When the General Manager of the hotel "saw a strange man poking about" a few days earlier he confronted him. That strange man was me and when I told him I was looking for birds, it set in motion a series of event that led to this birding excursion. Rewind a fer days to when we first arrived, I asked about birding tours and they were not aware of any. But when I was talking to the General Manage Dietmar Platz, he told me that there really was birding tour. Dietmar thought the tour started at 4:30 AM but luckily it started a 6:00 AM. I'll take that extra sleep every time. My alarm went off and I slapped on some clothes, took my pre-packed wet bag and went outside. I saw a bunch of LBJ's (little brown jumpers) in the bush by the pool so I tried to take a picture but my camera fogged up with condensation. Grrrr! I had a box breakfast to take with me so I ate it in the car on the way to the mangrove area. We had to take a bamboo raft type of ferry across the river. Then we hiked the jungle trail a mile or so through the jungle, slipping, sliding, climbing under and over trees and getting rained on. I got five life birds on this section and then we returned on the same path. Then we went back over the river on the bamboo raft and boarded outrigger to paddle the river. We went up the river and saw the Stork Billed Kingfisher (lifebird #6), and a collared kingfisher. There was a common sandpiper there as well but that was all she wrote for the river. The guide had originally wanted to paddle the river first but the boatman was not there when we arrived so we paddled it much later in the morning. So it goes, I was pleased with the outcome anyway.
Scaly breasted munia and foggy lens
No one is home at the office
Crab poos
I am guessing the bamboo boardwalk is not functional
Either way there is no boatman to take us out
Lets leave this swamp
But wait, there is a Palawan Drongo across the river Lifebird #1
This is our way across the river but it is on the wrong side!
My guide figures it out and pulls the other rope
View from the bamboo raft
Spot Throated Flame Back Lifebird #2
The view from the raft
We are on the trail
The trail is muddy
Wet
Steep and sketchy in places
Fungal take over
The wood from this tree is used for guitar making
Swampy
Yellow Throated Leaf Bird Life Bird #3
Climbing up the muddy steps
Find that bug!
Monkey monkey
A very pleasant shroom
Rufus Tailed Tailorbird Lifebird #4
Sulphur Breasted Bulbul Lifebird #5
Back out on the beach
A ringed snake
Beginning part two of the bird quest
Burl or bees nest
Trees off int he distance
Collared Kingfisher
A blue beauty. I have seen this bird before but the Stork Beaked Kingfisher was too fast for bme to get a shop but is was lifebird #6
the roots of the mangroves were massive
The leaves on these trees were stripped in the last typhoon
A lush landscape
Bluffs up on high
Another sandpiper
Mangrove roots
Monitor Lizard
I'll monitor the situation and eat whatever moves
The bird watching boardwalk is no longer in operation
That is what the monkey told us
Maybe he would lie to us, we never got eye contact
Heading back
Passing pythons
And more monitor lizards
Nice purple flower
Two cattle, two cattle egrets
A bigger buffalo required a larger entourage
Cud chewing time
Frangipani
