We had a new addition to our refuge bird list! This is Bird #110, a Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus in the Big Pond. They are usually found in flocks, but this one was by itself.
The Big Pond has been a magnificent addition to the refuge. Different kinds of birds come in for a drink and a bath.
These are Rock Doves. They are the wild or feral versions of domestic pigeons.
A Large-billed Crow bathing near the ducks.
We are already looking at possible sites for another big pond. It would be nice to hold more water in different areas of the refuge. We have been experiencing extreme weather fluctuations. Last year was the worst heat wave ever. Hopefully, that does not become a regular trend.
The Big Pond is looking more natural and less like a giant rice paddy. The plants are growing and changing the look of the pond.
These are the native water lilies.
We checked the Water Lily Pond and saw several interesting holes in the grass near the pond. Could these be where ducks lay their eggs?
Sadly for me, I broke my wrist this month. No bird photography for me for now.
We had a rainy but nice last visit to the refuge for 2024. The veranda of the cottage is a great place to see all kinds of things.
Native santan bush that’s starting to look like a small tree.
native santan
Small snake skin
snake skin
And of course, birds!
White-eared Brown Dove in the aratiles tree. We have a lot of these non-native aratiles trees because the birds love their fruits.
White-eared Brown Dove
Philippine Bulbul
Philippine Bulbul
And one of our favorite birds, the Philippine Hanging Parrot or Colasisi. When we hear the call of this bird we already know that we it will be perfectly blended into the leaves and will take a bit of searching before we see it.
Colasisi
Unless it’s perched on the Agoho!
Colasisi on an Agoho tree
Tonji wanted to try something new at the Big Pond. Instead of using a ghillie cape like the last time, he set up a 2-seater hide by the pond.
Ollie with the bird hide
He left it by the pond overnight so that the birds could get used to it. Then he snuck inside early the next morning while it was still dark and waited to see what would show up. He thinks that the ducks were wary of it and kept their distance. But he got to see other birds in action!
He was surprised to see a lot of Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus! The domestic native chickens are descended from Red Junglefowl. Tonji was surprised to see them fly across the pond. Unlike domestic chickens, the wild Junglefowl can fly well.
So exciting to be able to observe them!
There were several males and females. Tonji chose a good location for the bird hide. Different kinds of birds were converging at the same bank.
Barred Rail or Tikling.
The Philippine Ducks were also in the area. It was so strange to see Philippine Ducks and Red Junglefowl together! There were probably a lot of bugs in the mud.
The ducks looked like they were digging.
White-Breasted Waterhen
White-breasted Waterhen
He also saw two Wandering Whistling Ducks.
Wandering Whistling Duck
They were swimming in the Big Pond with the Philippine Ducks.
And that was how we ended 2024 at the refuge! We are looking forward to more visits and more birds in 2025.
Finally, a new bird for the refuge! We had two female Northern Pintails in the Big Pond! This brings us to 108 bird species in the refuge.
EDIT: I forgot that Tonji photographed a Green Sandpiper in March 2024. This is our 2nd new bird for 2024!
Northern Pintail
The last time we say a new bird species at the refuge was almost a year before in November 2023. Our visits to the refuge this year have been very few and very short. That’s probably why we haven’t seen new birds this year. So right after a big typhoon hit the Philippines in October, we hurried to the refuge to look for any migrant birds that may have been blown in by the typhoon.
We were excited to visit the Big Pond. The week before, our caretakers had counted 65 Philippine ducks at the Big Pond. This was a record number for our refuge.
The thought of that many ducks at our pond was just mind boggling. We had to see it. Tonji suggested that we wear our camouflage ghillie capes and crawl up one side of the pond so we could get close without spooking the ducks.
yes I am whispering and we have ghillie capes
The crawling and camouflage worked! We were able to watch the ducks swim back and forth right in front of us!
Philippine Ducks in the Big Pond, iPhone video
My camera fogged up. Good thing Tonji had nice pictures!
Later that day, Tonji flew the new drone to the Big Pond. It was much easier to survey the pond via drone. No crawling necessary! After checking the drone video, our final count for the Big Pond is 83 Philippine Ducks plus 2 Northern Pintails.
Music: Purple Planet Music. We are still getting the hang of shooting drone videos and editing them!
The Philippine Ducks and Northern Pintails were the stars of October. We also had 7 Purple Herons flying from the Big Pond to the Water Lily Pond. We used to only see 1 Purple Heron. There was also a White Breasted Waterhen at the Big Pond abd more than 30 Red Turtle Doves in the bamboos near the Big Pond. By the cottage there were more than 20 Pink Necked Green Pigeons flying around from tree to tree and Oriental Pratincoles flying overhead.
Every visit to the refuge, no matter how brief, is food for the soul. The things we get to see and experience bring us so much satisfaction and make us want to return again and again. It fuels our dreams of even more projects and experiments to do at the refuge.
It is at the refuge where we can go swimming at night under a sky full of stars and the Milky Way! It is magical!
little cottage under the stars – photo by Tonji Ramos
We celebrated Tonji’s birthday at the refuge. As a special birthday treat, a Colasisi posed nicely for him in an Aratiles tree. We have been seeing the Colasisi regularly, but this is a particularly good view with all of its bright colors clearly visible.
Colasisi photo by Tonji RamosHappy birthday Tonji!
The Bangkal trees have fruits! Seeing these fruits brought back memories of one of our birding trips to Sablayan Penal Colony in Mindoro. There were many Bangkal trees and the fruits were scattered on the ground. That trip to Mindoro gave us the idea of planting Bangkal trees. Now we have our own row of Bangkal trees with fruits!
The Bagras or Rainbow Eucalyptus tree near the cottage is getting taller and taller. It’s a good thing it has a few flowering branches near the ground. The trunk is becoming more colorful. Not quite rainbow-like yet though!
Every time we visit the refuge we always wonder — what are the ducks up to now? We think about them even when we’re not at the refuge. It is a short walk from the cottage to the Big Pond. There’s a path through the trees, then a dirt road that goes over some water, then you need to scramble up to top of the pond wall before you can see the pond. There is a lot of anticipation during that short walk. What will we see?
Feels like Candaba! video by Tonji Ramos
The Big Pond has leveled up! We are seeing a whole new level of wildlife activity at the pond. We are now at Level 4 wildlife activity!
Note: These are not actual scientific levels! This is purely based what we’ve experienced as birdwatchers!
TONJI AND SYLVIA’S POND WILDLIFE ACTIVITY LEVELS
LEVEL 1 – See ducks in the farm/refuge At this level, you are happy that you saw an actual wild duck in your airspace because this means that there is a good chance that the pond you built attracted ducks to your place.
LEVEL 2 -See ducks swimming You were able to confirm that the ducks are using your pond. You saw them swimming!
LEVEL 3 – See ducks swimming and not flying away when you approach This level can be hard to achieve if your pond is small or difficult to access. It will be easier to achieve this level by designing your pond so that the ducks feel safe enough to stay in the pond even in disturbed.
LEVEL 4 – See multiple groups of ducks flying overhead, criss-crossing in the air, landing, swimming, and taking off all at the same time! We are at this level now! This is what we used to experience in a very large scale, back in the day when we used to go to Candaba Wetlands. Sadly, those wetlands are now farmlands. This is a much, much smaller scale than Candaba was, but it is still quite satisfying and has a lot of potential!
LEVEL 5 – THIS LEVEL IS STILL LOCKED! Baby ducks This level will be unlocked when you see baby ducks swimming in the pond. I have never seen baby Philippine Ducks swimming. I believe I’ve only seen them one time, and they were walking.
LEVEL 6 – THIS LEVEL IS STILL LOCKED! Attracting rare migrants This is the dream level. This level will be unlocked when all the bird activity and plants have made the pond look so inviting that migrating ducks use the pond as a stopover and refueling station!
Philippine Ducks photo by Tonji Ramos Philippine Ducks photo by Tonji Ramos
Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge 