breathing space: raptorwatch

Showing posts with label raptorwatch. Show all posts

Monday, May 30

Back in raptor-land

We were back!

I had just been to Pagudpud and Claveria a month before for the peak of Grey-faced Buzzard migration and a series of community conservation fora, but I woke up again bright and early on the bus from an all-night trip and I was back in Pannzian for the weekend! This time, Adri was free to come along and look out for the migration spectacle. We were hoping for a repeat of last year's river of raptors at the tail end of the peak of Chinese Sparrowhawk migration! Suzanne had also tagged along for some R&R away from the city.

After breakfast, Adri and I headed straight for the raptorwatch command centre, where Alex, Tere and Mike were already settled and counting.

It was sizzling hot! The heat was soon broken by a sudden summer shower, making the air humid and sticky!

We settled down with the counters and watched the hills for the raptors rising high into the skies.

We were not disappointed. Although our count was not as high as last year's weekend, the sight of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of raptors swirling around in a tornado pattern was still breath-taking!

As the sparrowhawks rode the wind thermals to gain height, they flapped their wings fast and hard, alternating dark upper parts with their bright white under wings. This gave them a twinkling pattern, like diamonds shimmering in the blue summer sky.

Sometimes they were quite far, right above the hills, looking like tiny dots.

Other times they flew nearer to us...

And fewer times we would be surprised to have them suddenly thermaling or streaming right above us!

A stray individual would pass very close every now and then, allowing us to admire the classic Chinese Sparrowhawk silhouette and diagnostic black "fingertips".

During the times that there weren't any migrants, the resident raptors such as the Honey -buzzards, Serpent Eagles and Hawk-eagles, would keep us entertained.

Several Brahminy kites flew by.

The huge and always majestic White-bellied Sea-eagle was always exciting to see up close.

Resident Spotted Doves and Red Turtledoves paid no attention to us and foraged around our watch site, peering at us curiously.

Admittedly, raptorwatch can get quite tedious, especially if the kettles are few and far in between.

But there is always something else to see, and not only birds! Even the daily routine of the community was a feast for our eyes. A clanging bell would signal the arrival of the fishing boats, and the locals would rush to the beach to help bring in the boats.

But of course the highlight was definitely the Chinese Sparrowhawk migration! Once you catch a glimpse of a kettle of hundreds of raptors forming, and watch the raptors eventually achieve an altitude so high it hurts the eyes to be staring up in the sky, and eventually count them as the stream off: it sends shivers up your spine. It is surely a sight to behold.

I have yet to tire seeing these small raptors embark on their long journey across the ocean back to their breeding grounds. It is truly one of the wonders of the natural world.

See you next year!

Monday, May 16

In raptor country

Migration waits for no one! The new school year moved the second semester from November - March to January - May, which meant that migration was right smack at the middle of the classes! Unable to join raptorwatch for an extended time, I was happy to spend an extended weekend (the Holy Week holiday coincided with the extrapolated peak for Grey-faced Buzzard migration) up north with the raptorwatch team. The weekend coincided with a lecture series (sponsored by the Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network - ARRCN) by both Japanese and Filipino biologists for a conservation forum to be held at Brgy. Pancian in Ilocos Norte and at the Cagayan State U in Sanchez Mira. It was wonderful timing!

So on Friday night, Maia, Jelaine, Lala and I hopped on a bus to join the WBCP raptorwatchers (led by the indefatigable Alex and Tere!), based at our home up north, the Panziann Beach and Mountain Resort.

We were welcomed with the usual sumptuous breakfast at Panziann and almost immediately whisked off to the charming town of Adams, a few kilometers away. We stopped in the middle of the road up the mountain to admire a pair of Rufous-bellied Eagles soaring in the sky!

An adult Rufous-bellied Eagle soaring int he hot summer sky.

We stopped along the road several times: for Luzon and Rufous Hornbills, Philippine Fairy Bluebirds, Philippine Falconets, Crested Honey Buzzards, Philippine Serpent Eagles and many other birds out in the open despite the summer heat.

At Adams, we checked out a hill where we watched out for migrating raptors, and we were not disappointed! Two large kettles of Grey-faced Buzzards (locally called Sawi, pronounced saah-weeh, emphasis on the first syllable) were soon spotted thermaling right above us!

A kettle of Grey-faced Buzzards, Sawi, in the skies above Adams.

ARRCN members looking out for both resident and migrant raptors.

Soon, the noonday sun (and our rumbling stomachs) called us to lunch. Our hosts' had lunch prepared at a house by the river. Some locals were having a picnic, escaping the summer heat by dipping in the river. It was certainly a good day to do your laundry!

A good day to dry laundry (in Adams) or some octupi (in Sta. Praxedes)

Of course birders could not resist taking a peek at a migrant Common Kingfisher perched in the vines across the river.

Birders (don't forget the cold beer!) stalking a...

Common Kingfisher across the river.

A Brahminy Kite flew above us, in search of prey at high noon.

A Brahminy Kite floating gently with the winds.

On our way back to the lowlands, we stopped to admire the quaint town: we visited a small bignay (Antidesa bunius) winery and admired a long hanging bridge over the river.

And a river runs through it.

On the way down, we also stopped to admire a beautiful jade vine in bloom. Its flowers were not the usual celadon green but a deep indigo color.

A beautiful jade vine just along the road.

What a wonderful first day on the field!

There was hardly enough time to go birdwatching the next couple of days, when the back-to-back conservation forum was held. On the first day, we gathered the local communities of Adams, Pancian and other nearby barangays. In the morning there were lectures on birds, birdwatching, raptor migration, Grey-faced Buzzard conservation, roles of raptors in nature, the natural heritage of northern Luzon and threats to that biodiversity.

With the local community folk.
(Thanks to Maia from whom I stole this photo, read her version at
http://maiabird.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-raptors-up-north.html :-) )

In the afternoon, the highlight of the program was a conservation forum that allowed the members of the community to talk about their strengths and weaknesses in conservation and to come up with action plans where they could address their needs.

The forum ended late in the afternoon, and when all the participants had left, we all took a breather down by the beach.

Relaxing by the sea in the afternoon.

The next day, we held the same program at the Cagayan State University, this time with the townspeople of Sanchez Mira, a known roosting site for the sawi. Our audience was composed of college students, local government officials and employees, farmers and even hunters!

The campus was a great site for talking about the conservation of the sawi. During breaks, we could watch the raptors thermaling over the campus, even from the University CEO's office windows!

Only in Sanchez Mira: Raptorwatching from an office window!

A pair of sawi above the CSU campus.

Early the next day we were headed back towards Sanchez Mira, this time to check out the community raptorwatch site set-up by Alex and Tere. Once again, our drive was interrupted several times by raptor sightings on the way. Rufous-bellied Eagles, Philippine Serpent Eagles and kettles of migrating Grey-faced Buzzards urged us to stop by the roadside to observe these regal birds of prey.

An immature Rufous-bellied Eagle

A Philippine Serpent Eagle flying by.

One of hundreds (was it thousands?) of migrating sawi that weekend.

We finally reached the raptorwatch site, set-up in the middle of a rice field, facing a small coconut grove where the Sawi would roost. Volunteer students and faculty from the CSU took shifts counting and observing the migrants.

The community raptorwatch site at Sanchez Mira

Record-keeping by the locals!

We would observe kettles of Sawi flying in over us and perching on the trees in the distance.

Sawi flying over and...

... landing on the nearby trees!

It was great to see community involvement in the raptorwatch. To have gotten in touch with the locals and to have started conversations with them is a wonderful first step to what will hopefully be the long-term conservation of the migrant raptors in northern Luzon.

During the conservation forum, Toru Yamazaki, the president of the ARRCN, asked the audience: "Where do you think is the Grey-faced Buzzards' home? In Japan where they summer and breed? Or in the Philippines where they winter?" The audience answered "Japan!" loudly and with such conviction.

"No," said Yamazaki-san, "their home is BOTH Japan and the Philippines! Both the Philippines and Japan are important to the Grey-faced Buzzard, without the other, the Grey-faced Buzzard will not survive!"

Filipino and Japanese raptorwatchers - partners and brothers of the migratory Sawi.

What a wonderful perspective! I have always looked at migrants as guests we should welcome, perhaps it is time to see them as brothers coming home.

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!

Monday, April 20

A River of Raptors

It was the tail end of the migration season and I hadn't participated in the spring raptorwatch yet! Luckily I had a weekend when I didn't have any work and when Adri was also free. So onFriday night we jumped on a pink public transport bus heading up north and arrived at Pannzian Resort in the town of Pagudpud to join master raptor-watchers Alex and Tere (plus Mang Boy!) who were doing an entire season's count of raptors leaving the country from Ilocos heading north to Taiwan and mainland Asia. We had already established Pannzian as an excellent raptorwatch site during exploratory trips in 2013.

We arrived at Panziann at 730am, welcomed by a sun-kissed Tere and in time for a hearty longanisa breakfast prepared by Mang Boy. After a quick update (they had been on the field for over a month!), we quickly joined Alex near the beach where they had set up the watch under a small grove. The trees provided shade from the searing summer sun and had a nice view of 4 hills behind which kettles of raptor formed, riding on thermals created on the slopes of Mt. Pico de Loro behind the hills.

Now and again we were joined by Efren, an employee of the resort who had taken interest in the raptorwatch and was already in training to monitor local migration. Curious guests at the resort also joined us that morning. We were eager to see raptors, the group down South at Tanay (Rizal) having reported over 4,000 Chinese Sparrowhawks (Chinese Goshawks) the previous day. But our first morning was slow, and we only observed a few kettles of Grey-faced Buzzards and Chinese Sparrowhawks, totaling 321 and 870 individuals respectively. We also counted 3 Oriental Honey Buzzards and 3 Osprey. These were only the migrants, as Pansian is also home to several resident raptors which we also saw: Philippine Serpent Eagles, Philippine Hawk Eagles, While-bellied Sea Eagles and Brahminy Kites.

The next morning, we were up and about early and as Alex and I were having our coffee up near the cottage (which also provided a view of the hills, but at another angle), we spotted an early kettle of Grey-faced Buzzards forming over the first peak. These were probably birds who had roosted on the hills and were preparing for an early morning ocean crossing.

This year's spring migration headquarters

At half past 6 am, we spotted lone Chinese Sparrowhawk against the blue sky dotted with wispy cumulocirrus clouds. As we followed it with our bins we spotted a huge kettle of goshawks forming over the hills! To our amazement, raptors flying in from the west were joining the kettle making it even larger!

Can you count the Chinese Sparrowhawks? (The blur is a jackfruit tree in the foreground)

A River of raptors!

Then as the raptors achieved height, as if on cue, one by one, the raptors began streaming off towards the north east. After a certain distance, the kettle would reform and the two kettles of swirling raptors were connected by a river of soaring, gliding and flapping birds of prey. It was a magnificent sight.

Wings flickering as the flap and glide, like shimmering water or starlight in the day.

Chinese Sparrowhawks are easily identified by their small size and flapping flight. They have white underparts with black wingtips while their upperparts are brownish grey. Because they tend to flap a lot, they look like twinkling water drops (stars even! in broad daylight!) catching the sunlight. And so the river of sparrowhawks was alive with flickering, shimmering wings.

An iron eagle behind a kettle of goshawks.

Many of the resort employees joined us, awestruck by the spectacle. Later in the morning we were also joined by Laoag-based birders Doc Pete and his guests. We ended the day with a record 12,283 Chinese Sparrowhawks, with peak migration at 630 to 8 o'clock in the morning. Despite the fact that it was past the peak of Grey-faced Buzzard migration (they leave earlier and, in autumn, arrive later), we still counted 322 of them. Plus 3 Oriental Honey Buzzards. It was an outstanding migratory raptor count.

As you can see, raptorwatching is a sedentary affair!

It was a good day for raptorwatch, Alex's and Tere's (and Mang Boy's!) 39th day on the spring count, and a fitting tribute to these raptorwatchers who are quickly filling the black hole of information for raptor migration in the country.

P.S. A huge thanks also to Bing and Ken of Pannzian for their huge support of this year's spring raptor migration count! We definitely (heart) Pannzian!