Palawan is an island (area = circa 14K square km) about 600 km south of Manila, and it cradles one of the few pristine patches of rainforest remaining in our islands. I did a 4-day birding sortie in this island-paradise from February 8-11, 2007, my first here and surely not the last. This was more of a scouting trip to set up future forays, so I concentrated my activity in the capital Puerto Princesa.

I got a total of 22 lifebirds, though mostly just of documentary quality. It was tough to bird in a terrain yet unfamiliar to me. I hope to add more lifers and improve the quality of the photos in future visits.


I've organized the photos into 4 sub-galleries (based on location) to facilitate browsing. Likewise, below is a brief journal of the daily highlights of the trip.

DAY 1 (February 8, 2007) - We touched down at the Puerto Princesa airport at a little past 9 am, and we went directly to our hotel. Our guide (Toto Alfas) picked us up from the hotel in a 4x4 Jeep-type vehicle and we motored to an area called Balsahan, inside the Iwahig Penal Colony, about an hour drive from the city proper.

I expected this first day as more of a scouting or "getting-to-know-Palawan better" affair, and indeed it turned out to be. I got some shots of familiar water birds, and five documentary photos of lifebirds - Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Palawan Hornbill, Ashy Drongo and Rufous-tailed Tailorbird. The fifth lifer is a very enteresting one - a Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris, male)! This species is not recorded in the Kennedy Guide and could be a new country record. I've emailed the photos of this bird to concerned birding personalities for their comments.

DAY 2 (February 9, 2007) - I birded most of my second day at Irawan, Puerto Princesa's watershed. Toto's 4x4 didn't have any trouble crossing 5 shallow mountain streams blocking our way up. The weather is cloudy, but I prefer it this way because the diffused sunlight allows me to shoot even at mid-day. I got 7 lifers in this area - Palawan Flowerpecker, Stork-billed Kingfisher, White-vented Shama, Black-headed Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Olive-winged Bulbul and Lovely Sunbird.

Light gets low very early in the afternoon at Irawan because my preferred birding area is blocked by a small mountain to the west. I decided to make a short dash to Montible, a mangrove area adjoining Iwahig. Here, I got to see and photograph my 8th lifer for the day - the very pretty Common Iora.

DAY 3 (February 10, 2007) - My third day was spent exclusively at the Iwahig area - the Balsahan trail for lowland forest birds, and the Iwahig ricefields for water birds. I captured 7 lifers today - Crested Goshawk, Spangled Drongo, Hill Myna, Yellow-throated Leafbird, Striped Tit-Babbler, Pintail Snipe and Long-toed Stint (last three are under ID confirmation). I also got close to a few Egret species and got these full frame, in portrait orientation, with no need to crop further for composition. These full frame captures should be good test prints for a 24"x36" size...:)

DAY 4 (February 11, 2007) - I slowed down on my last birding day, as the first 3 days are very tiring sunrise to sunset drives. This old birdnut couldn't keep up with the frenetic pace. I decided to take it easy and just go out after lunch. I visited some fishponds adjoining a vast mangrove area in Tagburos, about 7 km from the Puerto Princesa proper. This last "decompression" sortie rewarded me with a couple of lifers - the rare Chinese Egret and the tough-to-catch Edible-nest Swiftlet.