In January of 1999, I found myself once again in the Philippines. What can I say... other than those islands , people, and culture... is a magnet for me.
While there, visiting family in Cebu, I was able to make arrangements (while at the Cebu zoo) to be guided to one of the most protected and pristine areas of old growth forest, left on the island. There is not much of the original forest left (although quite a bit of second growth), and Cebu was almost completely deforested by poor management practices and logging destruction, that escalated after the end of WWII, up until the late '80s. No doubt, the rarest bird in the RP, and one of the rarest on the planet...was the endemic Cebu Flowerpecker, that was thought to be extinct, until rediscovered in a fragmented patch of forest, in 1992. Another rarity and endemic species of Cebu...was the elusive Cebu Black Shama, which was another species I was hoping to see, that sulked within the bamboo thickets of the park. We were driven from the zoo, out of the city.... to the Central Cebu Natl. Park, about 3 hours away, and a place called "Tabunan". Like many drives in the rural areas of the RP ( "the PI " is no longer a politically correct term to use....so I've heard....yawn.), the road was wide enough for one and a half vehicles (or one bus), in very poor condition, and with no guard rails on the steeper mountain roads. After getting one of the rides of my life, and a greater respect for the driver's skills...we arrived in a valley that was surrounded by mountains, with one being the infamous Mt. Manunggal, where the former president Magsaysay (and 25 0thers) had met a tragic end in a plane crash. While the driver parked the vehicle, we were soon greeted by at least a dozen locals from the squatter homesteads, that speckled the hillside. We walked from there (mostly uphill), and around to the adjacent side of the mountain, until we arrived at the forest ranger's station, and home, at the edge of the forest. We were introduced, and chatted... while the ranger's wife and daughter prepared our box lunch, for the trip in. The path into the forest was wet, muddy, and at times very difficult hiking. After an hour plus hike...we arrived at a very crude makeshift platform, that was constructed overlooking the treetop canopy, to a valley below. The bamboo structure was more solid then it appeared, and the two of us were soon sitting comfortable at the top...after we were told by the ranger (the guide and driver stayed behind, back at the ranger's house...a little strange, yes... but it's the RP) that this was the spot , to see the flowerpecker...if we were indeed , lucky. It looked like rain was coming (again), but it held off while we ate, and I scanned the forest treetops intensely , and had brought a recording, of what the bird sounded like (call) , so I could possibly ID it first, by sound. If you've ever birded in the RP, you must have a recording to play in the thick tangles and forests, or you're not going to lure anything out into sight, and probably not see too much... except for the more common birds. The ranger left, and said he'd be back for us in a few hours for us, and wished us a special good luck in spotting the bird. Experienced birders from all over the world, had spent many hours, and even days on the platform...and never saw it. Experience really didn't matter much here...but luck certainly did. Fortunately for us, we were two of the lucky ones...that did. I first heard the call from behind me, and then saw something fly fast onto a branch near the canopy top (just below us). Scanning for a minute or so, I found myself looking at the colorful species, and easily confirmed the sighting by passing the binoculars to my very good friend...that after a short while, was looking at it, also. I got one more quick look, before the bird took off from it's canopy foraging, to another spot farther away and out of view. On our return walk back to the ranger station, we searched the bamboo thicket outskirts, after the ranger (a very talented guy that could mimic the call of the bird) skillfully called out a Black Shama, to the edge of the thicket. The skies finally let go, and we took cover under a large tree. It was another hour before we had the chance to briefly see the shama...that hopped out onto the path for a moment, before skitishly retreating back into the thicket. Wet and tired, I was very pleased to sign out on the log at the ranger station, and date the time I witnessed these rare birds...that many have not seen. I logged in seeing 19 species of birds (11 that were lifers), 2 species of herps, one species of giant fruit bat (flying fox), plus one species of horseshoe bat, and countless new insects and butterflies.
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