by Mads Bajarias

Date: March 1, 2003
Time: 7am - 3pm
Birders: just me
Location: Mt. Makiling (extent: entry from UP Los Baños until the area where sari-sari stores have sprouted halfway to Peak 1)
Weather: humid, cloudless

I started out at 7 am and until 12 am i haven’t seen anything new except for 2 endemic Yellow-wattled bulbuls perched on a heliconia.

The Red-crested malkohas were noisome and showy among the trees near the Forestry Dorm. I also noted that they were quite larger this time. The Malkoha’s constant companion, the Balicassiao was also present.

At around noon, I haven’t seen anything else and I was beginning to feel superstitious. Silly little thoughts crept on me: Should have worn my lucky shirt, my lucky water bottle, my lucky socks, etc., etc. Then I got lucky. Three hairpin turns after the main trail coming from Flatrocks, I veered into a side trail to the left. The side trail is wide enough for a horse to pass through. While following this trail, a birdwave passed through. It sounded like a marketplace on Sundays. Whistles, churckles, hoots and whatnot.

First, Balicassiaos, Red-crested Malkohas, then a single female Rufous-Paradise Flycatcher. In the same area at the same time I also saw Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker, Blue-headed fantail, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Philippine Trogon and Red-bellied Pitta.

A word on the Pitta: While I was chasing (futilely) after the Rufous-Paradise Flycatcher, hoping I might stumble into a male, I saw what looked like a child’s ball drop to the ground. The ball had a bright blue upside and bright red red below. The ball looked at me with eyes on a brown head.

The the ball hopped along. I noticed the Pitta flicking its stubby tail. It saw me but didn’t seem very concerned. I was only 10 feet from it. While I followed the Pitta, I went deeper into the underbrush and was disoriented. I spent half an hour looking for the trail when I stumbled into a stunning Philippine trogon. It was in dense understorey. Absolutely beautiful.