Mag-alambak, Dalaguete, Cebu
October 29, 2006
7:15am to 1:00pm
Trip report and bird list by Mads Bajarias
All photos by Bobby Kintanar
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Mag-alambak is halfway between
the poblacion of Dalaguete and the upland town of Mantalongon
(which in the last few years have been heavily hyped as
the "vegetable basket" of Cebu.
Old-timers remember Mantalongon as one
of the places where Cebuano lowlanders fled Imperial Japanese
troops. Allied propaganda had painted the Japanese troops
as bloodthirsty devils so when their advanced team came
to town riding bicycles in broad daylight, a few residents
who didn't flee for the hills, didn't know what to think
of this invading army. |
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In the 70s, orchids were still common at appropriate
elevation and sport-hunters looked for long-tailed
macaques.
Nowadays, Mag-alambak is one of the few forest patches
remaining in the area. Its been touted to be a reforestation
area of the DENR but I don't know what sort of protection
the habitat receives as land claimants continue to
build houses on one hand and vegetable farms are widening
on the other.
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Everett's White-eye |
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A pair of Pied Trillers |
Last
time I visited, land claimants had erected houses
on one side of the stream that runs parallel to my
short birding trail. Today, when I arrived at 7am,
I was greeted by the sound of an axe chopping wood.
As I entered the trail, the chopping stopped; to one
side of the trail, I saw a freshly-felled tree. I
knew that the wood-chopper was hiding behind a large
limestone boulder by the trail (he's probably just
a child told by his parents to get firewood).
When I enter a side-trail, I expected the chopping
to resume but it didn't. Philippine bulbuls were noisy
and active among the fruiting trees. |
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| I lucked
on a perched Philippine Cuckoo-Dove. I spent the time
examining each bulbul and flowerpecker, hoping to chance
on a Streak-breasted Bulbul and a Cebu Flowerpecker.
I didn't find one.
The Crimson Sunbirds were also out
in pairs and quite vocal.
1. Chinese Goshawk (Accipiter soloensis) - 1 perched
2. Philippine Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia tenuirostris)
- 1 perched
3. Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta) - 5
4. Pygmy Swiftlet (Collocalia troglodytes) - 2
5. Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) - 1
seen, more heard
6. Pied Triller (Lalage nigra) - 2
7. Philippine Bulbul (Hypsipetes philippinus) - c.70
8. Elegant Tit (Parus elegans) - 15
9. Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) - 1
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Red-keeled Flowerpecker |
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10. Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata) - 2
11. Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis) - 5
12. Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta) - 1
13. Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis coelestis) - 8
14. Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) - 2
15. Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis) - 4
16. Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis) - 1 male
17. Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) - at least 6 pairs
18. Red-keeled Flowerpecker (Dicaeum australe) - 12
19. Everett's White-eye (Zosterops everetti) - 12 |
