farm – Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge

January 2026 – So Many New Birds!

Our first visit in 2026 was .. mind blowing! We had SIX new species at the Big Pond and one new species in front of the cottage. We had SEVEN new species in one trip!

At the Big Pond we had

Around 14 Garganeys

2 Eurasian Teals (formerly known as Green-winged Teal)

3 Tufted Ducks

2 Little Grebes

2 Eurasian Wigeons

1 Yellow Bittern

Plus we had our regular 100+ Philippine Ducks, 8 Northern Shovelers, and at least 2 Wandering Whistling Ducks. The Wandering Whistling Ducks were in flight, and may have been in a mixed flock.

Philippine Ducks and Tufted Duck in the rain

Standing by the Big Pond and seeing all those species together was mind boggling. It brought to mind all those birdwatching trips we made to ponds all over the country to see these birds. Our first time to see Garganey was in Candaba, Pampanga. Our first time to see a European Wigeon was all the way in Batanes. Our good views of Eurasian Teal are from Saud, Pagudpud. Now they were in our own pond, mingling with the Philippine Ducks, and behaving just like they did when we saw them in those far off ponds!

In front of the cottage we had

14 Ashy Minivet

These are migrant birds and we don’t see them that frequently. It was a surprise to see a flock of them in front of the cottage!

January 2026 was amazing

The weather was great, we had awesome birds, and we are looking forward to February!

photo lifer of a Philippine Serpent Eagle

L-R Ollie, Tonji, Wolfie, Monica, Sylvia, Lulu

And That Was 2025!

Our farm-refuge year ended in October! We missed out on visiting in November and December. We are definitely, certainly going to make more time to visit in 2026! There is so much to see and do at the farm-refuge!

NEW BIRD FOR THE FARM BIRD LIST

We saw a Common Kingfisher. Tonji first spotted it when it landed by the swimming pool. Very nice to have a new migrant visitor! Maybe if we had fish in our ponds we would attract more of them.

This is the iPhone phot taken by the swimming pool. We now have 113 birds in the Farm Bird List!

The next day it was at the Water Lily Pond and I took more photos with my camera.

Migrants

Our other migrant visitors were Gray-faced Buzzards and Brown Shrikes.

Locals

I never get tired of seeing and photographing these three resident birds, Red Junglefowl, Philippine Bulbul, and White-eared Brown Dove.

I am wondering if there are more of them now at the farm-refuge. It used to be We seem to be seeing them more frequently! It’s possible that there are more of them or they are showing up closer to the cottage or they aren’t hiding as much as before or all of the above.

The Red Junglefowl are hanging out in the horse paddock area. I saw them several times in the same area.

Looking forward to 2026

I hope we get to visit the farm-refuge more in 2026, have more projects, and see new birds!

June 2025 – Weird Hybrid Duck!

There is a weird hybrid duck hanging out with the Philippine Ducks. We first saw it in the Big Pond swimming . When the Philippine Ducks flew to the Water Lily Pond, it went with them. When they flew back to the Big Pond, it was still with them! It seems determined to hang out with the Philippine Ducks!

It’s much bigger than the Philippine Ducks

The lotus in the Big Pond are even bigger now.

I went around with my camera and binoculars to look for birds to photograph. It’s no surprise that the best spots are:

The front of the cottage – we spend the most time hanging out in the veranda, so it’s strategically planted with trees and bushes for the birds!

The Big Pond – the areas around the pond are also attractive to the birds. There are probably a lot bugs and I imagine that the plants and trees nearby are growing extra well.

female Philippine Magpie Robin near the Big Pond

The Picnic Area – this area has a flat grassy area with a few trees in the middle, a path with trees on the side, and the Water Lily pond. The open grass part makes it easier to spot birds.