Helmet Vanga - Madagascar 2024

Total Pageviews

Sunday, 9 February 2025

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 SunbirdBlue 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

Wednesday, 5 February 2025

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-eyesElegant 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






Friday, 17 January 2025

Scotland - First two weeks of January

On Thursday 2nd January, Emily and I left a cold and sunny Hampshire and began our journey northwards, eventually arriving the following day at our temporary accommodation at Aigas, close to Beauly in Inverness-shire. 

Since then, we've been birding a fair bit, starting on Saturday 4th on the Black Isle, getting nice views of Hawfinches with four seen, plus at Udale Bay were approximately 270 Scaup. A week in Stirling for our induction training was fun, but probably best remembered for the drake Smew in Clyde, a species I haven't seen for many years, especially a drake! Also here were many Goosander. On Saturday 11th, I drove north in beyond freezing conditions to Helmsdale and checked many coastal sites heading south to Cromarty Firth, with highlights being a dozen Purple Sandpipers, a drake Green-winged Teal and White-tailed Eagle at Loch Fleet and another flock of Scaup in the firth, plus lots of Slavonian Grebes

This past week we've been to many sites for work, but were lucky to find a nice adult Iceland Gull at Lossiemouth while eight Purple Sandpipers were in the harbour here. We also had a Hawfinch and Tawny Owl in our garden this week adding to the list of nice stuff seen so far.

Goosander

Woodcock

Purple Sandpiper, Turnstone and Sanderling

Golden Plover

Smew



some interesting cloud formations up here

adult Iceland Gull - looking quite large here


Sunday, 12 January 2025

Madagascar Part 3 - Marojejy NP

This is the final blog post of our trip to Madagascar. Although we had another week or so after Marojejy, it wasn't particularly birdy, although Ankarana NP was OK for both birds and lemurs, e.g. a trio of White-breasted Mesite were seen, as were Golden-crowned Sifaka. I'm also way behind on our recent trip to Philippines and Borneo, so these must now take priority. 

4th October
Following on from our brilliant time in Andasibe, Emily and I caught a 90-minute flight up to Sambava, where my initial contact, Eugene Rakotobe, greeted us at the exit door. Once we'd cleared the scrum of the now desperate taxi drivers, we set off west towards the mountains, stopping off for a coffee on the edge of town, which for some reason took many lifetimes to arrive, but eventually did and was deemed 'not worth the wait'. On the drive, our driver was in fact the highlight, having a strange mechanical voice having us in stitches for some time before the novelty wore off; his name was Kristoff and was a pleasant chap.

The journey to Marojejy HQ was around two hours, but we did stop off at a viewpoint for a view of the mountains, with a Hognose Snake at our feet being the most exciting sighting. It was soon time to arrive at HQ, meet our guide (Franko), shed our load of gear and set off to the local village where our hike would commence. A quick word on Franko - he was excellent, spoke good English, knew the park well and was interested in many aspects of wildlife, especially herpetology, which for this specific region, proved invaluable. 

The first four kilometres were through farmland and cultivations (Vanilla plantations) where Emily was soon finding her own chameleons (I never found one the entire time) after Franko found the first, while I was repeating as courteously as I could the need and desire to see a Helmet Vanga (I think the point had been well and truly drilled in before we'd even hit the forest proper). We entered the park officially and made our way up to Camp 1 where the birding was generally quiet, although a few bird flocks kept us entertained, although a prolonged view of a perched Cuckoo-roller was the highlight. Along the walk a natural pool was very welcome for us, as was a cup of tea when we reached camp. 

White-lipped Frog

young Parson's Chameleon

Eastern Red Forest Rat
our plane to Sambava

Marojejy Massif

Beginning of the 6km trek to Camp 1

Natural Pool/Bath at KM4

Our accomm at Camp 1

5th October
Currently unbeknown to us as we awoke to a fine morning, today was to be a quite excellent day! We were all up at the crack of dawn and had a light breakfast before venturing down the Humbert Waterfall trail, accessible from this campsite. The outbound journey was relatively quiet, finding the usual Blue Coua and some roosting bats. We had reached the waterfall rather quickly due to little activity, but the presence of two Hook-billed Vangas here was a sign of our return journey. It began with a roosting White-browed Owl, then a small flock comprising White-throated Oxylabes, Spectacled and Grey-crowned Tetraka, then a vanga flock a short while later contained not only Tylas Vanga, but the hoped for White-headed Vanga. The latter species was critical in finding the main target as this is a typical carrier species, and after a tense wait, a large shadow arrived above our heads, revealing itself to be the unmistakable Helmet Vanga!!! Few words can do this bird justice, it's simply out of this world and now two birds had the decency to hang about (as they so typically do) while we gawped with amazement. Our views couldn't have been better and after 45-minutes of viewing, we ventured back to camp for a second breakfast and to regain some form of normality after such an amazing experience. 

Between here and Camp 2 (2km) we again had amazing luck: a Red-breasted Coua was a lucky sighting, we saw some cool frogs, but perhaps best of all, was an uber-rare snake named Liophidium pattoni, a species only discovered in 2010 and has maybe been seen by only a handful of people. 

Once we arrived at Camp 2 and admired the views from the nearby waterfall (the top roped off due to a supposed thrill-seeker having fallen and died some years back), we set off to find one of the country's rarest lemurs, the Silky Sifaka. Marojejy is now the only reliable site for this species; with this and it being Madagascar's second largest lemur, we were very keen to see a family. Helpfully, local trackers keep an eye on them and after a mega steep descent through tangles (disturbing a female Bernier's Vanga in the process), we clocked eyes on the Silky Sifakas. Despite the book making them out as rather ugly animals, in real life they are true stunners and completely out of place in the green forest - it's thought the family of four is perhaps 5% of the world population! We observed these gentle creatures until the sun started to set, them nodding off on their chosen branches. 

Back at the camp, after dinner a short walk around the site revealed some roosting Eastern Bamboo Lemurs and more active Woolly Lemurs. 


Helmet Vanga

White-throated Oxylabes

White-browed Owl

Liophidium pattoni

Brown Leaf Chameleon

Madagascar Cuckooshrike


Silky Sifakas

female Bernier's Vanga

Climbing Mantella

Humbert Waterfall looking downriver

Camp 2


views from Camp 2

6th October

We were offered to trek to the summit of Marojejy, but thankfully our foresight of how tough a trek this could have been meant we instead opted for a tough ascent to Camp 3, birding as we went, and returning to Camp 2 to overnight. Due to our earlier successes, the list of potential targets we could have seen was greatly reduced, but there were still a few outstanding and an ascent to higher climes would aid us in tracking down the remaining few. 

A dawn until breakfast scan of the area was very good, with Alpine Swifts and Madagascar Buzzards patrolling the skies, while a Cryptic Warbler, Rand's Warbler, Green Jery and Velvet Asity were seen/heard and Eastern Bamboo Lemurs were happily tucking into their breakfast, of... bamboo!

After breakfast, it was a near-vertical ascent, therefore, birding was limited to observing a few metres in front of us, though this did mean we saw a few cool frogs. Once the terrain had levelled off, we came across a couple more White-headed Vangas with a brief Helmet Vanga also tagging along. Madagascar Brush-warblers were being particularly frustrating with not being in prime habitat and a lovely flock of Blue Vanga also appeared. There were very few flowering trees, but those that did had a couple of female Common Sunbird Asity around them. We finally arrived at Camp 3 in time for lunch, but a large low-feeding bird flock quite rightly took our attention, containing the hoped-for Wedge-tailed Jery, plus Long-billed Bernieria, Grey-crowned Tetraka and Red-tailed Vanga. 

It was then time to return back to Camp 2, keeping a close eye on any flowering trees along the way, which thankfully produced a sublime Yellow-bellied Sunbird Asity, although it was a brief sighting meaning no photos of this relatively identical species to its cousin. Other than Dark Newtonias, the return journey was quiet and we arrived with beaten-up knees and feet are a tricky descent. It was then time for a natural bathe, dinner and then a nocturnal walk which produced two mega leaf-tailed geckos, the Giant, and even rarer, Lined. 

The Waterfall View

Eastern Bamboo Lemur

Leaf Frog sp.

view from near Camp 3

Green-backed Mantella (female)

Giant Leaf-tailed Gecko,
taken by Emily



Lined Leaf-tailed Gecko, taken by Emily

7th October
We desperately didn't want to leave this amazing park, therefore, we retraced our steps back to HQ today as slowly as we could. We again birded the Camp 2 grounds seeing most of the same stuff, then after breakfast, almost crawled the six kilometres to the starting point. Franko and Emily went searching mostly for chameleons and frogs, whilst I remained birding and between us we had some excellent sightings, including the second smallest chameleon in the world, a chameleon named after the park, two more incredible Helmet Vanga including one on a nest (expertly spotted by Franko), a pack of White-fronted Brown Lemurs, a Madagascar Sparrowhawk perched above a stream and oddly our first Madagascar Green Pigeons of the trip! Lastly, an incredibly tame Ring-tailed Vontsira (mongoose) graced our presence for maybe 15-minutes. Our final KM was again through the paddies until we arrived back into the village, greeted by the waving children. Somehow it had taken us approximately eight hours to walk the six kilometres!!

Kristoff and Eugene were ready to greet us and we drove back to Sambava where a fine hotel was waiting for us, a relief after camping, but it somehow felt wrong to have such luxuries, having had some truly memorable moments while living a rustic lifestyle!

Madagascar Dwarf Chameleon
(the second smallest in the world)


Helmet Vanga

White-fronted Brown Lemur

Ring-tailed Vontsira

Helmet Vanga