Antique Adventures

 

After my epic trip up Ciremai at the end of June, I returned to Jakarta for a few more days of work, then flew onwards to the Philippines. I had some work in Manila and then a few weeks to telework from back home in Sorsogon, but June 28 was a holiday in the Philippines, and Nikki and I weren't about to let that go to waste. I was still nursing a bruised tailbone from my Ciremai trip but nonetheless we planned a 4-day trip to Panay so that we could once again explore the San Remigio area and a little farther afield.

Joining us were Cheta, Olympus and Angel, all of whom had some remaining targets in Antique- especially Angel who had never been before. I of course had been to San Remigio already twice before- once when I "discovered" it as a birding spot, and once more with Nikki, Cheta, Larry and Pete last year when we checked out more sites there. I figured I had a pretty good handle on the spot and the birds that were present there, but then of course Rob Hutchinson had the nerve to visit and discover some other mega birds, including Sunda Thrush and Visayan Rhabdornis, the latter of which was one of the few Philippine endemic birds I still hadn't seen. Around the same time, a group of birding friends also went to Antique and birded the old spot for Walden's Hornbills, finding that they were still around and present. Obviously, there were good reasons for me to return to Antique. 

We flew into Iloilo City the afternoon of June 28, picked up our rental car in the airport, and met up with Cheta, Olympus and Angel in the city before making the long drive over to Antique. It was dark by the time we got there, so we had dinner at a nice seafood restaurant in the town of San Jose and then drove to our hotel in Sibalom. There are a few hotels in Aningalan itself, much closer to the birding spot, but Nikki had to work part of the time we were there so we opted for the Casa Dee Leticia down in Sibalom which was much more reasonably-priced and had good internet to boot. 

Early the next morning we drove the 45 minutes up to the birding site above the little community of Aningalan. While its future is far from secure, Aningalan is one of my favorite birding spots anywhere in the country by virtue of being unusually accessible- a well-built concrete road goes all the up to 1,000 meters or so, and then it's a pleasant walk along a gravel track through stunted forest, where birds tend to be reasonably bold and closer to eye level than most forest areas of the Philippines. It's also unpredictable, however; the forest area is big enough that the birds tend to form enormous roving mixed flocks that give a big burst of activity for 30 minutes or so followed by hours of silence, with no way of telling where they'll show up. 

That was the case this morning: what had been the most productive birding spot on my last visits was extremely quiet first thing in the morning, although the Metallic Pigeons hanging out in the tops of dead trees was somewhat of a consolation. Blue-crowned Racket-Tails flew over shrieking but never landed long enough for pictures, and deeper in the forest we didn't see much except for a couple of Visayan Fantails. We headed back out along the dirt road and came across a small mixed flock with lots of Elegant Tits, Visayan Fantails, and a couple of Negros Leaf-Warblers, but nothing much of note. Back by where I had parked the car we walked a bit down a road that had been newly cut through some nice forest (sigh), but didn't see much except some Visayan Bulbuls and a couple of Visayan Balicassiaos.

Metallic Pigeon

Elegant Tit

Negros Leaf Warbler

Visayan Balicassiao look wildly different from the Balicassiao on Luzon, and it's a mystery to me why they haven't been split yet

Some kind of cool tiger beetle (Thopeutica sp.)

Melanitis atrax

Another cool tiger beetle (Therates sp.)

Teatus Bushbrown (Mycalesis teatus)

Lorquin's Satyr

Yet another tiger beetle (Heptodonta sp.)

Some kind of cool orchid

The very quiet forest path

Roads like this are convenient for birding now, but you know that it's only a matter of months before people cut down all those trees to plant vegetables or something

Things were pretty quiet so we drove back along the road and up to the provincial border, where we did find a proper mixed flock along the dirt path on the Iloilo side. Along with the usual Visayan Bulbuls, Balicassiaos, and Visayan Cuckooshrikes the highlight was a pair of very noisy White-winged Cuckooshrikes, one of the harder West Visayas endemics. They spent several minutes calling and displaying on dead branches which was lots of fun to watch, although not in great light for photography. A bit away we found flock of small birds including Elegant Tits, Sulphur-billed Nuthatches, and a gorgeous male Magnificent Sunbird. 

White-winged Cuckooshrike

Sulphur-billed Nuthatch

Magnificent Sunbird

Long-flanged Millipede

Some kind of Cloak-and-dagger bee (Thyreus sp.)

Nikki had to work that afternoon so we started heading downhill, though we stopped for another mixed flock before too long. This one had more White-winged Cuckooshrikes and lots of friendly Elegant Tits, plus a beautiful male Maroon-naped Sunbird. Further down, we stopped when we heard the shrill call of a Yellow-faced Flameback, the star bird of Aningalan, away from the road. After some waiting we were finally able to see it but it was very shy, flying far away from the road each time it saw us. The Brahminy Kite flying overhead was the only bird I was able to get pictures of.

Maroon-naped Sunbird

Elegant Tit

Brahminy Kite

We returned back to Sibalom so that we could have lunch and Nikki could work. I was still pretty tired from my constant traveling, so we ended up making it a quiet afternoon, satisfied with our many birds that morning. It was also because we had a massive day planned for the following day: a long drive and a hike to see Walden's Hornbill, a critically endangered West Visayas endemic and the second-rarest hornbill in the Philippines (and perhaps the world). While originally fairly common in the forests of Negros and Panay, Walden't Hornbills have been driven nearly extinct due to a mix of habitat loss and hunting, now numbering only a few thousand birds resident in the most inaccessible parts of the Central Panay Mountains. 

I had wanted to see Walden's Hornbill for a very long time as hornbills are some of my favorite birds, but there had been no records of it for years and it was unclear if they still remained in the location birders had seen them in the past, the Alegre Valley of northern Antique. I had dipped on them in Sibalom Natural Park, where I expect they're properly extirpated thanks to trapping and poor enforcement, and a major typhoon a couple years ago had seemingly jeopardized their presence elsewhere as it made landfall during nesting season. It seemed possible I might have just plain missed my chance altogether. However, earlier this year I got in touch with David Quimpo, the lead scientist in the hornbill conservation program, who passed me the contact of the forest ranger in the Alegre Valley who knew where to find the hornbills. I wasn't able to make it but I passed the info along to Ens, Jasmin and some other birding friends who were planning an Antique trip. They got in touch with him and soon distant pictures of hornbills and stories of incredibly difficult hikes were coming out. Obviously we had to do the same as soon as possible.

The town of Sebaste, where the hornbills can be found, is all the way on the other side of Antique so we departed from Sibalom at 2:30AM to make the 2-hour drive north- sadly without Angel, who wasn't feeling well and was recovering from back issues that would have made the hike risky. We dropped the rental car along the highway and took motorcycles inland to the town of Alegre where the trail started. This was only 20 minutes or so but it was an excruciating experience with my bruised tailbone- I honestly probably would have rather just walked. We met with the forest rangers around 4:30 AM, and started the hike as the sky started to get light. 

Sunrise on the way in

The start of the trail was flat, criss-crossing over a shallow river that required sandals to cross. It soon started to climb upwards into the craggy limestone mountains of northern Antique. This close to town the forest was scrubby and broken up by little coconut plantations and abandoned farm plots, but it got better as we climbed upwards. The trail wasn't overly steep but it was poorly-maintained, with lots of clambering over sharp rocks or walking through thick undergrowth. The birds were scarce, but there was enough other wildlife to keep us occupied- dozens of enormous flowering Amorphophallus yaoi (look up what the binomial means), tiny, bright-red land crabs hiding in the little limestone crevasses, and a surprising variety of huge, oddly-shaped stick insects of various sizes. We were even able to get a good look at a Visayan Shama, which was a lifer for Cheta (who only counts seen birds for some strange reason). 

Tisamenus spadix, a cool endemic stick insect (first record on iNaturalist!)

Another cool stick insect of indeterminate ID

Chrysocoris germari, a beautiful endemic jewel bug

Malay Cruiser

Some kind of jewel weevil (Metapocyrtus sp.)

Polistes williamsi, a cool endemic paper wasp

Some kind of giant millipede

Amorphophallus yaoi... trust me, I didn't come up with that name

Begonia culasiensis, described only in 2017!

Nikki with a little vampire crab (Geosesarma sp.)

The view of the mountains along the way

After about 2 and a half hours of hiking, we arrived at an overgrown clearing next to a rushing mountain stream where the rangers said that they had most recently seen the dulungan (the indigenous word for Walden's Hornbills). We did indeed hear some goat-like calls in the trees far above us, but there were no hornbills to be seen. Visibility was poor as the little observation platform that had been built long ago had rotten into uselessness, and mostly we were peering through banana leaves and thick foliage at the ridgeline far above us. Eventually I got tired of waiting and decided to cross the creek and bushwhack up a steep hillside where there seemed to be a better view. It was a precarious climb with lots of loose rocks and earth, but it did indeed prove to be a better view. Even better, when I started scanning the hillside, a bright red beak appeared in a distant tree- Walden's Hornbill!

Walden's Hornbill

I squeezed off some pictures and then encouraged the others to come up and join so we could all see it. They eventually did and everyone got looks at the distant hornbill, although annoyingly enough it flew off just as Nikki got her bins on it. We decided to wait around for them to come back, as it was a nice view across the ridge. It turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant place to wait, as we were mostly shaded and could lie back on the steep slope and watch. Some of us (including me) even managed a brief nap while we waited, which was necessary after hiking all the way up there on just a few hours of sleep. Eventually a few dulungan flew back in, and we spent a half hour or so watching them as they flew from tree to tree, mostly out of site. They were surprisingly gorgeous birds- the male with his bright red bill and yellow face, and the female with her blue eye-ring. It was unfortunately quite distant and even my teleconverter on and shooting at 1400 millimeters of zoom I didn't get any proper pics, but it was still amazing views of a mega bird. 

Male Walden's Hornbill

Female (below) and male Walden's Hornbill

Some sort of spectacular longhorn beetle (Glenea sp.)

This Malay Cruiser decided I was a good person to hang out with while I was waiting for hornbills

The view from the hillside

After getting our fill of the dulungan we started the hike down, making our way carefully down the steep slopes. It wasn't nearly as intense of a hike as my trek up Ciremai but it was still a chore in the hot weather. There was still some cool wildlife though, and dipping our feet in the river when we got down was nice and refreshing. 

Saptha microspila, a beautiful metalmark moth

Ita Bushbrown

Some kind of giant robber fly (Promachus sp.) sucking the guts out of a cockroach

Desmidophorus cumingi, a cool bark weevil (also the only record on iNaturalist!)

A Gasteracantha clavigera orbweaver devouring a honeybee

Common Hedge Blue

Some kind of beautiful damselfly (Risiocnemis sp.)

Pygmy Swiftlet

"Well now what am I supposed to do?"

The hills on the way down

At last, the end of the descent

We stopped for a surprisingly good lunch in the town of Culasi on the way back (if anyone is traveling through there I highly recommend Papa Don's), and then got back to Sibalom for some much-needed rest. It had been a tremendously successful day, and it was reassuring to see that the hornbills are still around in good numbers and the nest protection program in the community (run by the Haribon Foundation) seems to be paying off. There are very, very few conservation success stories in the Philippines these days, so I strongly encourage other birders visit the Alegre Valley so that the rangers and the community as a whole can see their efforts being recognized and receive some income. The son of one of the rangers can be contacted on facebook at Ronald Estelloso Jr.

We had one more morning in Antique with everyone before Angel, Olympus and Cheta departed, so we decided to back up to Aningalan once more to try for the flameback, the thrush, and the rhabdornis. Angel, Cheta and I left before dawn to head up the mountain (Nikki and Olympus very sensibly decided to get some more sleep), and we stopped first at the place where Rob Hutchinson had reported the Sunda Thrush. Unfortunately, I forgot two things. First, I forgot that Sunda Thrush are most active before sunrise, and tend to disappear once it's light out. Second, I forgot that I'm not Rob Hutchinson. Basically, we dipped. There were other birds though- a mixed flock of large birds like Visayan Cuckooshrikes, Balicassiaos, Visayan Bulbuls, and Coletos, lots of flyovers from Metallic Pigeons, and good looks at perched Blue-crowned Racket-tails, which was a lifer for Angel. 

Visayan Cuckooshrike

Visayan Balicassiao

Three species in one tree- Visayan Balicassiao, Visayan Cuckooshrike, and Coleto

Blue-crowned Racket-tail

Metallic Pigeon

We decided to explore a different area, and went back to the border area at the end of the paved road. This proved to be an excellent decision, as I heard the call of a Yellow-faced Flameback and eventually found a group of four of them chasing each other around in a tree! I was able to get Angel and Cheta on them, and soon after Nikki and Olympus arrived and also got great looks. It was the first good look Nikki and Angel had had of the flamebacks, and I will personally never tire of them- giant, ketchup and mustard-colored woodpeckers full of personality that seem to light up the whole forest when they fly through. It's easily one of my favorite endemics.

Yellow-faced Flameback

Emerald Peacock Swallowtail

After the flamebacks moved on, we drove down past the town of Aningalan to the lower forest site, the first spot where I'd birded in Antique. It was mid-morning by then but there was still quite a bit of activity- a Buff-eared Brown Dove and many Philippine Cuckoo-Doves flying through, a mixed flock with Visayan Fantails, White-vented Whistlers, Sulphur-billed Nuthatches, and, surprisingly, a Negros Jungle-Flycatcher, and a tiny Philippine Hanging-Parrot. The highlight, however, was a Spotted Wood Kingfisher that Olympus spotted next to the road perched with a giant centipede! The male soon after flew in with a tiny worm snake and it was clear that they were feeding young in a nest somewhere. We were able to get amazing views of them (from a respectful distance), and it was all of our first times getting a good look at the Visayas subspecies, which is quite distinctive and might get split at some point anyway.

Buff-eared Brown Dove

Philippine Hanging-Parrot

Female Visayan Spotted Wood Kingfisher

Male kingfisher with a Gervais' Worm Snake

Male Visayan Spotted Wood Kingfisher

Another Geosesarma crab along the road

That was all the birding we had time for as a group, and we bid goodbye to Cheta, Angel and Olympus as they started heading back home. Nikki and I still had the rest of the weekend though, and we had reserved a room at Eden Park up in Aningalan to be closer to the birding spot. We had a mostly low-key afternoon, with a much-needed nap, although I took advantage of the giant, abandoned concrete road to give Nikki her first driving lessons (yikes!). That night I entertained myself with the dozens of amazing moths that showed up at the light outside our room- no need for a moth light there! 

Greater Death's Head Hawkmoth, an absolutely enormous sphinx moth

Pycnarmon jaguaralis

Hypochrosis hyadaria

Cyana pudens

Some sort of beautiful crambid moth (Paraponyx sp.)

Cyme sp., I think

Some sort of scary-looking assassin bug

Oeonistus altica

Evening Green Cicada

Pygospila bivittalis

Nikki and I went out birding one more time the next morning, this time getting to the Sunda Thrush spot properly early. The thrush was still nowhere to be found- either we still got there too late in the day, or it has a large range and just wasn't around. A reason to return to Aningalan I suppose. There wasn't much else there but a perched Blue-crowned Racket-Tail, so we decided to go down the hill to check out the lower forest spot. This paid off as we almost immediately saw another Yellow-faced Flameback! We also had a cooperative Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove and some cool insects before we had to head back to our hotel room so Nikki could get some work done. 

Blue-crowned Racket-Tail

Yellow-faced Flameback

Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove

Charaxes amycus, another butterfly lifer

Dindymus pulcher

I decided to give the upper site one more try that morning before we headed out, because I was annoyed at having missed out on both my targets for the visit. To my delight (and to the chagrin of everyone else who didn't join me- sorry guys, should've stuck around longer) this paid off big time- I ran into an enormous flock of dozens of birds passing through some low trees in unusually good light- Visayan Cuckooshrikes, White-winged Cuckooshrikes, Visayan Bulbuls, Coletos, Sulphur-billed Nuthatches, Elegant Tits, Negros Leaf-Warblers, Magnificent Sunbirds, and more. The flock activity lasted for a solid half hour, and I spent it either trying to get pictures or frantically looking for my one target. Finally, I saw a small bird pop up in a distant tree, and almost instantly knew what it was - Visayan Rhabdornis! It perched in view for just 30 seconds or so before disappearing forever, but I was thrilled as it was my second endemic lifer of the trip, and a bird I had dipped on many times. 

Is it just me or do Visayan Cuckooshrikes have comically tiny feet?

White-winged Cuckooshrike

Coleto

Juvenile Elegant Tit

Elegant Tit

Magnificent Sunbird is accurately named

Sulphur-billed Nuthatch

Visayan Rhabdornis!

That was all I had time for, as Nikki and I had to return to Iloilo to catch our flight to Manila. It had been a tremendously successful trip, with two very difficult endemic lifers for me and lots and lots of other great birds. More importantly, it was also a great time traveling around with good friends. I'm in the US right now, but already looking forward to being back in the Philippines and doing more adventuring...