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Birds of the Philippines

Photos and videos of wild birds found in the Philippines. We travel all over the Philippines to document and take pictures of birds. Our goal is to make this site a resource of information and images about wild birds of the Philippines.

  1. Birds By Location

Batanes

We visited the islands of Batan and Sabtang. It was our first time to visit any part of Batanes. The view and and birds were amazing. We had a good number of new birds and a great time.

Unless we visit Itbayat, this could be the furthest North we will reach for birding in the Philippines.
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COMMON SANDPIPER on top of a roof!
<i>Actitis hypoleucos</i>
Batan, Batanes
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COMMON SANDPIPER on top of a roof! Actitis hypoleucos Batan, Batanes

common sandpiper

  • WHIMBREL
<i>Numenius phaeopus</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines
  • WOOD SANDPIPER
<i>Tringa glareola</i>
Batan, Batanes
  • COMMON SANDPIPER on top of a roof!
<i>Actitis hypoleucos</i>
Batan, Batanes
  • SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER
<i>Calidris acuminata</i>
Sabtang, Batanes, Philippines

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/shore/Sharp-tailed-Sandpiper/19914610_g8cJBw">Sharp-tailed Sandpiper gallery</a>
  • COMMON SNIPE
<i>Gallinago gallinago</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/shore/COMMON-SNIPE/19931733_CpMp9X">Common Snipe gallery</i>
  • LONG-TOED STINT
<i>Calidris ruficollis</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

note the long toes!
  • BLACK WINGED STILT 
<i>Himantopus himantopus</i>
Sabtang, Batanes, Philippines
  • PHILIPPINE CUCKOO DOVE
<i>Macropygia tenuirostris septentrionalis</i>
Batan, Batanes

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/Doves-and-Pigeons/Philippine-Cuckoo-Dove/8609354_7KbTgn">Philippine Cuckoo Dove gallery</a>
  • CHESTNUT-EARED BULBUL
<i>Microscelis amaurotis batanensis</i>
aka Brown-eared Bulbul
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/Bulbuls/Chestnut-eared-Bulbul/20054936_SxhhGj">Chestnut-eared Bulbul gallery</a>
  • BLUE ROCK-THRUSH
<i>Monticola solitarius</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/Robins-Shamas-and-Thrushes/Blue-Rock-Thrush/7800482_BsTzzB">Blue Rock-Thrush gallery</a>
  • ZITTING CISTICOLA 
<i>Cisticola juncidis brunniceps</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

This is the <i>brunniceps</i> subspecies found in Batan, Ivojos, and Sabtang.
  • YELLOW  WAGTAIL, immature
<i>Motacilla flava</i>
Basco, Batan, Batanes

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/Wagtails-and-Pipits/Yellow-Wagtail/7339332_ZzxLnc">Yellow Wagtail gallery</i>
  • WHITE WAGTAIL
<i>Motacilla alba</i>
Batan, Batanes

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/Wagtails-and-Pipits/White-Wag/19897508_JP4SKb">White Wagtail gallery</a>
  • WHITE WAGTAIL
<i>Motacilla alba</i>
Batan, Batanes

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/Wagtails-and-Pipits/White-Wag/19897508_JP4SKb">White Wagtail gallery</a>
  • WHITE-SHOULDERED STARLING
<i>Sturnus sinensis</i>
Sabtang, Batanes, Philippines

You can see the sky through its nostril!

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/wss/White-shouldered-Starling/19956512_cF8vWx">White-shouldered Starling gallery</a>
  • WHITE-SHOULDERED STARLING
<i>Sturnus sinensis</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/wss/White-shouldered-Starling/19956512_cF8vWx">White-shouldered Starling gallery</a>
  • CHESTNUT-CHEEKED STARLING
<i>Sturnus philippensis</I>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

more pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/wss/Chestnut-cheeked-Starling/20053393_KDzMFg">Chestnut-cheeked Starling gallery</a>
  • LOWLAND WHITE EYE
<i>Zosterops meyeni</i>
Batan, Batanes, Philippines

<i>batanis</i> race which is slightly larger and brighter than <i>meyeni</i>.

More pictures in the <a href="http://tonjiandsylviasbirdlist.smugmug.com/List/w-eye-sparr-mun/lwe/7311600_3PGDwv">Lowland White-eye gallery</a>
  • EURASIAN TREE SPARROW
<i>Passer montanus</i>
Batan, Batanes

We went birding in Batanes for 6 days. We timed our trip to coincide with the long school break as well as the migration season. We were hoping to catch some arriving migrants, but we didn't really know what kind of birds to expect in Batanes at this time of the year. Christian had visited Batanes before when he was not a birdwatcher and the rest of us had never been to Batanes before.

Our first day started off very well when soon after checking-in, we saw several Great Cormorants from the veranda of our hotel. We were able to follow them on foot to the pier where they were swimming around. Then, on our way back to the hotel we saw our first White Wagtail in a canal. We didn't know it yet then, but the White Wagtail was to be a common sight during our trip.The most common birds in Batanes were the Cattle Egret, Pacific Swallow, Blue Rock Thrush, Brown Shrike, Lowland White-eye and Eurasian Tree Sparrow. The Chestnut-eared Bulbuls were also common and noisy, but difficult to view.

Later in the the day, went to a pond and saw 2 Spot-billed Ducks flying overhead. It seemed like they were not willing to land while we were in the area. They landed eventually, but immediately took cover in the grass. Later in the trip, we were very pleased to encounter other Spot-billed Ducks that were more comfortable being approached and photographed. Our guide for this trip was Roger Amboy. He is not really a bird guide but he is good at arranging transportation and knows the area very well. 

On our second day in Batanes we saw 2 Common Kingfishers. They were the only kingfishers we had for the entire trip. Batanes seems devoid of any Swiflet, Sunbird and Flowerpecker, which are so common everywhere else. We watched a Peregrine Falcon skirmishing with a White-bellied Sea Eagle in mid-air! We were surprised that the smaller Peregrine Falcon looked like the aggressors. There were 2 Peregrine Falcons and they appeared to be protecting that ridge area of the mountain. Like the first day, we went around Batan in a van that we rented from Roger Amboy. We were all looking for birds along the road and stopped the van whenever we saw something interesting. Roger also took us into the areas with forest, but we didn't see many birds there. We were hoping to see the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, but we didn't see it. We were told that it is easier to hear and spot during breeding season.

On Day 3 of our Batanes trip, Christian suggested that we cross by boat to Sabtang island where the stone houses are older and more authentic-looking. The entire island is very pretty, with long stretches of white sand beaches. On Sabtang we birded from the roof of a Canter truck that we rented through Roger Amboy. A few minutes into our truck ride, we saw a White-shouldered Starling perched on a wire. We had very good long views from the truck roof. We headed for a big pond on the island and found Little Grebe, Great Cormorant and 7 kinds of ducks: Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Spot-billed, Eurasian Wigeon, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, and Tufted Duck. After a late lunch, we had to head back to Batan as the waves were already getting big and we didn't want to risk getting stuck on the island. We didn't have to worry though about getting left behind by the boat as the driver of our truck was also the pilot of the Sabtang-Batan boat! We made a short stop at a bridge that overlooks a creek on the way back to the hotel after our Sabtang trip. We saw a Long-toed Stint along with the usual suspects.

It rained on our fourth day in Batanes. We were planning bird for 3 hours in the morning, take a break and do non-birding activities, and then go owling at night. But we ended up birding during our break as well. Tonji "discovered" a new site -- the town plaza! After we saw one White-shouldered Starling in Sabtang, Tonji noted that the starlings there were usually seen in the town. So he made a mental note to check the nearby town plaza in the Batan side that had a big grassy field bordered by trees with small white fruits. His hunch proved correct! There were also starlings in the Batan side. So we all ended up birding in the big grassy field at the plaza for most of the  afternoon. It was nice to have a birding site that was just a short walk from our hotel.

At 5pm we went to a house of a friend of Roger Amboy's to look for owls. The friend said that the owls would perch so close by that his family sometimes couldn't even sleep from all the owl sounds. His place was inside the forested area near a stream. We saw a lot of big bats and lovely fireflies but the owls were heard only. Of course, the following day Roger told us that about an hour and a half after we left, the  3 owls flew in and perched nicely on a tree.

Our 5th day in Batanes was very rainiy. We were booked to leave the next day, but Seair cancelled our flight and rebooked us one day earlier. But, the new flight ended up getting cancelled because of the strong rain. We birded in the plaza in the morning before leaving for the airport. It was amazing to see starlings and snipes right in the middle of town. We also birded from the hotel when we got back from the airport. We all observed a Reef Egret in white phase from the hotel. It was hunting for food from an exposed rock sticking out from the shore. It would transfer from one exposed rock to another. Robert saw 1 Fork-tailed Swift, also from the hotel.

On our last day in Batanes. We birded in the plaza before our flight back to Manila. Mixed among the White Wagtails feeding in the grassy field were smaller, browner wagtails. They turned out to be immature yellow Wagtails. Our last Batanes birds for the trip were 2 Little-ringed Plovers on the runway of the airport.
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