breathing space: magpierobin

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Friday, August 24

Beach resort birding

A hop away from Dumaguete is one of my favorite islands, Siquijor. I'd been to Siquijor twice before. The first time was in 2004 as a regular sun-worshiping tourist and then again in 2007 as a birder.

How could we resist? Our pitta twitch was quite successful and we could do a bit of target birding (we didn't have any long lenses during our first Siquijor birding sortie) before heading back to Manila. And ... BEACH!

We were able to book the last garden room at the Coral Cay Resort (www.coralcayresort.com) in San Juan and early the next morning we went straight to the pier to purchase our fast craft tickets.

And failed!

The combination of a low pressure area and the habagat was stirring up some angry waves and all small sea craft were grounded by the coast guard! Thankfully the larger RORO (ROll-on-/ROll-off) craft were still allowed to travel! With the limited transport, there were predictably long lines (mostly toursits!) to get RORO tickets, but our lucky streak continued and we got the last two passenger slots for the RORO!

After a (slightly) choppy 2 hour slow boat ride, we finally landed at the striking white sand beach pier at San Juan! More than 10 years since my last visit, I could already see the changes to this (once?) mystical island - the pier had been much improved with a modern terminal for waiting passengers! The white sand beach though was beautiful as ever, even under the grey skies.

We had reserved the next morning for birding to chase our targets, but all other times, we just spent lazing about the resort: swimming in the pool, walking on the beach, eating, snoozing, catching up on some reading or just (as what vacation is best for) staring at the deep blue!

The view from our little veranda.

While mornings were sunny, by mid-afternoon the skies turned grey and the wind picked up. It was fun strolling on the beach with the wind whipping about sand, dried seagrass leaves and other bits of beach litter!

Walking on the beach, we were bound to pick up a pack of cool beach dogs who always seem to welcome a tummy scratch and pat on the head.

Back at our cabana, we would of course be distracted by the birds flitting about the garden. Our room faced some colorful San Francisco ornamental plants and a spreading pomelo tree which was a favorite hang out of a pair of Olive-backed Sunbirds.

Walking about the sand were Zebra Doves which stopped every now and then to do a low courtship bow and dance, complete with soft growls.

A Philippine Magpie-Robin would call from a flowering caballero shrub where it hid from the guests walking on the paths.

Every now and then a Philippine Pied Fantail would fly in, snapping its wings and tail loudly.

A nearby palm tree held a large number of noisy Asian Glossy Starlings nesting. These two were gorging on some ripe papaya fruit behind our cottage.

A cute pair of Chestnut Munias were busy building a nest in a dracaena plant beside the neighboring cottage. They would rest a bit on the pomelo tree between carrying long blades of dried grass.

So even at the beach, birds beckon. Sun, sand, sea, beach and birds... aaaah, the life!

Sunday, August 9

When school is out

With a new semester starting, the campus will be alive once more with the student population going about their daily routine. Having had an extended break because of the adjustment to a new school year (with the "summer" term moving to June - July and the first semester starting in August), the campus was pretty quiet for most of April and May with only the regular staff and the faculty coming to work.

With a few bird walks scheduled as a fun activity to fill in the student-free work load for the staff, we were quick to observe a few campus birds not regularly seen during the busy school year.

A family of Philippine Magpie Robins were regulars at an empty student parking lot near our office. It was great to see this family of four every afternoon, with the young busy following their parents around. They were an easy bird to point out to newbie birders, distinctive black and white birds flitting around actively the parking slots shaded by a couple of ficus trees.

Dad in a typical pose.

Mum in another typical pose.

One of the young ones looking at me curiously.

The young ones would often beg loudly for food. When this was observed by one of my high school students on a summer internship, she exclaimed excitedly " It's shouting! It's shouting!"

"FEED MEEEEEEE!!!"

Their beautiful melodious call was clearly heard in the relatively silent campus. The parking lot was adjacent to an overgrown area where they presumably stayed most of the year when they would be reported as "heard but not seen".

I'm glad to have verified that the campus Magpie Robin population seems to be doing well and growing in number.

Aside from the Magpie Robins, a short observation at the ficus trees also gave good sightings of White-eared Brown Doves.

A quiet pair of endemic White-eared Brown Doves.

These endemic doves are usually very shy and skittish. They are not common in the city, except in pockets of greenery. This pair was calmly preening at a talisay tree behind the ficus, after having enjoyed a snack of ficus fruit.

In the afternoon, several Barred Rails could often be called calling, hidden in the long grass. With a few people around, a few ventured out into the open areas.

With a bit of patience, a brief Barred Rail sighting in the grassy fields.

It's good to document these not-so-often-seen-birds-on-campus. While I expect them to fall back into the "heard only" category now that school has started, I look forward to catching even brief glimpses every now and then.

In the meantime it's back to the regular campus birds...

The very common Zebra Dove.