Parting Pitta

August 15 was my very last day in the Philippines, after my epic trip to SNA had gone just about as well as I could have hoped. I flew out in the early evening, meaning I had one morning in Manila to spend as I wished. Naturally, I wished to spend it looking at birds, so my frequent birding companion Irene and I headed to La Mesa Ecopark, a public park on the outskirts of Manila with surprisingly good birds. Birding is difficult in most public areas of the Philippines thanks to feral cats and bored children with slingshots, but for whatever reason there are a number of birds in La Mesa that are still around, despite seeming like easy cat-bait. 

It only took about 10 minutes of looking around in the forest before we spotted a Hooded Pitta hopping around on the ground nearby us. We sat on the ground to observe it, and noticed it was gathering earthworms, presumably to feed to its chicks. 

Hooded Pitta

It soon gathered a beakful of worms, but for whatever reason decided to stand still and pose for quite a while. It had what looked like an injury on its wing, maybe from a close encounter with a local cat, though that didn't seem to affect its feeding habits.




Hooded Pitta with worms

The Pitta was soon joined by an Ashy Thrush, also hopping around on the ground only a couple of meters away from us. Ashy Thrush used to be considered one of the most difficult Philippine endemics to find, but since they took up residence at La Mesa, they're one of the easiest. 



Ashy Thrush

It turned out that the thrushes were also nesting, as we saw this one fly up into a nest right next to the path, soon joined by its mate. We could just barely see the hatchling birds poking their beaks up above the rim of the nest to be fed. I obviously never went back to check on the nest, but I hope it was a successful nesting- one never knows with all the potential for disturbance.

Ashy Thrush at the nest

Eventually the Thrush and the Pitta moved on, and it was time for us to head out, and for me to head out of the Philippines. Sitting quietly and watching rare endemic birds practically hopping around my feet was just about the best way I could have spent my last morning in the country- yet another thing to make me look forward to returning. 

Ashy Thrush and Hooded Pitta in the same picture!

Comments

  1. EmmaJanuary 31, 2019 at 3:59 PM

    What an amazing final morning! Pittas are so cool and the Ashy Thrush looks lovely. I hope its little chicks have all survived ok :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. forestjarvisJanuary 31, 2019 at 5:51 PM

      I hope so too! It's a risky environment for them there but they seem to be doing fine so far.

      Delete

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