Mangenguey
Island , Popototan Island , Busuanga Island , Busuanga, Palawan
Date: Jan 14-17, 2006
Birders: Alex Aloy, Gerry de Villa, Emil
Sotalbo, Jon Villasper
Weather: Partly cloudy with a gentle sun
Trip report and bird list by Jon Villasper
TRIP REPORT
LIFERS GALORE!!! AAAAAAAAAAH!!!
Our
trip was a rapid assessment survey of a small island
in Palawan for a private entry with some birding
on the side. There were 4 members in our assessment
team with Propgerry as our team leader and social
profiler, Emil Sotalbo, "Plants of UP Campus" author
as botanist, Alex Aloy, former PEFI biologist, research
assistant in UP and new WBCP recruit, handling the
faunal survey and myself as geographic profiler/great
pretender.
Mangenguey Island is a 2.5km-long island situated
between the island of Coron and Busuanga composed
mostly of metamorphic rock with mostly underdeveloped
vegetation.
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The coastline is generally cliffs and rock outcrops with some
isolated beaches around the perimeter. It is currently inhabited
but was previously occupied by two sets of foreigners.
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We were quite excited coming to the site hoping to
find rarities and a lot of lifers. The night trip
on the ferry was spent reviewing Kennedy et al for
Palawan birds specifically small island specialists.
5:30am on the boat gave us excellent and artful island
silhouettes against the light of the full moon. CAMERA!!!
CAMERA!!! CAMERA!!!
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We arrived at Coron with clear skies and comfortable weather
at around 7am and promptly took the Coral Bay Resort service
boat to the Divelink Resort at the opposite island for breakfast.
A multitude of Asian Glossy Starlings frolicking at the coconut
trees in front of the resort greeted us. After breakfast,
Alex and I went birding at the trail going to the back of
Divelink where we confirmed that birding with no experience
on Palawan birds is interesting and not as easy to say the
least.
Cumulative BIRD LIST(Divelink):
1. White-vented Shama
2. Olive-backed Sunbird
3. Bulbul
4. Asian Glossy Starling
5. Grey-checked Bulbul
6. Yellow-throated Leafbird
A two-hour boat ride took
us to the Coral Bay Resort where we were booked and greeted
by our benefactors. A Grey Heron greeted and patiently waited
for us to definitely ID it at the breakwated. Olive-backed
Sunbirds made themselves heard the whole time as well as some
of the more unfamiliar calls.
After
lunch was a short trip to Mangenguey where the "owners" of
the island gave us a short tour of their future home and the
trail they made for us going to the other end of the island.
At the first part of the walk along the shoreline,
a pair of skinny-looking plovers was observed. Open
collars and a careful comparison to Kennedy made us
realize we were looking at Malaysian Plovers, a male
and a female. These birds were always found at the
same location everyday. Toward the end of the beach,
on a leafless tree beside a large dapdap, we saw a
Pink-necked Green Pigeon. Going through the rather
short trail, we encountered several bird calls but
had some difficulty in lacating or fixing our sights
on them.
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Malaysian
Plover at the beach
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The
top of the island is mostly small 1-2in wide Molave with a
general height of 10-15ft. Letting the majority of the group
go ahead, Alex and I chanced upon a Palawan Tit on a small
branch after figuring out where the multitude of calls were
- a black head with a yellow body with some faint white discoloration
on the underparts. Weirdly though, the body was quite small
and looked more like an Olive-backed Sunbird's but missing
the distinctive orange breast. The familiar sweet-sweet and
chi-weet of the OBS was also missing from the melee of calls.
Towards the end of our return trek, we heard an unfamiliar
but load and sharp whistle-warble call combination
under the larger trees. Propgerry took the lead in
finding the bird with Alex close behind. The call
was loud enough, persistent and inched from one tree
to another to suspect that the bird was just a couple
of meters away form us hidden at the back of the foliage
and did not seem to want to leave the area. I hypothesized
an alarm call. Propgerry and Alex got lucky enough
to see a small green parrot with a red nape. Colasisi!
And in a new range! A quick consultation with Arne
over SMS did not put a definite on the new range hypothesis
but an escapee scenario was suggested. Without any
other evidence of race and considering two sets of
foreigners previously living on
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Olive-backed
Sunbird |
| the island with the first one introducing
coconuts, the latter hypothesis seems more plausible.
The weird alarm call does make one suspect a nest at that
part of the island. |
Alex’s second day on the island produced more
interesting finds including an Osprey and a mystery
bird which he believed to be an Asian Fairy Bluebird,
a Buzzing Flowerpecker and some 2-3 Yellow-vented
Bubbuls mixed with a flock of Olive-winged Bulbuls
– another new range candidate! YVB’s are
not far from this range but the jizz says bulbuls
and they cannot be mistaken with any of the 3 bulbuls
of Palawan.
Alex's
field notes
On
the bluebird:
First
seen gliding form the canopy interior; oriole-sized;
flight pattern similar to O. chinensis; solitary;
seen perching on a leaf-less branch; around 10:30
AM of 1/15/06; vision is reflected due to shimmering
noon sun; predominantly glossy; velvety dark (upperparts,
head, and underswing tail); eyes red; breast appears
to have "scaly pattern"; tail moderate with no forking;
most likely female; no calls heard.
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Pink-necked
Green Pigeon
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On
the flowerpecker:
Small
bird, flowerpecker sized, unmistakable dark (upper) and white
(breast and belly) pattern, solitary, seen briefly with a
group of N. jugularis (3-4 individuals)
As
we left the island, Propgerry told us of his find at the leafless
tree where the Pink-necked Green Pigeon was observed the previous
day. With an unmistakable white-with-black plumage and pigeon
form, he called Pied Imperial Pigeon. More info on this observation
is still pending from the Prop as of posting time.
Cumulative
BIRD LIST(Mangenguey):
1. Grey Heron
2. Great-billed Heron
3. Eastern Reef-egret
4. Malaysian Plover (2)
5. Osprey
6. Pink-necked Green Pigeon (1)
7. Black-chinned Fruit Doved (1 - ho)
8. Green Impreial-pigeon
9. Colasisi (2-3)
10. Common Flameback
11. White-collared Kingfisher
12. Brush Cuckoo
13. Asian Fairy-bluebird (1)
14. Glossy Swiftlet
15. Pacific Swallow
16. Large-billed Crow
17. Spangled Drongo
18. Brown Shrike
19. White-breasted Wood-swallow
20. White-vented Shama
21. Grey Wagtail
22. Yellow Wagtail
23. Grey-checked Bulbul
24. Olive-winged Bulbul
25. Yellow-vented Bulbul
26. Palawan Tit (1)
27. Flowerpecker sp (buzzing high-pitched)
28. Bicolored Flowerpecker (3-4)
29. Olive-backed Sunbird (3)
Back at the Coral Bay Resort,
OBS’s greeted us along with the evil-eyed Asian Glossy
Starlings. I swear Father Merlin would have a field day with
these birds. Birding after breakfast at the mangrove area
right at the back of the resort and during meals and meetings
throughout our stay gave the following list;
Cumulative
BIRD LIST( Coral Bay Resort,
Potpototan Island ):
1. Common Sandpiper (1)
2. Intermediate Egret (4+)
3. Grey Heron (1)
4. Eastern Reef-egret (1)
5. Large-billed Heron (1)
6. White-bellied Sea-eagle (1- ho)
7. Pink-necked Green Pigeon (2)
8. Green Impreial Pigeon (4)
9. Thick-billed Green-pigeon (4)
10. Yellow-throated Leafbird
(1)
11. Asian Glossy Starling (10+)
12. Eurasian Tree-sparrow (<10)
13. Arctic Warbler
14. Black-naped Oriole (5+)
15. Pied Triller (lots)
16. Ashy Drongo
17. Common Kingfisher (1)
18. Island Collared-dove
19. Whimbrel (1 - ho)
20. Blue Flycatcher (ho - pleasant whistles in the mangrove
area)
21. Yellow Wagtail (1)
22. Olive-backed Sunbird
A second day trip to the town of Salvacion (or Busuanga) on
the island of Busuanga for some interviews scared the sh_t
out fo me. Low tide necessitated to take a kayak form the
boat to the pier. Normally lugging a GPS (the P350K tuype),
a digital camera, binoculars, cellphone, noteboo, and my one
and only autographed Kennedy guide. I opted to leave a good
deal of the equipment behind, waterproofed the rest and grabbed
on for dear life to the sides of the boat. At least the scary
part gave me 3 Whimbrels at the far-off sand bar. Although
almost just silhoute\tes, the rather small pointed out to
this species.
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BIRD
LIST (Salvacion, Busuanga Island):
1. Whimbrel (3 - with one rather smaller than the
two)
2. Red-crested Malkoha (2)
BIRD
LIST (Sangat Island):
- Brahminy Kite (1)
All photos except Fig 1 by Agerico M. de Villa
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