guide accompanying us, so we asked for the best bird guide and pay our debts. He actually turned out to be very good so we were glad to have him along and over the next four hours walking slowly through lush forest along some very slippery paths, we found the following:

Black-faced Coucal - 2
Philippine Frogmouth - 1
Philippine Trogon - 3
White-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Philippine Falconet - 2
Pied Triller - 2
Visayan Blue Fantail - 1
Short-tailed Drongo - 5
Philippine Leaf Warbler - 1
Visayan Babbler - 5
Brown Tit-babbler - 2
Metallic-winged Sunbird - 2

We also came across lots of the Philippine Colugo (or Flying Lemurs as they're described as here) and we also heard Philippine Oriole. Despite turning up at the entrance late morning, we had secured some good birds, but a return visit was very much needed. We ambled back to our accommodation finding some Nankeen Night Herons plus the usual waterbirds, having walked a whopping 26,000 steps (this number per day was to be repeated for our time here).

Philippine Trogon

Black-faced Coucal

Philippine Colugo

Philippine Frogmouth

Short chairs

The campground within the park

Em watching the Philippine Trogon

Rice paddies leading to Raja Sikatuna NP

2nd December

Today was another mammoth walk, this time heading east along the Loboc Watershed road, another ebird hotspot and best of all, no entry fees, no need for a guide and the forest was incredible, with just a single dirt track running through the middle which became our home for the next nine hours. We left much earlier today and again collected our supplies in Bilar. The forest from the off impressed with numerous Black-faced Coucal, Coleto, Short-tailed Drongo and White-bellied Munia, and over the course of the next few hours, we also found the following:

White-eared Brown Dove - 2

Black-chinned Fruit Dove - 1

Black-faced Coucal - 6

Philippine Coucal - 1

Philippine Swiftlet - 10

Ameline Swiftlet - 20

Pygmy Swiftlet - 25

Whiskered Treeswift - 4

Philippine Serpent Eagle - 2

Chinese Sparrowhawk - 1

Samar Hornbill - 4

White-bellied Woodpecker - 3

Philippine Hanging Parrot - 1

Mindanao Cuckooshrike - 5 

Short-tailed Drongo - 8

Brown Tit-babbler - 5

Coleto - 12

Purple-throated Sunbird - 1

Handsome Sunbird - 1

Metallic-winged Sunbird - 2

Garden Sunbird - 6

Paddyfield Pipit - 3

It was a relief to find the Samar Hornbills and these proved to be the only ones we saw on Bohol, plus our only confirmed sighting of Philippine Swiftlet and Handsome Sunbird, so today was very good and worth the effort. Just as we approached a village at the far eastern end of the road, a huge thunderstorm came over, therefore, I quickly got friendly with an old man and invited us in for coffee while the rain fell. As soon as we finished the coffee, the rain stopped and we released ourselves from the owner's property, feeling better after a sit down and light refreshment. Having seen lots, we were in two minds whether to scrounge a lift back, and rather fortuitously, a tuk-tuk bumped around the corner which we duly flagged down and got given a free lift to the starting point of the forest. We lingered for a short while before returning back to base, via our usual restaurant which served the typically disappointing quantity and quality of food, the latter we were now very used to in this country. We tried for a few owl species afterwards with no luck.

Black-bibbed Fruit Dove

Black-faced Coucal

Black-naped Oriole

Chinese Sparrowhawk

White-bellied Woodpeckers

The friendly man (Ronald) and his (now) coffee shop

Loboc Watershed Road

3rd December

As we still had many targets remaining in this area, today we arrived at the Raja Sikatuna entrance at first light, perhaps 5.30am, after a very early start to walk the three miles. In fact, too early for any staff to greet us and this meant we walked a long circuit without the mandatory guide! Our first two targets were ticked off almost straight away from entering the 'Broadbill' Trail, very aptly named as this is where we saw a trio of the quite spectacular Visayan Wattled Broadbill, although no photos, we obtained good views despite the low light levels. Also here we saw the stunning Yellow-breasted Tailorbird! We slowly walked the Trogon and Oriole trails but still no luck with any pittas, therefore we concentrated on the remaining few targets, and waiting within the camping area, a good view here enabled us to connect with Philippine Oriole and Philippine Drongo Cuckoo, plus the typical raptors being Crested Goshawk and Philippine Serpent Eagle. We even lucked into a beautiful Ruddy Kingfisher, this being quite unexpected here. Rufous Paradise Flycatcher was the final new bird during this successful session, though we did get repeat encounters with Philippine Leaf Warbler, Short-tailed Drongo, Mindanao Cuckooshrike, Philippine Trogon and both coucals.

We tried to escape without having to pay another extortionate fee but unfortunately the reception staff had arrived and another 750 in notes was taken from us, much to our dislike, especially as we didn't have a guide! Anyway, this didn't tarnish our quite excellent self-guided visit and we returned to Camelo Farm to relax and spend more time enjoying the grounds, and doing some washing etc. I went for a short walk out the very back and found two White-bellied Woodpeckers, heard a Plain Bush Hen which constantly refused to show and a few other nice bits.

White-breasted Woodswallow

Snake sp.

Nankeen Night Heron

dawn along entrance to Raja Sikatuna

Trogon Trail

Broadbill Trail

4th December

Our final morning before heading off from Bohol and continuing on our now non-birding part of The Philippines. We wanted to try the Bohol Biodiversity Complex as this area looked very good. It was again another walk from the accommodation but we made it, with the legs now severely stronger after only a few days on the island. Here we found a top target, this being the Northern Silvery Kingfisher and along the way we encountered a Cinnamon Bittern, but there wasn't a great deal else other than the typical species, so we called it and departed Camelo Farm to the ferry port, using a local bus and then a tuk-tuk for the remainder part of the journey. 

Our final week of travelling this terrific country was mainly on southern Luzon, via Northern Samar (awful island... no trees left) from flying from Cebu to Calbayog, catching a bus to Allen and then a ferry to Matnog and then catching a bus through the island. After a few nights at Donsol (excellent snorkeling, Streaked Shearwaters and two adult Pomarine Skuas the best here), we were going to get an overnight bus to Manilla, but thankfully withdrew this idea and opted to fly from Legazpi to Manilla, which worked very well. We departed The Philippines on 11 December, flying from Manila to Kota Kinabalu to continue our time away in what is now one of the best places I've been to, Sabah!!

Tomato Clownfish near Donsol

Sea Snake near Donsol

a street market in Legazpi

arriving into Manila on our penultimate afternoon

The Philippines - Part 2 (Palawan): November 2024

22nd & 23rd November 2024

We departed Manila port about two hours late, but by this time Em and I had already drowned our sorrows in beer as we knew we were in for a tough journey with over a thousand teenage athletes and a 40-person dormitory to sleep in. We had opted for this ferry journey as one, it would offer a different style of travelling around rather than another flight, and second, it gave a chance of perhaps finding Swinhoe's Storm Petrel in the Sula Sea. Turns out there were very few seabirds and we wish we'd flown... oh well!

A quick stop at the Coron Islands was spectacular, very Jurassic Park-like and gave us a few different species with White-bellied Sea Eagle, some green pigeon species and a few terns. Onwards, and into deeper waters, we eventually found some seabirds as two Red-footed Boobies circled the ship and some Greater Crested Terns were feeding well offshore, but that was that. 

We thankfully arrived and we rushed off the ship as we couldn't face anymore and walked the short distance to our hotel, on the outskirts of Puerta Princessa. 

The Coron Islands

Sula Sea 

24th, 25th, 26th November 2024

We awoke and before making our way into the hills, we birded the Badjao Restaurant as this was hitting high on ebird. First some good woodland, it then descended down into mangroves and we quickly saw some of the island endemics, including the stunning Palawan Flowerpecker. In addition were several Philippine Pied Fantails, three each of Pale Spiderhunters and Pink-necked Green Pigeons, Collared Kingfishers, and lots of Ashy-fronted Bulbuls and Asian Glossy Starlings.

It was then time to head into the hills, staying at the luxurious Atremaru Resort (booked for Em's birthday) which was enveloped in pristine hill forest which offered several walking trails, therefore plenty of relaxing and birding time in equal measure. It was hard to leave the pool or the general area as the birding was excellent, but on Em's birthday we also went snorkelling over a phenomenal coral reef which gave us stacks of colourful fish, the best being Copperband Butterflyfish (look this one up!!) - two Grey-tailed Tattlers here was an overdue world tick! Another major sighting of this area was finding the nocturnal Palawan Flying Squirrel!! The birding highlights around the resort are as follows:

Palawan Tit - 3
White-bellied Woodpecker - 4
Spotted Wood Owl - 2 (at night)
Brown-backed Needletail - 10
Palwan Flowerpecker - 5
Fiery Minivet - 6
Grey-throated Bulbul - 2
Sulphur-bellied Bulbul - 4
White-vented Shama - 1
Palawan Sunbird - 1
Lovely Sunbird - 4
Blue-naped Parrot - 1
Palawan Fairy Bluebird -1 
White-bellied Munia - 2
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha - 2
Eyebrowed Thrush - 1
Palawan Drongo - 1
Pin-striped Tit-babbler - 2 

On our final morning we did a tourist thing, much to our disgust, to the underground river in the national park. Although we did see a Philippine Megapode here, the caves were underwhelming, but a one hour wait at the restaurant in Sabang was spent birding the garden where a huge mixed bird flock came through and comprised the following highlights:

Palawan Hornbill - 5
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha - 2
Sunda Brush Cuckoo - 1
Spot-throated Flameback - 2
Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike - 4
Black-naped Oriole - 1
Palawan Drongo - 3
Blue Paradise Flycatcher - 1
Grey-throated Bulbul - 2
Black-headed Bulbul - 4
Yellow-throated Leafbird - 4

Collared Kingfisher

Palawan Flowerpecker - endemic to Palawan

Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

Sulphur-bellied Bubul - endemic to Palawan

White-bellied Woodpecker

White-vented Shama - endemic to Palawan

Atremaru Resort grounds

entrance to the Underground River

We then spent a few further days in the north of the island at Port Barton where the birding was slightly limited, but we still managed some good birds, made more convenient by renting a scooter to get around, although we did run out of fuel one afternoon meaning we had to free-wheel it back down to the village. At Pamuayan Falls, we birded a trail finding several Palawan Crows (made easier to locate by their bizarre call), Palawan Fairy Bluebird, a Thick-billed Flowerpecker and Lovely Sunbird, Blue Paradise Flycatcher and two Yellow-throated Leafbirds. We also hired some kayaks and went to some random outer islands finding a few Philippine Megapodes.

On our final evening, now back in Puerto Princessa after catching a minivan/bush taxi back to the city, we walked a few streets at night in the hope of finding a Palawan Frogmouth. Sadly, despite being at their known site and hearing one briefly, no frogmouth appeared, which was a real disappointment. Some Palawan Flying Foxes, an endangered species, made up for this miss.

The next morning, we caught a flight to Cebu City and transferred immediately, by ferry, to Bohol, which will be the next and final blogpost of our time in The Philippines.

Palawan Crow, taken by Emily

Palawan Birdwing, taken by Emily

Palawan Flying Fox, taken by Emily

The Philippines - Part 1 (Arrival & Luzon): November 2024

Once Emily and I had decided on a new life in Scotland, plus also securing two full time jobs to commence at the start of January, we would have a couple of months to fill our time, and what better way to spend this than birding some far-away destinations! We quickly decided on The Philippines and Borneo; the former being a destination that hadn't previously come to mind, only as I'd heard not too great things, BUT, this huge island archipelago turned out to be exceptionally straight-forward and we soon came up with a plan.

Just a brief note on The Philippines... locals are the friendliest I've come across anywhere in the world; as long as you're a confident driver, then you'll cope fine; the birding is relatively easy including in the forest (at least where we went); plenty of accommodation choices but the food is of a moderate to poor standard throughout; if going in November, this is the off season and therefore very few tourists about... always a bonus, just mind the typhoons.

Saturday 16th November

We flew Malaysian Airlines from Heathrow to Manilla and arrived on time. Exiting the airport is always a dread, so it was with some relief that maybe 20-minutes after landing, we had already cleared immigration and got our bags!! We eventually picked up our hire car and tentatively maneuvered our way through the busy Manilla roads (testing out the horn every two seconds for good measure) southwards to the base of Mt. Makhiling. Typhoon warnings were in place for the following day, with the worst being in the late afternoon. A short walk around our accommodation this afternoon produced our first endemics, with Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, Garden Sunbird, an un-identified buttonquail that was flushed, Barred Rail, Long-tailed Shrike, Striated Grassbird, Pied Triller, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Lowland White-eye and lots of migrating (or typhoon-swerving) Eastern Yellow Wagtails, numbering several hundred individuals!

Sunday 17th & Monday 18th November (Mt. Makhiling)

Up early due to jetlag and we made our way to the base of Mt Makhiling, hoping for a day up the mountain, but this was closed due to the incoming typhoon. We therefore birded the extensive university grounds which proved to be excellent, with several Rough-crested Malkohas and a single Scale-feathered Malkoha being the best, but a snuggled flock of Philippine Falconets, Chinese Sparrowhawks, Luzon Hornbills, a trio of Guaiabero, two Coleto and a fine collection of other woodland species made for an enjoyable morning. The fact it was a weekend too made it a pleasant outing. We then explored the nearby lake edge finding Nankeen Night Herons and Whiskered Terns, but little else, although driving the very narrow streets running parallel with the lake was fun. With the wind increasing and rain starting to fall, we called it a day and headed back to the accommodation, pretty much calling it a day as the typhoon hit the country.

By early the next morning, the typhoon has passed and it was now clear and calm, and still very dark, it being 3.30am. We again drove to the university grounds for a spot of owling and eventually managed to persuade a Luzon Boobook into view. A distant Luzon Scops Owl was heard but there was little chance of getting it to come in. Light finally came and we went after a few much-wanted species, but falling short on Blue-banded Kingfisher and Philippine Magpie Robin, but we did find a few more Rough-crested Malkohas, Ashy Minivet, Brown-breasted Kingfisher, Flaming Sunbird and a displaying Crested Goshawk. With this being departure day, we went back to the accommodation to sort ourselves out and to bird the grounds a bit more before embarking towards the Infanta Road. The sun came out (a Philippine tick) and encouraged some distant Philippine Serpent Eagles to soar, while the trees held White-breasted Woodswallow, a Philippine Coucal and Black-naped Orioles.

We departed the hotel and made our way on the eastern side of Laguna Caldera up to the Infanta Road, which links Jariel's Peak to Manilla, but the former end is well forested along the roadside and contains many of the region's specialties, often located amongst the numerous bird flocks. Along the journey we drove adjacent to several rice paddies which had lots of Wood Sandpipers and Whiskered Terns, Striated Grassbirds, plus an Oriental Pratincole flew over. 

Along Infanta, we stayed for two nights at La View Mountain Resort, which has excellent forest on the doorstep, including a boardwalk through the forest.

Rough-crested Malkoha

Luzon Hornbills

Philippine Falconets

Luzon Boobook, taken by Emily

Tuesday 19th & Wednesday 20th November

Still jet-lagged, I was up pre-dawn and walked the boardwalk and as it got light, I was treated to a bombardment of excellent birds. It started when I flushed a group of fruit doves which helpfully landed a short distance away, comprising a handful of Yellow-breasted Fruit Doves and a single Cream-bellied Fruit Dove, the only one of the trip. As I walked back, two Black-bibbed Fruit Doves were found, and then best of all, a Spotted Wood Kingfisher appeared below two White-eared Brown Doves! As it was still near-darkness in the forest, most of the above were found with my thermal and torch. 

After a deeply un-satisfying breakfast at the accommodation, we headed up the Infanta Road to where the good forest started and began walking the road. A better plan, and one we came up with the next day, was to slowly drive the road with windows down until we heard a bird flock. Anyway, walking we still came across a few flocks, containing all sorts, but mostly Yellowish White-eyes, Elegant Tit, Arctic Warbler, Kamchatka Leaf Warbler, a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker, Blue-headed Fantail, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Whistler and an assortment of flowerpeckers, namely Buzzing, Olive-backed and Pygmy. A very tame Flaming Sunbird showed superbly for a while which was brilliant and we were lucky to glimpse the ultra elusive Bicol Ground Warbler too, as it crept about the undergrowth. By far the most attractive were the Sulphur-billed Nuthatch, a quite striking bird! As the area cleared of cloud and the sun rose, raptors got going with displaying Rufous-bellied Eagles.

That evening we ventured out for a night drive, and although we dipped on any owls, our thermal did conjure up some nice bits, with a Philippine Palm Civet being the best.

The following day, another pre-breakfast walk around the grounds was again excellent, with two of the fruit dove species and Coppersmith Barbets in good numbers. After breakfast we again worked the road and had an even better session sifting through the bird flocks. Almost immediately we had a Scale-feathered Malkoha appear next to us (such an amazing bird) and additional species seen today included the localised Calabarzon Babbler, a singing Lemon-throated Leaf Warbler, Grey-backed Tailorbirds, three displaying Oriental Honey-buzzards, Bicoloured Flowerpecker, Philippine Fairy Bluebird and when the cloud dissipated, a Philippine Hawk Eagle flew over! All the cloud had now gone so we spent some time scanning the vast forested valleys below, but no Rufous Hornbills could be lured into view, however, back at our accommodation and enjoying a coffee on the balcony, looking up revealed perhaps the standout species from this country, six Purple Needletails! Alas they were too quick for the camera, but were stunning as they patrolled the skies in neat formation for a few minutes.

In the afternoon, we departed the area and made our way to lower elevations and stayed at a small village called Daraitan, where we crossed the Kaliwa River on a small and pointless raft, a few metres to the other side and caught a tri-cycle to the accommodation. This wasn't necessarily a birding site, although we did find a great selection of birds the following day.

Blue-headed Fantail

Citrine Canary Flycatcher

Cream-bellied Fruit Dove

Elegant Tit

Flaming Sunbird

Sulphur-billed Nuthatch

Black-bibbed Fruit Dove

Philippine Hawk Eagle

Scale-feathered Malkoha

Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove

Forest around the Infanta Road

Our accomm, named A-Frame 1

Infanta Road

Thursday 21st November 

From our accommodation (Tinipak Lodge) we walked uphill towards Mt. Daraitan which was mainly through disturbed forest but this did still produce a good number of species. Swiftlets had been a bugger so far but here we quickly got to grips with the obvious Pygmy Swiftlet and the not so obvious, Ameline Swiftlet. Best however was the attractive Red-keeled Flowerpecker, but a large mixed group did produce Purple-throated and Grey-throated Sunbirds, Black-naped Monarch and some flyover Philippine Hanging Parrots. A little further up some stunning Whiskered Treeswifts obliged. It was now quite hot so we descended back to the village, hearing a Plain Bush-hen, but enjoying more treeswifts and a brief Luzon Hornbill.

The heat of the day was spent relaxing where we then headed back through the village streets out to the nearby river in the hope a few hornbills would cross the open area, alas this didn't happen, though we did see lots of birds including two Peregrine, a Philippine Serpent Eagle, a Crested Goshawk and a perched Brown-breasted Kingfisher. 

The area had been an interesting area to visit but on hindsight maybe we should have opted for Subic Bay, but it was always a gamble when pushed for time etc. 

Philippine Serpent Eagle, taken by Emily

Tinipak Village

Red-keeled Flowerpecker

Whiskered Treeswifts

Friday 22nd November

Today I was keen to hit the road early as we had a ferry to catch mid-afternoon and I wanted to not be rushed whilst simultaneously contesting with the Manilla traffic. We caught our pointless raft back across after a tri-cycle driver had tried to rip us off by 20p... we weren't having any of it! Back at the car, we had a blooming flat tyre and of course there was someone close-by to 'assist' and then demand money straight after, which we reluctantly had to do as typically our jack was placed somewhere deep within the car's depths. Once fixed, we hit the road and soon hit Manilla. It was chaos, but somehow, I revel in chaotic driving and we weaved endlessly until, rather miraculously, we dropped the car off at the Europcar office with not a single scratch! A 30 minute taxi ride to the ferry terminal was had, we checked in and then entered the waiting area for the 29 hour ferry journey to Palawan. Here is where our heart's sank as there were no fewer than 1,000 teenagers taking every inch of space, all taking part in what can only be described as the 'Palawan Olympics'. Anyway, more of that story in the next blog post!

our home for what seemed like years