Lanzones Resort, a High-end Homestay in Camiguin

This article might be very untimely for posting considering that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the entire Philippine archipelago which eventually causes downfall to all industries including tourism. But I simply could not let  go of an experience here without giving justice to the memorable reception provided to us by the management of Lanzones Resort during our visit in Camiguin last month.

Yes, Lanzones Resort is a high-end homestay which I thought could serve me if I quarantine myself for 14 days and beyond. There is stillness in the place which suits my taste in an accommodation facility. The indoor amenities like bedroom, dining room and living room are all spacious, and the frosty blushes provided natural ventilation which teamed up well with the warm charisma that translates into Camiguin’s overall local hospitality.

There are small close cottages around the perimeter, all about to be completed. We stayed in the big house which is surrounded with huge forest trees and fruit-bearing trees, lanzones among them of course. A team-building park outside presents a swimming pool, courts of basketball, volleyball and badminton and a lawn ready for squat in case you need to hug a verdant landscape.

For a naturalist like me there is no time lost here because Lanzones Resort provides good venue for backyard birding and walking. These are activities you could do in between coffee and Instagram breaks. The entire outskirts serve as garden of common avian species I recorded as follows:

            Asian Glossy Starling                                   

            Black-naped Oriole                                     

            Grey-streaked Flycatcher                            

            Philippine Pied Fantail                                

            Orange-bellied Flowerpecker                      

            Red-keeled Flowerpecker                           

            Large-billed Crow                                        

            Yellow-vented Bulbul                                 

            Eurasian Tree Sparrow                               

            Olive-backed Sunbird                                

            Cattle Egret                                              
            Philippine Coucal 
            Philippine Magpie Robin
            Chestnut Munia 
            White-bellied Munia 
            Barn Swallow
            Pacific Swallow 
            Barred Rail
            Coppersmith Barbet 
            Brown Shrike 
            Collared Kingfisher 
            Brahminy Kite
            Blue-tailed Bee-eater 

In this time where travelling is not the best to undertake, here is praying that the recent crisis will be over sooner than later so that everything will be back to normal, including travel and tourism. If this is so, I have to be back in business as usual and Camiguin will be a sure list in the bucket. I cannot wait to back to Lanzones Resort. 

Urban Birding in LPPCHEA

This is a late narrative of a quick urban birding in Metro Manila particularly in Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA). That was out of my 2-day round table meeting in Intramuros for our latest project on School of Living Tradition conducted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. So, doing a birding in a highly urbanized metropolis seemed not a good idea at all until I learned of this mangrove reservation area located north of coastal Manila highway.

I was in a hurry to catch up with an early morning taxi ride from my hotel in Intramuros in order not to squeeze in to the traffic game in Manila. It was only a 10-kilometer distance from Intramuros but the travel was around 40 minutes and yes, it was still dark in the area when I arrived. This time, I thought of blaming google for not giving enough information (as usual) of the protocols in going to LPPCHEA. Just when I was about to enter the reforestation site I was advised by the security guard to secure a permit first from the DENR office, which means I had to go back to Quezon City for the permit and then back again, otherwise I could not get inside the park.

Meanwhile, PPCHEA is a Protected Area as declared within the coasts of Las Pinas and Paranaque in Metro Manila. It is one of the very few birding sites in Manila, and is considered a critical habitat for variety of wildlife before it was considered for ecotourism purpose.

I spared the most important part of LPPCHEA, a site considered as an abode of the Philippine Duck, and just settled for a roadside birding in the place they call Freedom Trail.

From this point there are waders and other water birds dwelling. Below are some of the pictures I took, most of them just along the Freedom Trail of around 700 meters walk to and from the LPPCHEA entrance point.

I suspect there are a lot more inside and I could have recorded other special species inside had I been allowed to get into the denser portion of the mangrove forest. Nonetheless, it was a good consolation to do birding in Manila. At least LPPCHEA is a good venue for several birds to survive in a very complicated capital city. 

The Birds of Camiguin

It’s good to be back in Camiguin this year to grace the second installment of the Local Government’s continuing program on Climb Camiguin. This time I was working with fellow birders to document the birds in an identified site of Barangay Itum, a jump off point to the new trail in Mt. Hibokhibok. I expected Tonton to join me in this trip but was not able to make it due to equally pressing reasons. However, it was great to have joined some pool of birding enthusiasts from Cagayan de Oro City and Ivan Sarenas, another good birding mentor who is now concentrating his cause on environmental conservation.

The birding schedule was March 2 but as early as March 1 we already started birding with Ivan in the roadside of Itum, just walking distance from the office of the Protected Area Superintendent (PASU) where a lot of dweller species were seen right there and then. To name one, Camiguin Bulbul was all over the place and practically anywhere in the island. This bird is I think one of the largest, if not the largest of all the Bulbul species in the country. I have seen them in greater number this time and noticed them growing significantly in this area, a good proof of an excellent conservation mechanism undertaken by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other stakeholders in Camiguin.

The Camiguin Hanging Parrot is another interesting bird endemic only in the island. Much effort was extended especially on the part of Ivan who was trying to catch one in the wild for a video footage. Unfortunately we only settled to two rescued birds in the PASU office. The rescued birds are expected to be released to its natural habitat anytime within this month and hopefully they will be able to multiply in time.

The Yellowish White Eye, an attractive Camiguin endemic was a good record. For me this is one of the easiest White Eye species to distinguish with all the yellow feature in its whole body. The roadside of Itum must be the most ideal place in Camiguin for birding I saw this bird effortlessly and is quite widespread here. The first time I saw this bird last year was at the peak of Mt. Hibokhibok.

Other roadside birds I personally recorded are Purple–throated Sunbird, and there are actually plenty of them there playing with other residents Everett’s White Eye and the surprising Arctic Warbler. The colorful Purple-throated Sunbirds this time were very friendly I was able to get good photos which I haven’t been in other birding sites in Davao. I was also delighted to finally had good glimpse of the Arctic Warbler which I previously struggled shooting in Cleanergy Park two years ago.

We have spent so much time birding along the road until we decided to go back to the PASU office as it was already getting hot by 10 in the morning. After a short coffee break I joined Ivan in chasing for the Camiguin Hanging Parrot using the rescued birds as bait. Still, the elusive bird did not appear.

I moved a little closer to the forest area and tried to look for the Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, a good-looking bird I last seen in Mapawa Nature Park 4 days before. The female bird responded to my call in four different locations before I could nail a good perspective.

Inside the forest was quite darker than expected due to the lush forest cover. In a bridge within the area I stayed longer to hopefully spot the Dimorphic Dwarf Kingfisher. This is the eight Kingfisher I hoped would be added in my collection but seemed like very difficult to see that time. After almost 1 and a half hours of waiting the bird finally showed up from afar perching shortly in a rattan branch. I had very noisy photo then but after few minutes it transferred to the other side. My photos of this bird still weren’t really good but I managed to get few which I can consider somehow presentable.

The same site offered me presence of the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, a lifer that I consider one of the more colorful flycatchers but not as hyper. And for the second time I also spotted the Camiguin sub-species of Black-naped Monarch, the one having an unlikely black spot in its nape that separate it to the usual species elsewhere.

A good personal record of 47 species is quite good enough for me. Definitely more species to explore in my next sessions in the future:

            Camiguin Bulbul

            Camiguin Hanging Parrot

            Black-naped Monarch

            Dimorphic Dwarf Kingfisher

            Mangrove Blue Flycatcher

            Rufuos Paradise Flycatcher

            Purple-throated Sunbird

            Brown-throated Sunbird

            Olive-backed Sunbird

            Yellowish White Eye

            Everett’s White Eye

            Arctic Warbler

            Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

            Red-keeled Flowerpecker

            Tawny Grassbird

            Brahminy Kite

            Philippine Serpent Eagle

            Grey-faced Buzzard

            Ridgetop Swiflet

            Philippine Magpie Robin

            Philippine Pied Fantail

            Yellow-vented Bulbul

            Scaly-breasted Munia

            Chestnut Munia

            Red-breasted Pitta

            Barred Rail

            White-breasted Waterhen

            Little Egret

            Cattle Egret

            Javan Pond Heron

            Asian Glossy Starling

            Brown Shrike

            Collared Kingfisher

            White-eared Brown Dove

            Camiguin Hawk Owl

            Spotted Dove

            Philippine Coucal

            Amythyst Brown Dove

            Black-faced Coucal

            Philippine Cuckoo Dove

            Zebra Dove

            Barn Swallow

            Rock Dove

            Pink-necked Green Pigeon

            Ameline Swiflet

            Asian Palm Swift
            Coppersmith Barbet

To round it up, Camiguin Island is one of the best birding sites in Mindanao and even in the Philippines. With the level of endemism here it is easy to say that birding is the next good activity to be offered to its tourists. For two consecutive years of birding here I am personally impressed how the birds grow in number. It is important, though, to always craft policies and guidelines in order to align the local government’s aspirations to that of the DENR.

Thank you very much to the Provincial Tourism of Camiguin for always inviting me in your Climb Camiguin program. To a very good friend Candice, the Tourism Officer I am always gratified for always considering me to visit your very beautiful island. Potpot Pinili, you are always the man Pot. I wish to see you in other parts of the country soon.