breathing space: brownshrike

Showing posts with label brownshrike. Show all posts

Saturday, November 19

Brunch with the BBS

Last week, Alex and Tere were over at the house for brunch (Adri was out of town for work) and while we were at the dining table, I noticed that our little backyard butcher had brought down something long and squirmy.

Thinking it was either a huge earthworm or a tiny snake, I pointed her out to Alex and Tere. We could clearly see her struggling with her prey through the glass windows.

I quickly ran to my room to get my optics to confirm: sure enough it was a small snake, Calamaria gervaisii (Gervais' worm snake, www.iucnredlist.org/details/169760/0). This prey was not new to the bbs (backyard brown shrike) menu, as I had seen it already before, but it was only recently, that I confirmed its identity, care of herping enthusiast friend Emerson.

BBS expertly impaled the snake on a large thorn of a potted kafir lime, and with a sharp poke of her beak, broke through the skin and slowly pulled out a long, white and bloody gut. (Glad our brunch wasn't spaghetti!)

We slowly moved out to the terrace to get a better look. BBS momentarily stopped her exertions to take a wary look at us, and then, deciding that her food was of higher concern, continued to with her eating.

The three of us watched, mesmerized by the shrike's struggle with the longish creature. On every other pull, we would see its eyes cloud over as its translucent third eyelid covered its eyes.

After a few minutes, she flew off, leaving her fresh meal behind and giving us a chance for a closer inspection.

Yumyum. Warm and bloody.

Of course as soon as we stepped back, she returned to see if we had harmed her precious chow. Taking another suspicious look at us (and obviously deciding we were up to no good) she picked up her snake and flew it to the climbing rose at the back of the garden.

This was her favorite larder. Though its thorns were small, they were no less sharp. More importantly, they served their purpose well. Adri and I had documented a tiny gecko and a large furry yellow moth securely caught on the thorns during that same week.

We watched again, as she expertly laid out the snake by its long side, its skin shredded as it caught on the rose thorns. Pretty soon it had clearly skinned the little snake, and could now easily tear it up into bite-sized pieces.

Wonderful backyard natural history in action.

We left it to enjoy its meal and went back to ours. Bon appetit!

Sunday, October 30

Happy halloween!

Look who's here!

Shrikes are called tarat in the local dialect, but for today's ghoulish holiday, I think it is appropriate to borrow the local name of butcher cousin long-tailed shrike: mamumugot (head hunter).

BBS (backyard brown shrike) has settled well in the garden, hanging all sorts of hapless creatures on its rose bush larder. Happy to have her back!

Her movements have become so predictable that it didn't take much effort for Adri to take this shot. He just asked me to do some fancy, quick lettering on a piece of plywood which he strung up on the favorite perch (clothesline across the backyard) and he had several shots to choose from in no time.

A happy halloween to all tonight!

Saturday, October 8

Sunny Saturday morning on campus

Sunny Saturdays are few and far between this rainy season, making it difficult to plan out-of-Metro-Manila birding trips. Thankfully, the sprawling University of the Philippines grounds are just a stone throw's away. So when the skies were looking clear last weekend, Adri and I went for a quick drive and walk to check out the birds.

We ran into birding couple Bob and Cynthia, and caught up on the latest news. In typical birder and photographer fashion, our conversation remained uninterrupted while we stared up into the trees and pointed out birds in the canopy. A few Golden-bellied Gerygones were hopping about, and we all happy to spot our very first Arctic (Kamchatkca/Japanese Leaf) Warbler for the season.

As we were about to go our separate ways, Adri spotted a lone migrant Ashy Minivet perched on a clump of bamboo in the distance.

When Bob and Cynthia left to check out other birding spots on campus, Adri and I continued our exploration of the College of Science Complex. An unusually quiet Collared Kingfisher was sitting on a low branch in the dappled sunlight.

A few noisy Crested Mynas were flying around, perching from tree to tree. At each tree they stopped for several minutes, inspecting the branches carefully.

A Long-tailed Shrike was busy following one of the gardeners who was trimming the grass, keeping a careful lookout for any insects disturbed by the noisy grass cutter.

The Black-naped Orioles were also very vocal, their piercing whistles heard from several blocks away.

But the definite bird-of-the-moment was the Brown Shrike. These newly arrived migrants seemed to be in the process of battling every resident bird in their annual territorial disputes! They called loudly and harshly from every parking lot, quadrangle and unkempt green space.

There were also a lot of butterflies flying around, probably enjoying the sunny morning as much as we were. The Leea plant in front of the Marine Science Institute was attracting several of them, which were perched and recharging under the bright sunshine.

While watching some Yellow-vented Bulbuls and a Coppersmith Barbet devouring the fruit of a Ficus beside the library, we ran into another familiar face: fellow WBCP-er Jon Villasper, and the conversation turned from the latest birds spotted to the latest Pokemon spotted on campus!

When Jon left us to battle it out in a nearby Pokemon Gym, our attention turned to a Red-keeled Flowerpecker hopping about on one of the trees. While its a bird often heard around campus, we seldom actually get a chance to track it down and spot it.

Time had flown by quickly and we had already been walking around for over a couple of hours! Our spontaneous birding trip had given us the quick fix we were hoping for.

Good to have a great green space so near home. I'm sure the Collared Kingfisher who saw us off agrees!

Thursday, April 21

A backyard kind of April

With the shift in the school year calendar, it was only the sizzling hot temperatures which reminded me that it was actually summer already! Not having the time to break for the beach or head out of town to bird, I was happy to spend before- and after-school mornings and afternoons in the garden happily observing my feathered neighbors.

The Coppersmith Barbets are so-far-so-good with their nest which we first spotted in January. We hear them pok-pok-pok-ing all day, often perched just outside my window.

Early in April, they were busy feeding their little one, flying back and forth to their nest hole.

Do you see the baby barbet?

Remember their multi-level, multi-hole nest? It seems that the Eurasian Tree Sparrows are trying to take over one of the holes!

Land-grabber!

The barbets of course would have none of that! They tirelessly defend their territory and constantly chase away the little marauders.

Barbet versus Tree Sparrow!

The other birds are not a problem though, they are happy to share a perch with the Golden-bellied Gerygones for instance.

It's not only the barbets who have a family to raise. Some Colasisis have been moving about the garden, a female with 2 young ones in tow.

They're in the backyard, in the front yard, across the street, at the side yard... everywhere!
I've seen them nibbling at the fire tree flowers in front and the tamarind fruit out back.

Sampaloc snack

They are constantly squabbling, feeding and preening.

Can you do this?

That's why the call us hanging parrots!

Young Black-naped Orioles are also quite vocal. Here's one I caught having it's fill of duhat (jambulan) fruit.

It's great that the young birds seem not to mind our presence so much.

One afternoon, I saw a pair of immature Asian Glossy Starlings also perched on the duhat tree! This is a new one to the yard list. I wouldn't have noticed them if it weren't for their metallic calls reverberating in the backyard.

My what blood red eyes you have!

Of course the kings of the backyard still remain to be the Pied Fantails. With the BBS (backyard Brown Shrike) a no-show, they confidently patrol the entire garden plus the empty lot next door!

The only birds they seem to ignore are the Olive-backed Sunbirds who regularly come to feed on the ornamental banana plant nectar...

... and the Zebra Doves who always seem quite docile and reticent.

The other bullies of the garden of course are the Yellow-vented Bulbuls. They take over the bird baths and enjoy cool dips throughout the day. A pair in the front yard have already successfully fledged a single offspring. They're so busy looking through every nook and under leaf and corner of the garden for food to feed the young one.

FEED MEEEEEEH!

A pair of Pied Trillers has also been visiting quite regularly. I suspect they have a nest nearby too. In the golden afternoon light, their black and white (and grey in the case of the female) is uber-elegant.

We've also begun to notice an obviously growing population of Crested Mynas in the neighborhood. You can't miss them, white wing spots obvious in flight, and loud, musical calls when they are perched.

Front yard Brown Shrike is still here, although I expect him to leave any day now. He is not as territorial as before and is now bullied by the Bulbuls as well (probably defending their nest).

Another migrant which we were pleasantly surprised to see is a Peregrine Falcon. Faaaaaar from our yard, we have seen him perched several times on a communications tower almost a kilometer away from our house! Adri first spotted him while he was observing the barbets at their nest. Bored waiting, he scanned the communications tower and Voila! A Peregrine Falcon! (We even got Maia to spot it from her house... although now we realise she was looking at a DIFFERENT tower. Was it the SAME falcon? She writes about it here.

Digiscoped from a kilometer away!

So the backyard birds have been good in keeping me entertained as I am stuck in the city for the summer. I expect more activity as the migrants begin to leave and the residents are busy more nests and young birds.

In fact, it's not just the birds who have been keeping me entertained. Look who else has been procreating!

Tree frogs Polypedates leucomystax in loving embrace.

Sunday, March 6

Mid-afternoon snack

We have been missing BBS (backyard brown shrike) for two seasons now and so far, no other shrike has taken over her territory. And so the backyard is teeming with happy Eurasian Tree Sparrows and an even happier pair of Philippine Pied Fantails who have been lording over the garden AND the empty lot next door.

So we haven't been witness to much carnage and butchery recently.

Until yesterday afternoon. I was sitting in the front yard when I was surprised by a sudden rustling on the vine beside me. I quickly spotted side street brown shrike (who sometimes comes to the front yard) landing on a rambutan tree branch above me, carrying some tasty morsel.

It stared at me and I stared at it. After a few minutes it began eating and I figured it wasn't going to mind my prying eyes. I rushed into the house to grab my camera and rushed back to the garden seat. Sure enough the brown shrike ignored me and went on about its business... of decapitating a poor little garden gecko!

What tasty treat have you caught in the garden brown shrike?

A quick re-positioning of the gecko's head in its beak (with a lifeless eye staring right at me), a gulp and a swallow... yum. Another unfortunate victim.

Gulp... Yummy!

It picked at the body, tearing of bits of flesh. Later it flew off and over the fence with the remaining carcass... probably to its larder for safe keeping. Or more convenient eating.

I guess the tail was eaten before the head. Anyone care to ID these remains?

I guess even in the absence of BBS, the little creatures are still not safe in the garden!

Sunday, September 20

autumn movements

As the months grow colder in the northern hemisphere, birders in our part of the world begin the lookout for the fall migration. And what better way to officially start our migratory season birding than with raptorwatch!

We hitched a ride with the indefatigable raptorwatchers Alex and Tere to the Pag-asa Station in Tanay where we were joined by a motley crew of birders, all excited to check if the migrant raptors were moving down south.

It was a warm morning, but the weather changed quickly back and forth from cloudy to sunny back to cloudy then to rainy and then sunny once again! We watched rain clouds move over the mountains of the Sierra Madre, eagerly looking for little dots in the northern skies which would hopefully be the awaited Chinese Sparrowhawks.

Around the watch tower, we spotted the more familiar migrants: a Brown Shrike was creating quite a racket, calling out loudly.

Later, a female Blue Rock Thrush caught our attention as it flew back and forth, perching on the electrical wires, fences and the roofs of the adjacent buildings.

Our first raptor sighting was not a migrant, but of a resident Rufous Bellied Hawk Eagle. It soared high above the valley, and would perform spectacular stoops, suddenly disappearing out of view as it dove towards some unseen prey.

The Chinese Sparrowhawks began appearing slowly, strangely travelling solo and not in large kettles that we expected. Still we were happy to get a few sightings, a good signal to the onset of fall movements.

One of the nearest kettles to fly over was a flock of 8 Sparrowhawks, quickly rising with the thermal and gliding from one to another, forming a loose kettle.

Even though the sightings were far in between, we found ourselves entertained by some of the residents. A pair of Purple Needletails performed their supersonic swoops and glides close to the tower, their white "horseshoe" pattern underparts shining brightly in the sun.

Every know and then someone would spot a Chinese Sparrowhawk, prompting everyone to get up from their seats and leave the shade for better looks. Also spotted were some unidentified falcons, a Peregrine Falcon, an Osprey and Crested Honey Buzzards.

Our lunch hour entertainment came in the form of a Philippine Serpent Eagle being dive bombed by a White-breasted Woodswallow.

It is always comical to watch the audacious woodswallows attack the larger raptors in flight. Why do they do it? Is it a territorial dispute? Sometimes it seems that they just want to annoy the much larger birds!

This woodswallow kept on coming from behind the serpent eagle, hitting it on the rump or back before flying off and circling back again for a follow-up attack.

All the stately raptor can do is give an annoyed glance at the pesky little attacker!

Later in the afternoon, as we were wrapping up, eagle-eyed Linda spotted a few kettles of around 20 Sparrowhawks forming in the distance. The distant specks were sooo hard to spot and follow!

It was a great afternoon to jump start the raptorwatch season for the fall. Hopefully we'll get to see more of these migrants in the coming weeks!