It was a joy to be back amongst waders and shorebirds albeit in very limited numbers. These birds have this unique appeal whether resident or migratory; it’s difficult to explain why. Clearly the migratory ones have a big story to tell as they move around the planet often embarking on an annual circumpolar migration. Tibsoc itself has been recognised as an important staging post along the East-asian Australian Flyway, a great honour to The Philippines, the province of Negros Occidental and in particular to a handful of key politicians and scientists in and around Baranggay Tibsoc, see below.
It’s quite literally a 90-minute bus ride from Bacolod City and the bus stops right outside the entry point to the amazing mangroves that have been developed over recent years. Now that I have been, I can only say I will probably become a regular visitor. As previously intimated this trip was intended as a nothing more than fact-finding, checking out the viability of travelling by public transport and the lie of the land. I had no intention of exploring the mudflats on my own but I did meet the official baranggay bird guide and next time she has agreed to show me the main action areas. I didn’t know such an official existed! So, all in all, from a logistical perspective this trip was hugely successful even if the wader count was very low
What is immediately striking, even from walking along the access path, is how ‘accessible’ the birds are. I was immediately able to see a Garden Sunbird, a Brown Shrike, some Peaceful Doves and a pile of egrets and Black-winged Stilts in the fish ponds that were on either side of the access track. I sat down at a table just outside the entrance to the boardwalk through the visitor centre and caught a Barred Rail skulking off into the darker parts of the mangrove; there were a couple of Brown Shrikes flying around, more Peaceful Doves together with a few Visayan Pied Fantails. My word these latter birds looked incredibly fit and well in comparison to the ones that hang around where we live in Bacolod.
By complete chance I ended up having a brief conversation with a man who was out for an early morning wander. He told me he was the previous baranggay captain and had played a key role in the actions which led to the mudflats gaining protection including RAMSAR designation, meaning this is a very important site. There are four such designated sites in The Philippines. This guy was a walking encyclopedia of everything Tibsoc: he spoke about the different types of wood in the mangrove, crustaceans, birds, everything including the history of the area which he told me had previously served as the main port linking the north of Negros to Guimares, Panay and other parts of The Philippines. When I got home I had to rewatch the excellent http://www.rappler.com-produced video about these mudflats. It can be viewed here and it confirmed that my mystery expert was none other than Dr Jilson Tubillara. You can hear Dr Jilson talk from about the 13:00 minute time frame but I would strongly recommend watching the complete video. For your information you can hear Dr Jilson talk from about the 13:00 minute time marker but I would strongly recommend watching the complete video. The soundtrack is a mixture of Tagalog and English but the footage is awesome and there are good subtitles. For your information http://www.rappler.com‘s CEO is the Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa – it is my go-to source for news and comment on The Philippines.
The actual birding was a little disappointing as I was not planning to walk out onto the mudflats today and as Dr Jilson and the baranggay guide, Rose Faith Paas, subsequently confirmed, the best place for birds is on the side opposite this area. Next time! Anyhow I am always pretty content being in the open air and having the opportunity to watch birds. On arrival at the head of the boardwalk a White-browed Crake scarpered into the depths of the mangrove; a pair of Common Kingfishers were on the premises too and one even perched momentarily on one the bamboo poles on the little pier; on clocking me it too scarpered. A solitary Greenshank was nearby but in the distance I could see a lot of egrets, some pond herons and a little or striated heron. Unfortunately a group of workers plus their radio arrived to carry out repairs on the platform: no doubt their noise and movement did little to attract birds in as the tide flowed inwards. No real worries as there will still birds: I managed to pick out a Gerygone, a pair of Yellow Bitterns, a Common Redshank, a Pacific Golden Plover and a number of Whiskered Terns that used the water channel as a kind of guide. I set up the scope and a brief scan confirmed one Whimbrel and a Pacific Swallow in the distance; I’d call the wader a Whimbrel on account of its standout head features, especially the pronounced white supercilium and black crown stripe. I need to brush up on being able to connect fieldmarks to species: for instance I had forgotten how to distinguish Great and Intermediate egrets on the basis of their under eye features. So a lot of fun lies ahead and it was probably just as well that I wasn’t confronted with sandplovers and the rest!
No sooner had I headed back from the boardwalk to relax at the big table than the builders and their radio joined me to cut up various bits of bamboo! I headed off to a nearby creak where a local guy very kindly gave me the use of a chair. I had great views of a Chinese Egret and there was a fair bit of fast-paced action in the mangrove. A Pied Triller flashed in and out while a Lesser Coucal crossed over.
It was had work identifying the egrets but I feel confident the opening shot above is a Chinese Egret. There is no evidence of breeding plumage yet, but I make my claims on a close examination of this fellow’s bill. To quote Robson it has ‘ … upper mandible black to brownish-black, lower mandible yellowish-flesh to yellowish with contrasting blackish terminal third. Facial skin pale greenish to greenish-yellow.’, (Robson, A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South-East Asia, 2008). This one really looks the ticket. The above egret I take as a Little Egret in breeding plumage … I am a little hesitant because it seems biggish and a little bulky but I think the other egrets have significantly more identifiable field marks. What fun it is looking at these shorebirds. On the balance of probabilities I will say it is a Little Egret – whether I am right or wrong it is beautiful to look at , Marilyn Monroesque!
On the dodgy front, if my homily on egrets is not adequate, I attempted to take a flight shot of a passing Whiskered Tern. I offer these shots simply as a baseline starting point and hope that gradual improvement will occur with practice! In fact improvement is obvious in the two shots below!
On the way out I needed to rehydrate. I decided to sort out my gear before heading to the onsite sari-sari shop in the baranggay grounds. Rose Faith Paas came out and introduced herself. She very kindly let me gorge myself on her ice cold water font. She was amazed to learn that I am Scottish as another regular birder in the site is also a Scot. Small world and no doubt we will meet in due course!
So a perfect ending to a successful day’s birding at Tibsoc mudflats. Next up I need to buy a pair of waders, you know the gumboos favoured by anglers who like to wade into the water and cast flies on the surface to lure poor unsuspecting salmon and trout!
Dodgy Birds 