Rockjumper Birding Tours - Netfugl.dk

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Upon arrival in Bohol, we drove through a remarkable and scenic landscape with hundreds of
perfectly rounded, grass-covered hills, scattered through the wooded countryside. A very
picturesque sight. We arrived at the nice Chocolate Hills Hotel, checked in, and proceeded promptly
to the famous Rajah Sikatuna National Park situated not far way. It is a large forest area in a
limestone landscape, and a very good birding site with many trails and gorges in the forest. We
spent two and a half days here, and they were very successful. It had been raining heavily for
several days just before our arrival, but to our luck it was sunny and clear almost all of the time
during our stay. The temperature was pleasant, and it was much cooler than on Palawan.
The first afternoon, we birded for 2½ hours from 17 til 19.30 pm, from the big lawn at the entrance
of the National Park Headquarters. The lawn is surrounded by tall forest on hills on each side. The
Philippine endemics Steere’s Pitta and Black-faced Coucal were calling from the jungle. Yellowbreasted
Fruit-Dove and Samar Tarictic Hornbill were crossing over, and in the twilight three,
magnificent Philippine Flying Lemur (or Colugo) soared from one tree to the other, and showed
incredibly well in the torchlight, when sitting on the tree trunks or jumping up along them. What an
experience! It is still unclear to science where this strange animal should be placed in the Mammal
systematism.
Flying Foxes were crossing over. After dark, we heard 3-4 Philippine Scops-Owls, and managed
to see one. Two Philippine Hawk-Owls were heard.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a nice dinner in the restaurant. However, the enjoyment weakened a
bit with the spotting of a big, brown rat crawling on a curtain!
Saturday May 28 th : Bohol, full day birding in Rajah Sikatuna National Park.
This full day in Rajah Sikatuna N.P. was one of the best birding days on the whole trip. We started
out at sunrise around the park headquarters. Then proceeded on a long hike along different trails,
and returned in the afternoon to the headquarters. A rainshower around 13 pm quieted things down
a bit, but after it had cleared, we started birding again. In the morning around the H.Q. best birds
were five Pompadour Green-Pigeons, Black-faced Coucal seen, three Samar Tarictic
Hornbills, Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo, and not to forget, incredible views of the best looking
tailorbird of the Philippines, the Yellow-breasted Tailorbird. Worldwide, it is only found on the
three, small, Philippine islands of Bohol, Leyte and Samar. A fine male was calling and showing off
in the forest edge just behind the headquarters.
Along the hike, one of the highlights of the trip was a stunning Steere’s Pitta, calling in the open
from a tree top, and seen in eye level from a trail through the scope. What a bird! A large, endemic
pitta, with splendid bluish-turquoise, red and white colours. Other great birds along the hike were
Philippine Oriole, Brown Tit-Babbler, Black-crowned Babbler, Blue Fantail, Philippine Leaf-
Warbler, Rufous-fronted Tailorbird, Philippine Trogon and a magnificent Rufous-lored
Kingfisher.
Back at the headquarters, for a lunch break in shelter from a short rain shower. We resumed birding,
and found a nice Streaked Ground-Babbler at the forest edge, along with a Rufous-tailed Jungle-
Flycatcher. We decided to do a last loop trail just behind the HQ, to give the rare and difficult
Visayan Broadbill a last shot, a bird we had been looking in vain for most of the day. And it became
one of the unreal moments of the trip, when Hoddinott revealed this ”needle in a haystack”. David
checked what he thought was a falling raindrop in the leaves, at 50 meters distance through dense
foliage, only to realize that it was a sitting Visayan Wattled Broadbill. It turned out there was a
pair, and we approached them and eventually had excellent views of this star bird! Respect to
incredible Hoddinott. What incredible eyesight.
In the evening, the Colugos were out again, and a Great Eared-Nightjar was displaying over the
forest. Philippine Scops-Owl, Frogmouth and Hawk-Owl were calling from the forest.