Philippines – Visayan extension

During the week-long Visayan pre-tour extension we recorded 131 species including 45 Philippine endemics of which 11 were tour-exclusive endemics. Highlights included the rare island-endemic Cebu Bulbul and Black Shama on Cebu, Yellow-breasted Tailorbird and Azure-breasted Pitta on Bohol and a host of rare endemics including Visayan Hornbill, Visayan Shama, Visayan Flowerpecker and the stunning Flame-templed Babbler on Negros.

We began the tour with a late afternoon flight from Manila to Cebu City where we enjoyed our first San Miguel beers in the tropical surrounds of the hotel garden before retiring to recoup some energy after long international flights from various corners of the globe.
Early the next morning we departed Cebu City and headed inland. Unfortunately the fine conditions on the coast deteriorated as we headed into the central mountains and it was rather wet and windy when we arrived at our destination of Tabunan, which is home to one of the few remaining forest patches on the entire island. After a rather slow and slippery walk up the trail into the forest our first highlight was White-eared Brown-Dove while some of the group had brief views of our first Black Shama, an island endemic, before arriving at the ‘viewpoint’ – in fact one of the few elevated pieces of limestone allowing views into the forest canopy. The inclement conditions atop the viewpoint were far from ideal and were undoubtedly a factor in our lack of flowerpecker sightings but we did manage some excellent birds; Philippine Serpent Eagle, Philippine Coucal, Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker, Philippine Bulbul, Arctic Warbler, Pied Triller, Pied Fantail, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Everett’s White-eye and Red-keeled Flowerpecker providing entertainment. Several endemic Magnificent Sunbirds (a good split from Crimson Sunbird), vocal Cebu (Streak-breasted) Bulbuls gave brief glimpses and our first Coleto with its bare head appearing to exposing bulging pink brains! We also found the stunning cebuensis Coppersmith Barbet with its brick-red face and throat which made us ponder the possibilities of a future split. In the mid-afternoon we descended again into the forest where everyone now enjoyed views of the Black Shamas and we puzzled over the cyornis blue-flycatchers which are currently lumped within Mangrove Blue-Flycatcher but again seems a likely future split. Our walk back to the village produced Grey-rumped Swiftlet, Striated Grassbird, Paddyfield Pipit and Island Collared Dove in the agricultural fields.
We were soon heading back to Cebu City, for a short ferry ride to Bohol, our third Philippine island in 2 days. We arrived at our resort in the evening, sadly too late to yet appreciate the surrounding ‘Chocolate Hills’ for which the area is famous.
A short drive the next morning brought us to the nearby Rajah Sikatuna National Park where we were greeted almost immediately by an entertaining group of ‘Samar’ Mindanao Hornbills. Although the birding here is sometimes slow, the forest is fantastic and we spent a very enjoyable morning along the forest trails. The first highlight was actually not a bird, but a Philippine Colugo (often known as a ‘flying-lemur’) a nocturnal flying squirrel that we were fortunate to see active during the daytime. Next up was one of our main targets – Yellow-breasted Tailorbird, endemic to Samar and Bohol this species is quite easily located courtesy of its high pitched song but it is a super-skulker and true to form not everyone managed good views of this particular individual. The rest of the morning was enlivened by some nice feeding flocks which included shy Mindanao Drongos, Metallic-winged Sunbirds, Yellow-bellied Whistler, Blue Fantail, Black-crowned Babblers and the near-endemic Rufous-tailed Jungle Flycatcher which is shared with Borneo but very rarely recorded there. We also chanced upon a smart group of Streaked Ground Babblers feeding unobtrusively in the leaf litter and a more obliging Yellow-breasted Tailorbird, although it soon melted away leaving some still frustrated.
Our afternoon again produced much the same in the mixed flocks but we added a surprisingly elusive Black-faced Coucal and a flushed Red Junglefowl. Staking out a clearing in the late afternoon produced a Besra and a pair of Rufous-lored Kingfishers as they became active at dusk. As darkness fell Great Eared-Nightjars hawked overhead and a wintering Northern Boobook appeared followed a short while later by a vocal pair of Philippine Boobooks and an impressive Atlas Moth attracted by our powerful spot-light. A final stop along the road produced calling Philippine Frogmouth and Everett’s Scops-Owl but neither could be located and we had to be satisfied with another Rufous-lored Kingfisher which we found roosting right above the road.

An early start again the next morning began with flight views of a shy Besra then some good activity around fruiting trees including White-eared Brown Doves and a gorgeous Black-chinned Fruit Dove – a bird found on only a few small islands outside the Philippines. Hitting the forest trails again produced a group of Streaked Ground Babbler, this time singing their hearts out in unison, Yellow-breasted Tailorbirds performed well allowing everyone reasonable views and we finally saw a Rufous-fronted Tailorbird after several frustrating encounters with elusive singing individuals. Black-faced Coucal was again seen as were our first Greater Flameback, an impressive White-bellied Woodpecker and a fruiting tree attracted Samar Hornbills, Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Yellow-wattled Bulbul, Philippine Oriole and Philippine Fairy Bluebird.
In the late afternoon the distant calls of an Steere’s (Azure-breasted) Pitta were picked out but soon went quiet. Making our way towards where the birds had been calling a small amount of coaxing with the tape brought an immediate response as the bird flew up onto an open branch right in front of us with the amazing azure-blue underparts lighting up the undergrowth in the gathering gloom before his attention was grabbed by his mate nearby and both birds disappeared in tandem across the road. Waiting at a large clearing at dusk produced great views of a Philippine Colugo ‘flying’ between large trees and several Great-eared Nightjars but not the hoped for Philippine Nightjars which appear to have suffered from habitat loss here.

The next morning we returned again to the harbour at Tagbilaran but this time took the fast craft ferry to the town to Dumaguete on the south-east coast of Negros where Great Crested, Common and Whiskered Terns were noted feeding offshore from our hotel. After lunch we first headed north along the coast where an area of salt pans provided an interesting diversion from the forest birding. The pools were teaming with shorebirds; Asian Golden Plovers, Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpiper and Kentish Plover were the prominent species but we also found Little Ringed Plover, Greater Sandplover, Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper. Two Javan Pond Heron were found and a single Yellow Bittern was seen in flight, while the reedy margins hosted at least 5 White-browed Crake and introduced Java Sparrows were a surprise find feeding with Eurasian Tree Sparrows nearby. From here we continued up into the mountains arriving mid-afternoon at a wet and windy Balinsasayao Lakes. Despite the weather we ventured out and recorded several new species including Lemon-throated Leaf-Warbler and Visayan Blue-headed Fantail along with Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Elegant Tits, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and calling Philippine Tailorbird. A feeding flock containing Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Visayan Balicassiao and White-winged Cuckoo-shrike passed through quickly but a pair of Flaming Sunbirds feeding at very close range were much more obliging and deserved the bird of the day vote they received.

Unfortunately the poor weather was still present the following morning, washing away our plans to visit Mount Talinis so we opted again to visit the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes. The weather was improved since the previous day and we were rewarded with great views of the increasingly rare Visayan Hornbill of which we saw 2 groups totalling at least 5 individuals. The flowering trees again attracted the Flaming Sunbirds plus Yellowish White-eyes. Exploration of the newly created trail system around the lake gave some nice feeding flocks including the fantail, tits and leaf-warblers from the previous day plus White-vented Whistler, Coleto, Visayan Balicassiao, Bar-bellied and White-winged Cuckoo-shrikes and our first Yellow-breasted Fruit Doves of the tour.
After another excellent lunch the afternoon was spent on the drive to Bacolod in the north-west of the island with Common Moorhen the only bird of particular note during the journey.
The next morning we departed early, arriving just prior to dawn at Mambucal on the lower slopes of Mount Kanlaon, an active volcano in the north of the island. The initial walk up through open fields and scrub then pine plantations produced little of interest except calling Spotted Wood Kingfishers and the ubiquitous Philippine Bulbuls but as soon as we reached the lower edge of the native forest, things immediately heated up. Our first large feeding flock provided great excitement with the expected Elegant Tits, Visayan Blue-headed Fantail, Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, Coleto and Yellowish White-eyes accompanied by several striking, white-bellied, Visayan Balicassiao and the increasingly rare White-winged Cuckoo-shrike.
The hoped for Visayan Shama remained strangely silent in their usual haunts but some reasonable views of White-vented Whistlers were had and continuing along the trail, a medium-sized brown heron was flushed from the forest floor and flew into a nearby tree allowing those well positioned a good view before flying again and its identity confirmed as a Japanese Night Heron - a rare winter visitor to the Philippines and a species listed as endangered by Birdlife due primarily to deforestation in its breeding and wintering areas.
Reaching primary forest it was not long before a melodious song drew our attention to our big target – the endemic Flame-templed Babbler, which proceeded to perform impeccably as a pair of these stunning birds sat motionless in the overhead trees allowing everyone prolonged and satisfying views. More views of Flame-templed Babblers enhanced feeding flocks during the rest of the morning as did Lemon-throated Leaf-Warblers, Philippine Tailorbirds and our first Bicoloured Flowerpecker.
Both White-browed Shortwing and a beautiful Red-bellied Pitta glowing in the understory were seen in exactly the same spots walking up and down the trail and both seemed likely to be nesting in the respective areas. The same might have accounted for the silence and lack of response from the Visayan Shamas and we were extremely lucky when one of these skulking birds, giving only short snatches of song, was spotted sitting quietly and motionless in the undergrowth, the lack of rufous rump and white wing-bars as compared to the White-browed Shama of Luzon, combined with the distinct vocalisations all confirming this is a good ‘split’ from that species.
Our next highlight was a male Spotted Wood Kingfisher sitting quietly in the lower story of the forest and giving great views with its buff-spangled green upperparts, rufous moustache, collar and throat contrasting with a black ‘bandit mask’ and cobalt sub-moustachial patch, combining to make this arguably the most beautiful bird of the day.
We finished the afternoon in relaxed fashion around the popular tourist spot of Mambucal where an impressive colony of Grey-rumped Swiftlets were nesting underneath a river bridge and a group of Purple Needletails performing regular fly-bys allowed us all to appreciate these amazingly powerful flying machines and provided a challenge to the photographers in the group! The Visayan Flowerpeckers proved more elusive than usual but after much searching everyone enjoyed great views of this endemic with the black-breast and broad red stripe on the underparts clearly on show; features which separate it from the widespread Red-keeled Flowerpecker found elsewhere on the Philippines and with which it was formerly lumped.