Nemesis No More

I had lots of work to catch up on in the Philippines after my quick visit home in Michigan, but since I arrived back on the weekend, I had time for a day of birding before heading back to Mindanao. Thanks to Irene's generous offer of a car ride and birding company, I was able to spend it on yet another visit to Infanta, Quezon, one of the up-and-coming birding destinations in Luzon. I'd been there three times before (blog post on my last visit here), but managed to dip on a few of the "specialty" bird there every time, most especially the Whiskered Pitta that's supposedly often seen every time except for the days that I visit. 

Like most visits to Infanta, it started with a disgustingly early start from Manila in order to arrive in the birding area before sunrise and in time for owling. Also like my visits to Infanta so far, the owling was a complete bust, with nothing even heard at all- and people wonder why I don't enjoy looking for owls! As the sun came up, it was windy and a bit rainy, which kept bird activity to a minimum. There was some activity in the sheltered tree areas however, with good looks at a Guaiabero and a very young Philippine Bulbul. 

Guaiabero

Baby Philippine Bulbul

It was shaping up to be yet another underwhelming morning at Infanta when suddenly we heard the distant call of a Whiskered Pitta far up the mountainside! Scrambling up the steep slope in the direction of the call was no easy task, as the rocks were loose and in danger of sending us tumbling back down, and all the tree-branch handholds potentially harboring thorns or biting insects. Thankfully we were able to make it up to the proper area without incident and started looking for the bird. Even though its calls seemed to be coming from nearby it was a struggle to see it, until suddenly I spotted its head poking above the undergrowth just a few meters away from us! 

Whiskered Pitta!

After finally seeing one, it's amazing how difficult they are to spot, considering it's a brightly colored bird the size of a small chicken. Even though it spent the next 15 minutes hopping in a circle around us and calling, it never came fully out in the open for a good picture. Still, it was a mega experience to see it at all, considering that it's one of the most sought-after Philippine endemics. I'm not as religiously opposed to the use of playback as some American birders are, but it's also a much more profound experience seeing a completely wild pitta that's not baited or called in.

Also in the area was a Scale-feathered Malkoha, one of my favorite endemic birds, a calling Philippine Trogon, and Buzzing and Olive-backed Flowerpeckers, all attractive endemics although I wasn't able to get pictures of most of them this time. There was a Tawny Grassbird and a few different kinds of cool Odonata in the grass back by the road, enough to keep me occupied in the absence of birds. 

Buzzing Flowerpecker

Igneocnemis atripes

Terrible shot of my herp lifer Cuming's Mabuya

Tawny Grassbird- a common bird that's difficult to photograph!

Diplacina bolivari

Having seen my main "nemesis bird" of Infanta, I was able to spend the rest of the day doing some low-pressure birding. We stopped by the house of a local family Irene knows, partly to play with their dogs and partly to explore a trail going down the forested slope behind their property. There were some Elegant Tits in the pines near the house, as well as Oriental Honey-buzzard and Philippine Serpent-eagle soaring over the forested mountains- not a bad combination overall. 

Elegant Tit

Philippine Serpent-eagle

The mountains of eastern Quezon

The distant Pacific Ocean

We spent a while sitting quietly on the forested hillside, waiting to see what might appear. There had been earlier reports of a Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher in the area, which would have been a subspecies lifer for me, and a proper lifer if the proposed split is accepted, but none came along. We did, however, see a Spotted Wood Kingfisher, another fantastic endemic kingfisher (though not quite as cool as its cousins on Mindanao), as well as a flock of Philippine Fairy-bluebirds that finally gave me the chance to get some decent pictures of them. In a flock of small birds I spotted a Lemon-throated Leaf-warbler and a Black-crowned Forest Babbler, both uncommon endemics. 

Philippine Fairy-bluebird

Lemon-throated Leaf Warbler

Alex palparia

Some kind of skimmer

Ophiorrhiza sp.- actually a relative of the coffee plant believe it or not.

The Quezon forest.

After we walked back up to the hill and had lunch, we continued down the road slowly, on the lookout for anything interesting. We happened to notice some movement on the side of the road, and realized that it was a flock of Citrine Canary-flycatchers hanging around a water pipe outside someone's house. Canary-flycatchers are only locally common in the Philippines, and generally difficult to get a good picture of, so it was a (welcome!) surprise to see so many of them out in the open, and bold enough to pose for a couple of pictures at that. 

Citrine Canary-flycatcher

It was the middle of the day, and there wasn't much to be seen except for some insects and a Rufous-bellied Eagle circling far over our heads. Irene stayed in one spot to try for a White-fronted Tit that had been seen a while ago, while I walked back down the road to get a cold drink. On my way back, I happened across a female Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker- the Luzon subspecies is somewhat less attractive than the Mindanao subspecies, but still a good bird to catch up with. 

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Nyctemera luctuosa- an erebid moth that also doubles as a Rorschach test 

Neurothemis ramburii

Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker 

Flyover from another endemic!

Irene decided to take a nap before we started the long drive home, so I continued wandering down the road to see what I could see. The forest quality declines a bit further to the east, but there are still some interesting birds to be seen. I heard a flock of Northern Rufous Hornbills calling (though I never saw them), and had a distant flyover from a Philippine Hawk-eagle, only the second time I've ever seen one. More photographable was a small flock of immature Olive-backed Flowerpeckers, one of my favorite endemic flowerpeckers, feeding on berries. 

Olive-backed Flowerpecker (immature)

Yellow-vented Bulbul- a sign of degrading forest quality unfortunately

Immature Elegant Tit

Sailer (Lasippa illigera illigera)

It eventually started to rain, which was a bit inconvenient since I had no umbrella and was too far from the car to walk back. Thankfully I was able to find enough shelter to avoid getting soaked, and after a couple of passes Irene and I finally managed to find each other again on the road and begin the drive home. I flew back to Mindanao satisfied, as it was one of my most successful visits to Infanta yet, though I suspect there will be future outings when I get back to the Philippines, considering there are many, many things yet to be seen.