Author: Adri Constantino

A pair of Greater Flamebacks

This is a pair of Luzon (Greater) Flamebacks "doing it" in Subic Bay, Zambales, Luzon, Philippines. These woodpeckers prefer forests and forests edge more commonly in lowland forests. Their strong bills are used for drilling holes into tree trunks to extract worms and insects. Luzon Flamebacks are found all over the Philippines with four races having distinctive characteristics. This pair is from the haematribon race and are considered as endemic subspecies found only in the islands of Luzon, Catanduanes and Marinduque. EDIT: The Greater Flamebacks have been split and the birds shown are now called Luzon Flamebacks. Luzon Flameback Chrysocolaptes haematribon August 2010, Subic Bay, Zambales and Bataan, Philippines Video by Nicky Icarangal, JR. Digiscoped with a Swarovski ATM 80 HD, Canon Powershot S95.

A Cinnamon Ibon building a nest!

Check out this video clip of a Cinnamon Ibon clearing out a nest hole during one of our sorties in Mt. Kitanglad Cinnamon Ibons are high-elevation Mindanao endemics residing in submontane and montane forests above 1000 meters. They are usually seen in mixed feeding flock with Mountain and Black-Masked White-eyes, Black and Cinnamon Fantails, Sulfur-billed Nuthatches, Elegant Tits and other montane flocking birds. The excellent (and one and only) guidebook "A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines" by Robert Kennedy lists this bird as common yet the nests and eggs of this Mindanao endemic have not been described. This video clip maybe the first documentation of the nest of the Cinnamon Ibon. This video clip was captured in using a Swarovski 80mm HD scope with the new 25-50x eyepiece mated with a Canon Powershot S95. Check out our Swarovski Digiscoping Section for more superb stills and videos of Philippine birds.

Fresh new look for Birding Philippines!

How do you find our new look? Our website makeover showcases several improvements from our old site: 1) News Reel - Here is where  you'll see updates from our trips, new pictures and videos uploaded in our galleries page, and everything that's happening with  Birding Adventure Philippines. 2) Swarovski Digiscoping Section - showcases videos and stills using our official optics partner - Swarovski Optik. 3) Updated Galleries - new pictures and videos of birds and butterflies and other wildlife captured during our birding sorties. If you like to preview some of our bird pictures, be sure to click on the "Featured Birds" in most of the pages for a teaser of our main galleries. 4) Birding Philippines Blog - This is where we will post our stories and pictures about birding and just about everything else. Feel free to drop by and give us a note! 5) Connect with us via Facebook and Twitter - Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get fresh updates from the field. 6) And a whole lot more of exciting new content! Thanks for visiting Birding Adventure Philippines! For the love of birds, Birding Adventure Philippines Team

The Great Philippine Eagle soaring high in Bukidnon

The Great Philippine Eagle flying high over Mt. Kitanglad Mountain Range
The Great Philippine Eagle flying high over Mt. Kitanglad Mountain Range
This is one of the highlight birds of the recently concluded 1st Asian Bird Fair birding trip to Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon, Mindanao last September 27 - October 3, 2010. This birding trip was organized by us in cooperation with the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines to showcase our wonderful birds to our Asian neighbors. The group was led by Nicky Icarangal and Adrian Constantino and was composed of birders from the Nature Society (Singapore), Hong Kong Birdwatching Society, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, Wild Bird Society of Taipei and Asian Raptor Research Conservation Network. It was a two-part tour, with the first leg starting off at Mt. Kitanglad National Park to showcase Mindanao's montane endemics birds. The second leg was in PICOP, Bislig, Surigao for the lowland specialties. The highlights of trip include the Great Philippine Eagle (shown above), Red-eared Parrotfinch, Apo Mynah, Apo Sunbird, Bukidnon Woodcock, Rufous, Writhed and Mindanao Hornbills, Short-crested Monarch, Steere's Pitta, Philippine (Pinsker's) Hawk-Eagle, among others. Please be sure to check the trip report and the trip list here. More pictures of birds seen during this trip can be viewed in our galleries page while pictures from the trip can be seen by following us on Facebook. The next Asian Bird Fair will be held in Taipei, Taiwan. To know more about the 1st Asian Bird Fair in Davao City, please check www.birdwatch.ph.

Custom Tour 2010: Valentines Day in Mt. Kitanglad

During the past 20 years, we have made more than 30 birding/wildlife photography trips.
None was better arranged and guided than our trip with Nicky in February 2010. We spent 3 delightful weeks birding in Luzon, Mindanao, Bohol, and Palawan, seeing 230 species, including the Philippine Eagle.

Philippines Custom Birding Tour Palmer 2010
Luzon, Palawan, Bohol Mindanao Birding for Michael and Patricia Palmer

A testimonial from Michael and Patricia Palmer, one of our custom groups from 2010. The birder couple spent three weeks in the Philippines visiting Luzon, Palawan, Bohol and Mindanao with their Mt. Kitanglad trip coinciding with Valentines Day. Valentines was celebrated over a few bottles of wine, fresh wild montane flowers and a date with the Great Philippine Eagle.

Here is what they have to say:

"During the past 20 years, we have made more than 30 birding/wildlife photography trips. None was better arranged and guided than our trip with Nicky in February 2010. We spent 3 delightful weeks birding in Luzon, Mindanao, Bohol, and Palawan, seeing 230 species, including the Philippine Eagle. The Lodges were pleasant; the food good; internal flights and road travel comfortable; but, best of all, was the pleasure of traveling with (and being guided by) Nicky and his partners from Birding Adventure Philippines. We have learned over the past 20 years, that the best birding trips (and least expensive) are those arranged by a local Guide/birding company. In this case, we met Nicky at the August 2009 Bird Fair in England where the Philippines Tourist Office had a stand. Nicky had been selected to represent the fledgling Bird-Watching industry. Some months later we contacted Nicky by e-mail, and asked him to propose a 3 weeks tour. This process led to one of the very best birding experiences we have ever enjoyed"

Michael Palmer and Patricia email: mp32[at]mac[dot]com

Many thanks Michael and Patricia! Hope to see you birding here again!

Philippines Custom Birding Trip 2010
Michael & Patricia Palmer

You can view Michael and Patricia's trip bird list here>

More pictures from their trip can be seen here>

Ashy-headed Babbler, Ashy-breasted Flycatcher, Luzon Scops Owl in OBI

Ashy-headed Babbler, Luzon Scops Owl and Ashy-breasted Flycatcher
New Philippine endemics posted at OBI
Several of our pictures are featured in the Oriental Bird Club Images Database or OBI. The OBI is the online repository for images of birds photographed in the Oriental Region. Their database is probably one of the most complete when it comes to image resources for our feathered friends. Our contributions include: 1) Ashy-headed Babbler Trichastoma cinereiceps - This fairly common Palawan endemic prefers vines and tangles of forest and secondary growth. Though it is common, it is a challenge to photograph as it stays in the forest undergrowth. Photo Nicky Icarangal / Birding Adventure Philippines 2) Luzon Scops Owl Otus longicornis - This endemic scops owl can be found only in the montane forests of Luzon. This particular individual was photographed in Mt. Polis, Ifugao, during one of Birding Adventure Philippines sorties in the high-elevation forests of Luzon. Photo Nicky Icarangal / Birding Adventure Philippines 3) Ashy-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa randi - This is a rare endemic that can be seen in the lowland forests of Luzon and Negros. This picture is one of the very few photographs of the bird in wild. This individual was photographed in Mt. Makiling, Laguna, Philippines. Photo Trinket Canlas / Birding Adventure Philippines 4) Mindanao Montane Racquet-tail Prioniturus montanus - This is one of the endemic parrots that can be found in Mindanao, Philippines. They prefer mid-mountain and montane mossy forest above 1000 meters usually flying in small family groups. Photo Nicky Icarangal / Birding Adventure Philippines Please check out OBI for an amazing collection of photographs of birds from the Oriental Region here.