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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dwatsonbirder" data-source="post: 3340898" data-attributes="member: 92203">Philippines & Kuala LumpurThe Philippines feels a very long way away indeed as I write this in a cold UK, but that was exactly where we were headed next.Our first port of call was Manila, as flights from KK to Cebu had been cancelled earlier in the year. This basically resulted in two wasted days, as we had to overnight in Manila before making our way from Cebu to Bohol via ferry. The travel days were not without new birds for the trip however; Black headed gull, Whiskered tern and a Pond heron spp were all seen over the course of the two days.Our plan for the Philippines was a few days on Bohol, before hopping over to Pamilican for the festive period, then a few days at Alona beach before heading back to KL and then home. In the end we spent just a single night at Alona – it was that dreadful – and headed back to Bohol.Our base for Bohol was at Loboc, which seemed like a good option to explore the island. The birds came thick and fast from our new base, with Grey streaked flycatcher, Striated heron, Pink necked green pigeon, Collared kingfisher, Brown shrike and Black napped oriole being very obvious species within the immediate vicinity of the hotel. Early next morning saw a few Philippino endemics added to the list, with Pygmy and Red keeled flowerpecker, Philippine bulbul, Colasisi, Philippine Pied fantail and Island swift being rather obvious, with a few other new species; Wandering whistling duck, Striated swallow, Eastern yellow wagtail and Black crowned night-heron.We decided that we would rent a moped and head north, taking in the Chocolate Hills, Man-made forest and Tarsier sanctuary. It was a very pleasant journey, and I thoroughly recommend taking in the rice paddies and lush forested hills by scooter. The Chocolate hills and Tarsier sanctuary didn’t disappoint, but to be honest I didn’t really get much chance to look for birds, as I had promised to take it easy.Most mornings I managed to bird for an hour or so, and saw much the same species, though there appeared to be good numbers of herons and egrets in the paddies. A few other interesting species were noted, with a small party of Red necked stint in one muddy area, Long tailed shrike in the scrubby areas, and Pied triller in the woodland behind our hotel. One of the more surprising birds was a pair of Red Turtle dove which were seen throughout, and though not a rare bird do not appear to be known from Bohol – I’d be interested to know either way if anybody could comment.The main highlight from Bohol came with an evening canoe river up the Loboc river, which produced three new species; Purple throated sunbird, Amethyst brown dove and best of all a cracking Silvery kingfisher. This was a great bird to see, and had been my main target bird for the area. I managed a very poor, distant record shot (see below) but for those brave enough to take a decent camera on a canoe, I imagine you could get some great photos.Soon enough we were leaving Bohol for 4 days on Pamilican. This is a speck of an island to the south of Bohol, and is renowned for it’s excellent coral reef ecosystem. The island is still rather undeveloped, but there are signs that this is on the turn – again I recommend a visit, probably sooner rather than later! The island provided us with some memorable wildlife encounters; swimming with both Green turtle and Sea snake (very placid animals and beautiful to watch as they swam amongst the corals). On Christmas day we headed out to sea early and spent the morning watching acrobatic Spinner dolphin, sadly there was no sign of any Humpback whale though a few had apparently been seen within the last week. The coral gardens just offshore didn’t disappoint, with a multitude of fish and a dazzling array of corals.On the avian front, it was rather slim pickings with just 3 new species seen; Grey tailed tattler (which was a lifer for me), Blue rock thrush and Gull billed tern. I did enjoy some great views of Brown shrike, with one particularly tame individual happily perching on our balcony whilst feeding on scraps.We had an excellent time nonetheless, though we were once again on the move after a few days. After a (very brief) night in Panglao, we headed back to Bohol. We spent a few more days based in Loboc and pottered around the general area. I saw more or less the same species as previously, and unfortunately didn’t find the time to visit Rajah Sikatuna National Park – another one for the “next time” list!That was more or less the trip at a close, but there was still one birding opportunity on the horizon in the unlikely form of Kuala Lumpur. I awoke pre-dawn on our last morning in Asia, and opted for a mad dash around the hotel complex before we headed into the city. Classic species were very much in evidence; Asian koel, Coppersmith barbet, Plain prinia, Brown shrike, Brown flycatcher, Yellow browed warbler, White breasted kingfisher and Zebra dove all making an appearance in the soft morning sun. After breakfast we boarded the express train into the city in order to take in some of the tourist hot-spots. China-town and the Indoor market were great fun and a real assault on the senses in the best possible ways. I’ve no idea what we ate in the back streets of China-town, but it wasn’t half tasty!My final opportunity for some birding came in the parks, where we wandered around for a few hours in the afternoon. I was surprised by how different the experience was to birding in Lumphini park in Bangkok – we saw probably 20 people in the entire area.There were no great surprises save for the 20 odd Daurian starling feeding in a frenzied fashion in the canopy. I noted Chinese pond and Black crowned night heron around the fringes of the lake, whilst more Arctic and Yellow browed warblers, Brown flycatchers, Black napped oriole and Yellow vented bulbul frequented the trees.That ended the trip, and what an experience it had been. There had been many highs, and with the exception of delayed/missed flights, very few lows indeed. This was only my second visit to South East Asia, but it had really made an impact. In fact we are already looking at flights for this December!I hope you have enjoyed reading, and if you have any questions please feel free to drop me a message.</blockquote>

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