Hiking Barangay Jose Rizal’s “Bamboo Peak” (1,106 MASL)

Jump Off Point: Sitio Centro, Barangay Jose Rizal

Elevation at Summit: 1,106 MASL 

Trekking Distance: 4.6 Kilometers

Terrain: Moderate to Rolling   

Difficulty Scale: 3/9 

A new hiking site in Sta. Cruz is a work in progress and will be the first official minor mountain attraction in the North District of this town. Locals call it Buntod Ta Laya and is situated within an Ancestral Domain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. In Bagobo term Buntod means mountain and Laya means Buho, a species of bamboo which is in abundance at the peak. And during our maiden exploration last May 28 we were in unison to call this mountain The Bamboo Peak of Sta. Cruz.

Buntod Ta Laya stands 1,106 MASL and is located at the mountain ranges of sitio Upper Batuno, barangay Jose Rizal. Its peak is a ridge with open plains which could cater for small group camping. The ridge connects to forested areas of Sibulan and Tibolo and forms part of the track off Mt. Libodon. On a clear day a panoramic sites of Coronon, Sibulan and Davao City can be seen. The most dominant scenery though is the huge sugarcane plantation of Astorga, the national highway, the structures of Therma South, Inc. and other companies and the vast Davao Gulf.

The jump off point measures 249 MASL, around 1 kilometer from Barangay Hall of Jose Rizal. The trail measure 4.6 kilometers made up of single tracks and some concrete tire path.  Farmlands of fruit trees, coconut and vegetables made up the vegetation mostly. Some settlements along the trails are also noticed and definitely could become a support-community when tourism takes off here. In a glance Buntod Ta Laya resembles Mt. Loay in terms of topography. This could be another heap for trail running or chill day hikes, a thing that is in during these times of pandemic.

As noticed, the tourism program of Sta. Cruz is geared towards opening new mountain for trekking. First, this town is blessed with a stretch of really good trails, peaks and waterfalls. Second, the Great Outdoors fit well with what is required in the new normal tourism activities. Third, we have good support coming from the locals who fully understood the dynamic of outdoor tourism. And fourth, we have local leaders who have been very supportive to ecotourism program.

Again, I would like to thank my friends in LOGSAC for joining me, together with the Tribal Council of Jose Rizal headed by Matanam Marquez Gunda, in this exploration and documentation climb. Together we have scaled so much sites in this town already and I am more than happy to witness all of them now growing as tourist attractions in their respective barangays. Our continuous search for other sites is still part of decongesting existing areas such as Sinoron, Mt. Loay and Mt. Apo.

As of this writing, Matanam Marquez Gunda and his IPS is already seeking action from the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples to validate the site and to secure Usufruct Agreement in order to formalize ecotourism activity in Buntod Ta Laya.

Birding in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur

Bislig City is the Mecca of Mindanao Birding, as a good friend Alden would put it. Indeed, it is true. I affirmed it just recently when my group The Big Year Davao was invited by Atty. Conrad Cejoco, the good Board Member of Surigao del Sur whom I met sometime 2009. This provincial legislator is on to a serious fight for conservation particularly in the City of Bislig where environmental challenges are obvious. I wish other political leaders learn from him.

The purpose of Atty. Conrad’s invitation is for us to document birds and other wildlife in Bislig which would soon be utilized as baseline for a more detailed conservation plans of the city in particular and the province of Surigao del Sur in general. Thankfully, 3 of the main pillars of The Big Year Davao were there to join the activity in bird expert Pete Simpson, wildlife photographer Alden Fernandez and conservationist Joshua Donato. This team is somehow perfect to quench the outputs that Sir Conrad wanted from us.

The first day of travel had me joining Alden in his car while Joshua joined Pete in his SUV. We arrived in Bislig by 10:30 AM with Sir Conrad meeting us at the Bislig Government Center. After a productive conversation and pre-arranged lunch in Tinuy-an Falls, we started scanning for birds in a site just above Tinuy-an Waterfalls. Immediately we were greeted with good sights of Yellowish Bulbul, Hair-crested Drongo, Buzzing Flowerpecker, Philippine Trogon, Black-naped Monarch and the precious Short-crested Monarch.

The next few hours on day 1 were spent trekking to sitio Sote. I remembered the place very well as it was venue of our immersion program with Mountaineering Federation of Southern Mindanao in year 2009. Nothing has changed much except that the forest cover has decreased dramatically. On the way to our transient hut we crossed a calm but deep river system that connects to Tinuy-an Falls. Prior to crossing the river through a canoe a lone Southern Silvery Kingfisher showed up but very busy catching Damselflies for afternoon snacks. Above the river is flock of mixed birds such as Philippine Leaf Bird, Whiskered Tree Swift, Mindanao Hornbill, Philippine Green Pigeon, Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon and Green Imperial Pigeon. Another 5 minutes of trekking from the river brought us to a hut owned by a tribal leader in Sote where we stayed overnight. The perimeter of the hut is a good refuge of Blue-crowned Racket-Tail, Coleto, White-bellied Woodpecker, Mindanao Hornbill, Black-naped Oriole, Philippine Coucal and White-eared Brown Dove, among others. After a good dinner Pete spearheaded an inventory of night birds in the adjacent forest. The evening cast of owls were almost complete, but the presence of a Mindanao Tarsier stole the show.

Day 2 was a lot bloodier. The trekking to a secondary growth dipterocarp forest was humid with fewer birds. Highlight was an appearance of Black-headed Tailorbird, Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove, Striated Wren-Babbler, White-eared Brown Dove, Philippine Pitta, Black-faced Coucal, Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Mindanao Hornbill and Writhed Hornbill. At around 10:30 in the morning we headed back to the bunkhouse and left for lunch at Mangagoy where Atty. Conrad met us. We completed the second day with a quick visit in Lake 77 and Bislig Airport to see Whistling Ducks, Philippine Ducks, Purple Heron, Black-naped Monarch and few Whiskered Terns in summer plumage. The airport runway served as viewing site for Philippine Night Jar, Watercock, Paddyfield Pipit, Barred Rail and Clamorous Reed Warbler. We concluded the day with another sumptuous seafoods dinner at Sir Conrad’s house and left for River View Inn after some productive conversation.

On to the 3^rd day, a long drive from River View Inn to PICOP’s Road 4 which according to Pete one of the best birding sites in Surigao. At the old cemetery we started the day’s session by recording special birds such as Green Imperial Pigeon, this time with a distant but good background for us to nail some good shots. Handsome Sunbird and Metallic-winged Sunbird are common in the place, too, along with Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove, Philippine Green Pigeon, Asian Koel and Black-faced Coucal. Going north of the road gave us distant view of Mindanao Hornbill, Writhed Hornbill and Rufous Hornbill. We also heard constant calls from Azure-breasted Pitta, Little Slaty Flycatcher and Mindanao Blue Fantail. After close to an hour of staying in Road 4 we finally saw the Celestial Monarch, not being able to perch for a photo session with us but the way it encircled above us was terrible. Bucket. That was good for a suspension of birding and got something for a good breakfast of egg and luncheon meat.

It was getting hot after our breakfast and what better way to cool down was to stay inside a forest trail. The most notable observation was a call from an immature Mindanao Wattled Broadbill which Pete refused to confirm until seen directly. Unfortunately the young bird did not show up. We recognize bird activities inside the forest with good sightings of Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, Rusty-crowned Babbler, Mindanao Pygmy Babbler, Yellow-wattled Bulbul, Yellowish Bulbul, Mindanao Blue Fantail and Rufous-tailed Jungle Flycatcher. We left the forest back to the car park and took an equally excellent lunch of chicken-pork adobo and went for another round of bird check in the cemetery to be reunited with Philippine Trogon, Hair-crested Drongo and an illegally-cut Red Lawaan Tree.

Pete wasn’t convinced to proceed to Road 42 due to a very limited time. We had to drive back to River View Inn to prepare talking points and presentation for another set of meeting with Sir Conrad, the City Administrator (in behalf of the Mayor), the City Tourism Officer and the Manager of Tinuy-an Waterfalls.

We were supposed to leave early for Davao on the 4th day but I insisted to go back to Tinuy-an for further birding, hoping that this time we would spot good angle of beautiful birds there. An early morning trek to a dilapidate resort in the upstream part of Tinuy-an had us seeing the Black-chinned Fruit Dove, Brown Tit-Babblers, Rufous-fronted Tailorbird, Olive-backed Flowerpecker and Southern Silvery Kingfisher, not to mention the Philippine Honey Buzzard being harassed by a Hair-crested Drongo. And just as we were about to take a final groufie opposite the Tinuy-an Falls arc we were treated with a good view of Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove.

To sum it up, this trip is totally different from the usual birding that our team has undertaken in the past. We were there not just to document birds and other wildlife, but at the same time share inputs about doable conservation mechanisms to save the remaining forests of Bislig. In unison we agreed that ecotourism is a viable strategy towards conservation, and that the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) should take the prime step in order to fast track projects and activities. The presence of Paper Industry Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) in Bislig long time ago had taken a toll to its rich biodiversity from the mid-elevation forests down to the coastal sides where the seawater turned into dark brown color.

Lastly, Pete’s report saw 113 birds recorded in our 3 and a half day-tour, 66 of which are endemic in the country. This cumulates only five sites namely: Tinuy-an Falls/Resort, Sitio Sote, Lake 77, Bislig Airport and Road 4 Cemetery. Again, if all of us are bent on keeping all these birds stay in Bislig the best step is to protect the remaining forest in whatever means humanly possible. And that includes, among other things, involving the IPs in conservation, otherwise, they will keep cutting trees in all these sites.

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Counterflow

By Julius R. Paner

As year 2021 approaches there is only one thing I considered certain and that is UNCERTAINTY. Yes, the strain brought by the hostile 2020 will be carried over, which to me could underscore so much questions rather than answers as the New Year unfolds.

Just like you, I yearn for a better 2021. To be able to go back to what we all have been used to in the pre-pandemic glory days. To travel without reservations to places we long to visit and finally check some important pieces in the bucket. To be with anybody else in the planet without the fear of acquiring the virus they referred to as lethal. To be psychologically stable without thinking too much about government policies and guidelines which stigmatized the society.

Just like some of you, I prayed hard that government regulations should favor economic repositioning to gain back the momentum we enjoyed before COVID-19 came into our minds. I am not sure though, if all of us have fully realized that this epidemic appears more in human being’s brain instead of them saying it paralyzes the respiratory system. Just like most of us, I prayed hard that a more comprehensive adaptation mechanism, rather than, as they said, prevention will be employed within all of us.

But for now that we have embraced the COVID-19 existence and that we have shown average tolerance to live life in the bubble, I will be seeking indulgence to live the exact opposite to whom it may concern. When all else wanted to reap good things while spreading hatred and culture of vindication I would rather go to the mountains and look for birds and other wildlife. When all else found splendor over fake news in facebook and twitter I would rather spend time cuddling beautiful memories in the outdoors where face mask is not required and social distancing is as free as the air we breathe. When all else are busy counting COVID-19 positive cases and wrecking their minds of numbers I would rather take my six-string and strum my thoughts out in a personal playlist I have been listening since childhood days. When all else are disinfecting themselves to get rid of the virus I would rather have inner cleansing and be with people I consider friends, I don’t care if they are tagged positive. When all else are praying for the pandemic to be over so that no more cremation of their dead love ones I would rather pray to God to give me strength to accept death as an inevitable phenomenon.

Just like you, I would like to believe that what is happening in the world today is all more of a paradox and there is no amount of community quarantines and lockdowns can settle it. It goes without saying that the best remedy is to deactivate our social media accounts, entertain only good news from your neighbors and pray, just pray. And if you are not inclined of this humble interpretation from this lowly citizen, you can always block or unfollow me in all my social media accounts.

But for as long as you consider me your friend and believe me in the platforms I stood for you can always join me in taking the less-traveled road. For as long as you thought all these things happening are meant for the majority to go with the flow you can always join me in the counter flow.