Wishes do come true

It's a Foggy Friday morning. It's a short trip to our destination but the thick fog slows down traffic on the highway. At one point, visibility went down to 5 meters that we were forced to stop by a petrol station. It's still too early so we decided to wait out for the fog to lift and had breakfast at one of the food stores there.

Our destination is Al-Mekaines farm or Irkkya farm.  Back in the Philippines, I would scout this place looking at google maps. I called it crop circles because of the shape of the greenery.  These are big circles with diameters of up to 750 meters. This farm is a grass farm. Yes you read it right, it's a grass farm. They plant nothing but grass.

Early morning fog at Irkkya Farm

Entering the gates of the farm, I could already see birds fly across the road. I switched to birding mode and hoped that I would see my target bird, the Eurasian Hoopoe. I've been wishing to see this bird for the longest time. It's been on the top of my most wanted list for many years now. Excited, I prepped my camera and bins and started scanning the horizon.  Birds were singing all around us but all I could see are the birds I regularly see in the city like the Laughing Doves, House Sparrows and the now common Crested Larks. I saw my first lifer after just a few minutes in the area, a Grey Francolin. Then another lifer. A very short glimpse of a Eurasian Golden Oriole and the Namaqua Dove.

There are a lot of birds here. In just under an hour I started racking up lifer after lifer. Western Marsh-Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Eurasian Hobby, Common Kestrel. Saw two species of wagtails, the Yellow and White. There was the Daurian Shrike, the Southern Gray Shrike and a Blue-cheeked Beeeater.

Southern Gray-Shrike

In another section of the farm, waterbirds abound like Terns, Egrets, Plover, Sandpipers and Stints. A Bar-tailed Godwit showed up just 4 meters in front of us. Unmindful of our presence, it just kept on probing the soil for food and looking at us from time to time.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Mercury level started to rise after two hours but still I couldn't find the elusive hoopoe.  I was starting to lose hope and was just contented by watching the aerial dance of the raptors. We were cruising in a rather faster than normal birding speed when suddenly we flushed a bird on my side of the vehicle. I started yelling, Hoopoe! Hoopoe! Hoopoe! And there it was, the Eurasian Hoopoe landed just a few meters in front of us.  I hurriedly grabbed my camera, hands shaking, heartbeat racing, aimed and as soon as focus acquired, I fired away. And as soon as the camera started clicking it flew away.  Seeing the bird on the ground was awesome but seeing it in flight was majestically awesome. It has a very unique feather pattern, a pattern which is so distinguishable even from afar. 

Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

It landed just a few meters away so I decided to put down the camera and just enjoyed the bird with my binoculars.  I was hoping that it would raise its crest but it did not.  Had a very good view of my most wanted bird. I was smiling, I was a happy birder.  With that super lifer, my day was complete.

On our way out, we saw a pair of Cream-coloured Courser, a Greater Hoopoe-Lark and a very obliging Spotted Flycatcher.

Spotted Flycatcher

With all of us satisfied with the number of species seen we exited the gate, thanked the guard and drove back to the city.

My wish came true that day. I am happy!

The Northern Exposure

Last month, me, Jude Sanchez and Adri Constantino went on a mini-expedition to the northern fringes of Luzon to find a place or choke point for migrant raptors before they depart for Taiwan.  Three towns of the province of Cagayan were the target destinations of this trip: Claveria, Sanchez Mira, and Pamplona. A sidetrip to Laoag, Ilocos Norte was also scheduled to visit WBCP member Richard Ruiz who is based there.

We left Manila at 4:30 in the morning with Jude designated as the first driver of the trip. I took over the driver's seat at SCTEX. We had our breakfast at Carmen, Pangasinan. After a long and tiring 11-hour travel, we arrived in Laoag and went straight to Richard's place. Our final destination is only 2-3 hours away but we decided Laoag will be our first night stop for the trip. At 6:00 am the following day, we ordered our take-out breakfast and proceeded to Cagayan.

The team with our lunch host and the incoming mayor of Candon, Ilocos Sur

First stop was at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte to check out the Kalbario-Patapat National Park.  The park is composed of a few mountain peaks with very good forest cover. This is a place which deserves another trip just for birdwatching. Adri, who was on a vacation in a nearby resort many years ago said they only penetrated the lower slopes of the mountain.

The northern section of the Kalbario-Patapat National Park

After crossing the Ilocos Norte-Cagayan boundary, we accidentally discovered a site that is a candidate for a good raptor observation point.  I got off  first and checked out the area for possible raptors. Less than a minute after stepping out of the vehicle, raptors were heard and seen thermalling. Serpent-Eagles, Buzzards and Falcons to name a few. I recorded the GPS coordinates and then we moved on to the town of Claveria.

A Serpent-Eagle rides a thermal (photo by Adri Constantino)

We have two target sites in the town of Claveria: A promontory and a resort which sits on top of a hill.  We went to the resort first to check out the rates and possible accommodations for future birding trips in the area. As Jude was talking to the caretaker, Adri and I were scanning the area for birds.  This was the time I saw my first lifer for the trip. Adri showed me the bird and it was an Eyebrowed Thrush. LIFER!  I was so happy, I just wanted to seat on the bench and look at the Thrush. Throughout our stay there,  I saw a Scale-feathered Malkoha, Philippine Bulbuls, a Serpent-Eagle, a male Luzon Hornbill, and three Colasisis.

The caretaker of the house was a former resident of Sanchez Mira so we asked him to ride with us and show us where the raptors can be found. It was my turn to drive so I told them that we are heading first to a promontory and check it out for another possible observation point. I saw this when I was reviewing the satellite photo of the area back in Manila. Upon reaching the area or the Bantay Kalbo trail, we decided that all of us are climbing the hill. On top was a 360 degree view of the place. Babuyan group of islands to the north and the towns of Claveria and Sanchez Mira to the south. Took some customary landscape pictures and then we're off to Sanchez Mira.

On our way to the promontory at Bantay Kalbo trail in Claveria, Cagayan

Arriving at the town of Sanchez Mira we immediately went around the area where the caretaker said they see thousands of raptors during the months of March and April. We went there early in the season so we haven't seen kettles of raptors yet. Another trip is needed to confirm the presence of raptors. We decided not to go to the last town as it was already getting late and we still have to go back to Laoag. We have already accomplished our mission objective.

Our last "tourist" stop on our way back to Laoag.
Bangui Windmills, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

We dropped off the caretaker at the resort and drove back to Laoag where 2 more lifers are waiting for me.