SOX for a Lark

I've said before that Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN or SOX) is the best region for birding in the Philippines, but it's not just for rare and localized endemic birds. It's also a fantastic spot for seeing waterbirds, both resident and migratory, some of which can be quite rare even if they're not as spectacular-looking as Mindanao Lorikeets or Wattled Broadbills. My favorite spot for waterbirds in Mindanao is Barangay Buayan in General Santos City, where there's a nice area of marsh and fishponds, a salt pan, and a good-quality mudflat all located right next to each other. It's gathered quite a selection of extremely rare birds, including Nordmann's Greenshank, Australian Pelican, and Sacred Kingfisher (all of which I dipped on, but let's not dwell on that), but it's also a good place for seeing resident birds that are otherwise uncommon in the Philippines, such as Horsfield's Bush Lark, Ruddy-breasted Crake, or Greater Painted-snipe.

I try and get to GenSan semi-regularly for some photography practice and to check for rarities, but it's difficult without my own car- I generally have to spend the night there then take a tricycle to Barangay Buayan early in the morning. When Bim Quemado invited me to join him for a day of birding in GenSan back in late May, I jumped at the chance to get out there once more. Instead of spending the night in the city, I woke up at a disgustingly early hour and took the 4AM bus from Davao to GenSan, arriving at 7AM with just enough time for a spot of breakfast before heading to the birding area.

Our main target in Buayan was Horsfield's Bush Lark, a fairly uncommon resident that's often devilishly hard to see well. It was previously only seen a couple of times a year at this site, but we'd recently discovered a reliable spot for it, so I was hoping to finally get a decent picture- and get it for Bim as well, of course. As it turns out it was apparently a good time of year to look for them as it only took a bit of searching before one was perched directly in front of us. Later one, another male took to the skies for a long and elaborate display flight, hovering above the dried-out fishpond and singing for a good twenty minutes without landing.

Horsfield's Bush Lark

Horsfield's Bush Lark in display flight

The area is generally good for waders, but by late May almost all had migrated north for their breeding season. The exception were the resident Little Ringed Plovers, displaying massive eyerings and being as noisy as usual. We also had distant views of White-headed Stilts that appeared to be sitting on nests, as well as quite possibly a nesting Common Greenshank, which hasn't yet been recorded breeding in the Philippines. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any closer to confirm whether or not the birds really were sitting on eggs.

Little Ringed Plover

We did have closer views of some of the other residents, such as Javan Pond Heron and lots of Wandering Whistling Ducks, always skittish thanks to hunting from the local residents. What looked like a family flock of Brahminy Kites soared overhead, and we had a quickly-flushed Cinnamon Bittern, my favorite of the resident herons and bitterns.

Javan Pond-heron in breeding plumage

Wandering Whistling Ducks

Brahminy Kite

Cinnamon Bittern

In the late afternoon, we decided to drive north and pay a quick visit to the Baras Bird Preserve in Tacurong City, in order to get some better egret shots and perhaps see if the Glossy Ibis that occasionally frequents the area was in. There were no ibises to be seen unfortunately, but lots and lots of herons and egrets, most especially Black-crowned Night Herons and Cattle Egrets. It seems that business at Baras has boomed since the Bird Festival, which makes me happy to see- it's a very well-run site, and Tacurong deserves all the tourism it can get. Personally, I always appreciate the extra-close views of nature that I get at the reserve- and it's refreshing to see people appreciating birds in their natural habitat, rather than in cages or on their dinner table.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Cattle Egret