Lightning Philippines
After my work trip to Japan and Indonesia in February, I had just a couple weeks in DC before returning once more to Asia–barely enough time to unpack and get over jet lag. This time it was a trip to the Philippines, where I had fieldwork for a new project under preparation and then a week of meetings and presentations in Manila. It was a classically hectic work trip, but I did still have a few chances to get out birding while I was there. The trip started with a truly unpleasant 36-hour journey that involved sitting on the tarmac in DC for 6 hours as United Airlines provided updates that changed from "brief delays thanks to a minor equipment issue" to "lengthy delays as the equipment issue is resolved" to finally "please get off the plane and try to schedule a new flight as we have no idea what's going on with this plane." One missed connection, several conversations with customer service, and a 16-hour flight in the middle seat of the middle ais...