The Birds up the Mountain
One thing I can't deny about Davao as a city is that there is very, very good birdwatching to be had in the area- it's certainly the only place in the world where one can (theoretically) see Chinese Crested Tern , Japanese Night Heron, Whiskered Flowerpecker, and Cryptic Flycatcher in the same day. Much of this is due to the efforts of Pete Simpson , Mindanao birder extraordinaire, who's done lots of hard work exploring sites around the city, meaning that all that's left for me to do is follow his directions on where to go to see the good birds. The only unfortunate part about it is that most of the best sites are somewhat far from the city center, and in most cases quite difficult to reach via public transportation. As someone on the *ahem* budget end of the birding spectrum, that means that I don't get to visit the good spots unless I have someone I'm guiding who can provide transport. Thankfully, that's happened a few times for me this summer, givi