Pajareo sin fronteras

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 g...

Following my  adventure in Sultan Kudarat , I barely had a day of rest before starting on another week-long staff training, followed by a full month outside of Mindanao in various islands (and countries!). My IPA project, after all, has a sample area in the Bicol Region as well as Mindanao, though it's unfortunately a small sample. It was, however, enough of a sample for me to get sent to Naga City to train some new staff on our new survey. Before jetting down to Naga, however, I had a weekend in Manila to spend birding in some of my favorite spots. My first day there, I spent a nice morning at La Mesa Ecopark, one of the few remaining green spaces in Manila and a surprisingly good birding spot considering how close it is to the urban jungle that is the National Capital Region. The main targets at La Mesa are Hooded and Philippine Pittas (which I didn't see, though I didn't try particularly hard), and Ashy Thrush, a thrush endemic to Luzon that's nearly impossible to ...