The PAWB Report by Mike Lu

Location: Lagoon area and Lungsod Kalikasan
Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau, Quezon City <known previously as Ninoy Aquin Parks and Wildlfile Nature Center>
Date: February 9, 2003
Birders: Mike Lu, Tina Alejandro, Kitty Arce, Andrew Galano, Mads Bajarias, Tina Guillerme, James Uy, Allan Gil Fernando and his 3 friends from UP

I had arrived 30 minutes early for the meeting time at the PAWB and decided to take a short walk. I headed to the Wildlife Rescue Center area. The birds were flying about but none seem to land anywhere. The first birds I were able to ID were a pair of ZEBRA DOVES perched high up on a tree. I am used to seeing these birds on the ground and this behavior was an unusual sight for me. The cry of the sea eagles in Lungsod Kaliksan is very distracting and I walked towards the lagoon to search for more birdlife.

The tree to the right of the amphitheater was bursting with activity. Four YELLOW-VENTED BULBULS were noisily flying about, perhaps a nest somewhere up there ? The lagoon looked so peaceful with bamboo groves fringing the shoreline. I walked back towards the parking lot and passed a tree with 2 PIED FANTAILS. Walking along the trails, I watched a ZEBRA DOVE foraging on the ground when a BROWN SHRIKE suddenly dove from nowhere and scared the poor dove away. On a grove of leafless trees, I noticed a pair of tiny birds flitting about. I trained my binocs and was rewarded by the sight of 2 GOLDEN-BELLIED FLYEATERS just as I heard someone imitating the birdcalls. I thought it was a naughty kid behind me when a familiar voice complained about being ignored, hehehe ... si Tina pala ! We waited at the car park for the others to arrive. Mads, another Tina

, Allan with 3 other classmates from the UP, Drew. Two Haribon members, Michelle Morelos & James Uy, and Kitty would join us later. I probably had gotten used to watching bigger birds

and had not expected too many surprises today. Mads, Tina and I did get a good glimpse of a mystery bird which we would later identify as an ARCTIC WARBLER.Kitty and Drew had related that migratory ducks were reported to frequent the PAWB lagoon years ago. They stopped coming when the lagoon shores were re-landscaped and offices were built around the lagoon. Many years ago, Sea Turtles were also released in the lagoon, recaptured and released to the sea. Yet last week they caught a sea turtle in the lagoon and is now house in the WRC for eventual release in the wild. The PAWB had also tagged and released some of the Zebra Doves around the park. Perhaps they also released spotted doves because we saw a lone SPOTTED DOVE perched on a tree trunk behind the cages for the forest birds in Lungsod Kalikasan.

I went back to the main gate to look for James, who came in late. In my few minutes of absence, the group reported seeing a pair of cuddling COLASISIS on a eucalyptus tree which borders the Philippine Science High School perimeter wall. Kitty spotted a WHITE-COLLARED KINGFISHER in the island across the lagoon. It came out of the bamboo grove a few times and was gone. While we were waiting for the elusive kingfisher to show itself, suddenly another kingfisher cam out of nowhere and tried perched in the branches justin front of us. It just as easily flew away but the plumage unmistakably identified it as a WHITE-THROATED KINGFISHER.

Today's birding results were better than I expected although we missed out on the Rufous Night Heron spotted by Ned previously. Here's my tally ...

Here's my tally ...
1. Zebra Dove - 3
2. Yellow-vented Bulbul - 4
3. Pied Fantail - 2
4. Brown Shrike - 1
5. Golden-bellied Gerygone - 2
6. Spotted Dove -1
7. Arctic Warbler - 1
8. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Common
9. White-collared Kingfisher - 1
10. White-throated Kingfisher - 1
11. Colasisi - 2