Category: Wild Birds

Bird List for the Farm

This is the most current list of the birds we have seen at the farm.

NEWEST ADDITION TO THE LIST:

October 2025

Bird #113 – Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Common Kingfisher

May 2025

Bird #112 – Common Moorhen Galinula chloropus

March 2025

Bird #111 – Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola

January 2025

Bird #110 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus

October 2024

Bird #109 Northern Pintail Anas acuta

Fourth duck species for the refuge! There were 2 female Northen Pintails in the Big Pond. This was after we had Typhoon Kristine, a big typhoon.

March 2024

Bird # 108 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus

picture to follow!

November 2023

Bird #107 Northern Shoveler Spatula clepeata

Our third duck species! There was only one Northern Shoveler. It was in the water lily pond.

October 2023

BIRD#106 Chestnut-cheeked Starling Agropsar philippensis
This was very exciting. There were flocks of them flying from tree to tree!

BIRD#105 Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Our first plover species!

March 2023

BIRD #104 Greater Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis
(no photo)

September 2020

Slaty-legged Crake Rallina eurizonoides

June 2020

Rusty-breasted Cuckoo Cacomantis sepulcralis
This bird was formerly known as Brush Cuckoo.

immature Rusty-breasted Cuckoo

February 2019

  • Grey-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus

August 2018

  • Coleto Sarcops calvus
  • Ruddy-breasted Crake Porzana fusca

September 2017

  • Ruddy Kingfisher Halcyon coromanda

    August 2017
  • Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
  • Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephaus stentoreus
  • Yellow-wattled Bulbul Pycnonotus urosticus
  • White-bellied Munia Lonchura locugastra 
  • Ruddy-breasted Crake Ponzana fusca
  • Philippine Green Pigeon (formerly known as Pompadour Green Pigeon) Treron axillaris
  • added Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus that was seen previously by Tonji but we forgot to add to the list
  • changed snipe sp. to Swinhoe’s Snipe after Tonji saw one and was able to identify it from the call
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Yellow-wattled Bulbul
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Philippine Green Pigeon and Pink-necked Green Pigeon

These are some photos taken on site of the birds at the farm.  More bird photos on  Tonji and Sylvia’s Bird List.

  1. Wandering Whistling Duck Dendrocygna arcuata
  2. Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata
  3. Philippine Duck  Anas luzonica
  4. Northern Pintail Anas acuta
  5. King Quail (Blue-breasted Quail) Excalfactoria chinensis
  6. Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus
  7. Cinnamon Bittern  Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
  8. Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
  9. Eastern Cattle Egret (Cattle Egret) Bubulcus coromandus
  10. Striated Heron Butorides striata
  11. Grey Heron  Ardea cinerea
  12. Purple Heron  Ardea purpurea
  13. Great Egret  Ardea alba
  14. Intermediate Egret  Egretta intermedia
  15. Little Egret  Egretta garzetta
  16. Philippine Serpent Eagle (Crested Serpent-Eagle) Spilornis holospilus HO
  17. Japanese Sparrowhawk  Accipiter gularis
  18. Pied Harrier  Circus melanoleucos
  19. Brahminy Kite  Haliastur indus
  20. Grey-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus
  21. Slaty-legged Crake Rallina eurizonoides
  22. Barred Rail  Gallirallus torquatus
  23. Buff-banded Rail  Gallirallus philippensis
  24. Plain Bush-hen  Amaurornis olivacea
  25. White-breasted Waterhen  Amaurornis phoenicurus   
  26. Ruddy-breasted Crake Porzana fusca
  27. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
  28. Spotted Buttonquail  Turnix ocellatus
  29. Barred Buttonquail  Turnix suscitator
  30. Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
  31. Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
  32. GREATER PAINTED-SNIPE Rostratula benghalensis
  33. Oriental Pratincole  Glareola maldivarum
  34. Swinhoe’s Snipe Gallinago megala
  35. Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
  36. Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
  37. Rock Dove  Columba livia
  38. Island Collared Dove Streptopelia bitorquata
  39. Red Turtle Dove Streptopelia tranquebarica
  40. Spotted Dove  Spilopelia chinensis
  41. Philippine Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia tenuirostris
  42. Common Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica
  43. Zebra Dove  Geopelia striata
  44. White-eared Brown Dove Phapitreron leucotis
  45. Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans
  46. Philippine Green Pigeon Treron axillaris
  47. Philippine Coucal  Centropus viridis
  48. Lesser Coucal  Centropus bengalensis
  49. Rough-crested Malkoha Dasylophus superciliosus
  50. Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
  51. Rusty-breasted Cuckoo Cacomantis sepulcralis
  52. Philippine Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx pectoralis
  53. Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris
  54. Philippine Scops Owl Otus megalotis
  55. Philippine Nightjar  Caprimulgus manillensis
  56. Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis
  57. Grey-rumped Swiftlet  Collocalia marginata
  58. Asian Palm Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
  59. Ruddy Kingfisher Halcyon coromanda
  60. White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
  61. Collared Kingfisher (White-collared Kingfisher) Todiramphus chloris
  62. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
  63. Indigo-banded Kingfisher  Ceyx cyanopectus
  64. Blue-tailed Bee-eater  Merops philippinus
  65. Coppersmith Barbet  Megalaima haemacephala
  66. Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos maculatus
  67. Common Kestrel (Eurasian Kestrel) Falco tinnunculus
  68. Peregrine Falcon  Falco peregrinus
  69. Philippine Hanging Parrot/Colasisi Loriculus philippensis 
  70. Philippine Pitta  Erythropitta erythrogaster
  71. Hooded Pitta  Pitta sordida
  72. Golden-bellied Gerygone  Gerygone sulphurea
  73. White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
  74. Pied Triller  Lalage nigra
  75. Brown Shrike  Lanius cristatus
  76. Long-tailed Shrike  Lanius schach
  77. Black-naped Oriole  Oriolus chinensis
  78. Philippine Pied Fantail Rhipidura nigritorquis
  79. Black-naped Monarch  Hypothymis azurea
  80. Large-billed Crow  Corvus macrorhynchos
  81. Oriental Skylark  Alauda gulgula
  82. Yellow-wattled Bulbul Pycnonotus urostictus
  83. Yellow-vented Bulbul  Pycnonotus goiavier
  84. Philippine Bulbul Hypsipetes philippinus
  85. Barn Swallow  Hirundo rustica
  86. Pacific Swallow  Hirundo tahitica
  87. Striated Swallow (Red-rumped Swallow) Cecropis striolata
  88. Kamchatka Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus examinandus
  89. Japanese Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus xanthodryas
  90. Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus (possible Oriental Reed Warbler or maybe Gray’s Grasshopper Warbler but we’re calling it Clamorous)
  91. Striated Grassbird  Megalurus palustris
  92. Tawny Grassbird  Megalurus timoriensis
  93. Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
  94. Grey-backed Tailorbird  Orthotomus derbianus
  95. Lowland White-eye  Zosterops meyeni
  96. Asian Glossy Starling  Aplonis panayensis
  97. Coleto Sarcops calvus
  98. Chestnut-cheeked Starling Agropsar philippensis
  99. Stripe-headed Rhabdornis  Rhabdornis mystacalis
  100. Philippine Magpie-Robin Copsychus mindanensis
  101. White-browed Shama  Copsychus luzoniensis
  102. Mangrove Blue Flycatcher  Cyornis rufigastra
  103. Siberian Rubythroat  Calliope calliope
  104. Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata
  105. Red-keeled Flowerpecker Dicaeum australe
  106. Pygmy Flowerpecker Dicaeum pygmaeum
  107. Olive-backed Sunbird  Cinnyris jugularis
  108. Eurasian Tree Sparrow  Passer montanus
  109. Scaly-breasted Munia  Lonchura punctulata
  110. White-bellied Munia Lonchura leucogastra
  111. Chestnut Munia  Lonchura atricapilla
  112. Grey Wagtail  Motacilla cinerea
  113. Paddyfield Pipit (Richard’s Pipit) Anthus rufulus

Wildlife Camera by the Bamboo Fence

There is a bamboo fence at the edge the field in front of the house that is very popular with the birds. Tonji thought it would be a good idea to set up the wildlife camera by the fence. He left it in place for more than a week. By the time he got it back, the camera had taken thousands of photos, mostly of grass swaying in the wind!

Note to self on wildlife cameras: Do not position your wildlife camera towards a field of swaying grass. If you do, you will have 17,000 photos of swaying grass.

Tonji very gallantly offered himself up to do the tedious work of sifting through the thousands of photos for the ones that have birds in them. Then I got the bird photos from him so I could post the interesting ones here!

Another note to self on wildlife cameras: If you are positive and optimistic, you will find some interesting shots among the 17,000 photos of swaying grass! Think positive!

Long Tailed Shrike with a frog! That’s a big catch!

PICT1827

Grass Owl. Why is it so overexposed though?

PICT1747

Not so sure what this is, but it looks interesting! Could it be a Philippine Scops Owl?PICT8241

And the regulars. Striated Grassbird.PICT1985

Paddyfield PipitPICT1520

Spotted Dove in flight.

PICT1961

Male and female Pied Bushchat.

PICT6763

The Spotted Dove didn’t want to make eye contact with the wildlife camera.

PICT3121

Unlike the Long Tailed Shrike!

PICT3347

What is the allure of that strip of bamboo? I assume that the birds like the elevated vantage point.  We probably also just see the birds more easily when they are on the fence because they in plain sight and not covered by leaves. Could there be more to it than that? Why are all those different birds perched on the same spot? This experiment with the wildlife camera has made that bamboo fence look more interesting than ever!

Barkley the Model

When I get frustrated with drawing birds, there’s always Barkley! You can always count on him to take a nice nap during the day. And look really cute while he’s doing it.

Barkley sleeping and sunbathing

Unlike those birds! When I see a bird perched nicely, I grab my sketching gear! Sometimes, the bird is gone by the time I’ve pulled out my sketchbook and pencil. If the bird stays in the area, then it’s a very intense few minutes of looking through the binoculars or scope and sketching and painting.

At the end, I’m always surprised when I look at my sketchbook and see how few bird sketches I’ve made. It always feels like I drew a lot!