Katala leads set of Lifers in my Palawan Solo Birding

I was welcomed by set of lifers in Puerto Princesa when I attempted a hurried birding in a compressed schedule of ASEAN Heritage Park forum last June 18-20. The ultimate goal was to just see the critically-endangered Philippine Cockatoo which I initially knew of as having good stay in Puerto Princesa.

My first choice was to go to Rasa Island but I learned it was very far from my venue. With an idea given by fellow birder Ivan Sarenas I could have settled for an option trip in the municipality of Narra, another known site of Philippine Cuckatoos. Instant phone talk with the Tourism Office staff of Narra gave me further information that there are already sightings of the bird in Puerto Princesa. Lastly, with a noble assistance from Miss Indira of Katala Foundation, Inc. I was able to confirm that Katala (local name of Philippine Cockatoo) is indeed just around the corners of Puerto Princesa and finding them would be a tall order for me to undertake.

I headed to the point unknown to me in the very early morning of June 19 and in a coastal site eastbound I saw flock of Katala perching in a single coconut tree. The total count was 20 pieces. Unlike other endangered species the Katalas are not really afraid of human, that maybe the reason they are very much prone to poaching. I stayed quite a distance from them and noticed they changed location rarely. After about 15 minutes they transferred to a mangrove area along the shore but returned later in the coconut tree. Puerto Princesa is a favoured refuge of these birds and the initiative and efforts exerted by Katala Foundation in conservation and protection of threatened wildlife merits some mega applause.

Katalas perching in dried tree brances

Katalas perching in Mangroves

Flock of Katalas flying against the Sunrise of Puerto Princesa

Out of interest I continued birding south bound from the location of the Katalas and the very first bird I saw were couple of OIive-backed Sunbird with a different appearance, an Aurora sub-species with the male having orange blush on the chest. An immature specie then also joined this couple group afterwards which I mistakenly identified as Lovely Sunbird but Ivan told me the latter could only be seen in forested areas.

Olive-backed Sunbird Aurora Race (Male)

Olive-backed Sunbird Aurora Race (Immature Female)

Olive-backed Sunbird Aurora Race (Female)

Another lifer is Rufuos-tailed Tailorbord, hopping from one tree branch to another with two immatures spotted in opposite direction and down further. It is actually common in Puerto Princesa but still a great find. Eight calls of Hooded Pitta were heard all throughout the place but no single bird showed up, understandably because this bird is really shy and hard to spot. Common Iora was also spotted in the place with its tempting plumage.  

Rufuos-tailed Tailorbird

Rufuos-tailed Tailorbird

Rufuos-tailed Tailorbird

Common Iora

The Ashy-fronted Bulbul came as a surprise addition, perched in very quickly and after my two clicks it flew through canopy of grasses. Big brother Pete Simpson told me this bird used to be called Olive-winged Bulbul but was split and now another part of the Palawan endemic lists. Pin-stripped Babbler, Black-headed Bulbul, Ashy Drongo, White-vented Shama and Slender-billed Crow round off my excellent lifer record in Puerto Princesa.

Ashy-fronted Bulbul

Pin-striped Babbler

Ashy Drongo

Black-headed Bulbul

White-vented Shama

 As a secluded island dubbed as Philippines’ Last Frontier, it is no surprise that there is a higher degree of bird and other wildlife endemism in Palawan. In my early days of birding this is perhaps one of the best birding sites in the country other than Mindanao that I tagged as a must-visit for birding enthusiasts. Suggested sites in Puerto Princesa for birding are the green reserves in its coastal area and the backyard of the more popular Palawan Wildlife and Rescue Center, a 30-minute ride from Puerto Princesa proper.

Rufuos Night Heron

Spotted Dove

1. Philippine Cockatoo
2. Olive-backed Sunbird Aurora Sub-species
3. Rufuos-tailed Tailorbord
4. Common Iora
5. Ashy-fronted Bulbul
6. Pin-striped Babbler
7. Ashy Drongo
8. Black-headed Bulbul
9. White-vented Shama
10. Slender-billed Crow
11. Pygmy Flowerpecker
12. Common Emerald Dove
13. Spotted Dove
14. Zebra Dove
15. Philippine Pied Fantail
16. Great Egret
17. Little Egret
18. White-breasted Woodswallow
19. Hooded Pitta
20. Rufuos Night Heron
21. Asian Glossy Starling
22. Collared Kingfisher
23. Eurasian Tree Sparrow

I have been gratified for this opportunity to be back to Puerto Princesa once again and at least I have been able to do birding. Thank you so much to the assistance extended by Ivan Sarenas, Miss Indira of Katala Foundation, Tourism Office of Narra and Big Brother Pete for always helping me do bird identification. Thank you also to Mt. Apo Protected Area Superintendent Sir Ed Ragaza, Froky and Sir Pablito Ofrecia for considering me to represent the Local Government to the ASEAN Heritage Meeting.

Sawom Dabaw and a Tropical Escape in Governor Generoso

Mountain trail and summit. Coastal and island attractions. Waterfalls. Diving sites. Historic shrines. Good foods. These are things that made me envy of the place in Davao Oriental, the carefree town of Governor Generoso (GovGen). It might have been marketed lesser the way other adjacent towns were introduced in the travel and tourism industry but boy, this municipality can really be a mammoth material not far from now. Despite its silence a lot of people have not left this place unnoticed because despite being situated in the south-eastern tip of the Philippine map GovGen deserves not just one or two but multiple visits.

I personally commend the Visit Davao Summer Festival (VDSF) for including GovGen  into its pool of events and for considering it as the official venue of Sawom Dabaw, a Scuba Diving Festival culminated last June 14-15. Sawom Dabaw is a distinctive event recently included by VDSF in its menu to boosts the rich marine biodiversity in the entire region. It is strongly supported by the Department of Tourism, Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCCSD), Provincial Government of Davao Oriental and Municipal Government of Governor Generoso. Several sponsors from the private sector also backed the event. The two-day dive fest saw several open water, certified and advanced diving enthusiasts, as well as intro divers convened in GovGen to witness altogether in what could be one of the region’s most beautiful dive sites. Below are photos given by Master Diver and Underwater Photographer East Pardillo of two marine species available in Governor Generoso, the Hoippocampus denise and Melibe colemani. 

  

I was fortunate enough to have been invited by the VDFS to join the intro dive with Meggy from San Miguel Brewery, who is also a co-presentor of VDSF this year. It was my second time in GovGen and I have noticed several changes in terms of operating some attractions here when the local government took the management which was previously held by a private entity. This is a proof that the LGU now is capacitated to operate and manage tourism sites as a viable economic industry in Davao Oriental.

To seize spare time we drove to Cape San Agustin by 1:00 in the afternoon on June 14 to take an advance visit to a historic Light Houses in Pundaguitan. It was a quick 15-minute drive from Babak Resort (dive venue). As usual, Cape San Agustin is impressive as it merges history with sparkle of beautiful seascape of three major bodies of ocean namely: Pacific Ocean, Celebes Sea and Davao Gulf. Standing by one of its light houses is an esteem to consider being one of the few persons at halt in the country’s south-eastern dead end.

  

After a short dive we were billeted in El Don Resort, definitely a cosy accommodation in this part of the region with a touch of Mediterranean theme perfect as icing in a tropical setting of Davao Oriental. El Don is the newest offering in the region and its early development further dragged GovGen into the national tourism chart. As a naturalist I don’t usually care about 5-star accommodation whenever I travel. But I was really amazed with what El Don has to offer. The rooms are spacious and built in front of the huge Davao Gulf. The landscape here is synonymous to paradise. Every structure is positioned such that no matter how exhausted you are in a day you will always find solace when you get here. Coconut trees are dominant scene almost the entire resort with mangroves and the green mountain ranges pedicure the eastern side. It is a total luxury to be here despite having difficulty with phone signal. Well, that could be an added reason why you should be here, to propagate peace of mind.

Governor Generoso might have initially savour its present craze on tourism but when we drove back home I realized that tranquillity is still the selling point of this town. The long road here is an intermediary of the mountain and sea, even serving as temporary abode of domesticated animals like goats and dogs. In fact I noticed Meggy as having a whole new perspective of driving here.

My humble take about Governor Generoso is to maintain what it has right now. With nature as major resource of its tourism, regulation should be the name of the game. Local authorities should be sensitive to its environment while it is still there. Regulation in everything: arrivals, carrying capacity, tourism investments and the likes. After all, when destruction starts to wreck havoc to the environment there is definitely no turning back. 

Nature and Heritage Tour in Bulacan

Bulacan has always been a destination that I would want to explore because of the many good attractions and learning sites that the province has, both natural and historical. My first visit in this province was way back 2008 during an immersion tour in Angat Dam in the town of Bustos as part of our workshop sites for the National Arts Workshop.

Last June 6 I revisited Bulacan together with my colleagues in the workplace to conduct benchmarking tour to several important watershed reservation areas in Luzon. Fortunately Angat Dam Rainforest Ecopark was included in the itinerary. The first order of the day was to examine the mechanism on watershed conservation and protection in Angat Dam as a main source of potable water supply in Metro Manila. The Angat Watershed Forest Reserve covers approximately 6,000 hectares adjoining the municipalities of San Jose Del Monte, Norzagaray and Rodriguez. It is also a support system to the Ipo Dam.

Our 4-hour travel from Manila to Norzagaray was spoiled by the information that we could not enter the forest reservation area and view deck due to the landslide brought recently by a typhoon in Luzon. We were instead just entertained by some personnel at the main gate and were given short time to observe the facade of the forested site and the more popular Bitbit River. As a major river system of the Angat Forest Reserve, Bitbit River is a natural water park being developed as domestic ecotourism attraction in Norzagaray. There are small open cottages in the downstream portion of the river. The cold flowing water hosts several community members as a cooling place, while the upstream part is a stretch of blue waters being bounded by green tree canopy.

It was a quick stopover in Bitbit River and we directly travelled back to Bustos for our lunch. The group decided to drive all the way to Malolos to visit two interesting historical sites, the Barasoain Church and Museum of Philippine Political History. Officially called Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Barasoain Church is dubbed as the most important building in the Philippines being the site of the First Philippine Republic. From it hails the first revolutionary congress where the first Philippine Constitution was officially declared. It is also the very place where President Emilio Aguinaldo was inaugurated as first president of the Philippine Republic. Century of years later, President Estrada took his oath as the 13^th Philippine President in Barsaoain Church. With all these historical significance of Barasoain Church it is referred to as the “Cradle of Democracy in the East.”

Walking distance from Barasoain Church is another important historical attraction in Malolos, the Museum of Philippine Political History. It is located within the Paseo del Congreso, Plaza Rizal in Malolos City. Presently it is operated by the National Historical Commission under the Office of the President. The main entrance of the museum presents a beautiful standing frame of Baybayin Fonts, the old writing system of the Filipino commonly called Alibata. The entire coverage of the museum raises awareness about the country’s government system in the past, as well as a defining site for the Philippine Political History. There are two content in the museum that are truly impressive to me personally, the Writ of Japanese Surrender where an inscription on how the Japanese atrocities ended at the hands of the American was framed in a glass platform; and the other one the Interactive Multimedia equipment wherein a virtual tour can be done by just merely pressing the screen monitor.

Norzagaray and Malolos, two beautiful localities in Bulacan that boosts of two opposite selling points, are definitely good places to visit in Luzon.