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.
Common Kingfisher
Migrants
Our other migrant visitors were Gray-faced Buzzards and Brown Shrikes.
Gray-faced BuzzardBrown Shrike
Locals
I never get tired of seeing and photographing these three resident birds, Red Junglefowl, Philippine Bulbul, and White-eared Brown Dove.
Red JunglefowlPhilippine BulbulWhite-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.
three Red Junglefowl
Looking forward to 2026
I hope we get to visit the farm-refuge more in 2026, have more projects, and see new birds!
Here are 10 reasons why you should build your own wildlife sanctuary.
1. There’s a good chance your government won’t do it for you. Unless you live in some forward thinking country that recognizes the inherent value of its biodiversity, there will most likely be less and less natural spaces where wildlife can flourish and that you can access in your future. I recently heard of a group of 10 friends that banded together to buy 10 adjoining parcels of undeveloped land. They all agreed to each build on a small area and keep the rest of the area green so that they would have a big green space to enjoy! Imagine if more and more people had that mindset? There could be corridors of green criss-crossing the country!
2. You will be spoiled by all the birds. It’s amazing how nature can bounce back when given the opportunity and a helpful nudge. You will find yourself saying things like,”Oh, it’s just 3 Coppersmith Barbets in front of the cottage.” instead of “I remember back in the day, many years ago, there were more birds and you could see them easily, and now there are none.”
3. White-eared Brown Doves and Philippine Bulbuls from the comfort of your veranda. Aside from the usual garden birds, you will get forest birds. It really is true that if you build it, they will come. In this case, if you provide the habitat, they will come!
White-eared Brown DovePhilippine Bulbul
4. Baby munias feasting on seeds. What could be cuter than a flock of baby birds?
Scaly-breasted Munias
5. You will have fun. Of course it’s not just the birds and wildlife that are having fun. You will have so much fun too! You want to walk around in a camouflage cape and try to sneak up on ducks so you can photograph them without disturbing them? You can do it!
6. You will come up with so many fun projects. Your mind will open up when you’re outside surrounded by wide vistas. You’ll come up with all sorts of ideas that might not have occurred to you before. When we visited the sanctuary time we thought, let’s make a small hide in the Big Pond so we can view the ducks without disturbing them.
7. You will make your dogs happy. They might even become the happiest dogs you know. Outdoorsy dogs will definitely approve of your sanctuary. This sanctuary was also approved by the original farm dogs Momo the dachshund and Barkley the Boston Terrier.
Lulu is the first one in the truck!
8. Watching ducks instead of your phone. You get to sit down on a grassy bank in the afternoon to see and hear Philippine Ducks settling down for the day.
9. You can restore what was destroyed. In an ideal scenario, you could acquire a forest or other type of habitat that’s rich with wildlife and protect it. But that’s highly unlikely. Chances are the properties that are available are bare or denuded or over-farmed or choked up with weeds. This is ok! You don’t need to start from pristine land to make a sanctuary!
Here’s a powerful quote from FORRU-CMU:
Tropical forests, once destroyed, are lost forever” – NOT TRUE. It is possible to transform largely deforested landscapes into tropical forest that supports rich biodiversity in just a few years.
In just a few years! Not decades! They even have a free book that shows you how. Click on the link below to download the book. Restoring Tropical Forests by FORRU-CMU
10. You will make the world a little bit better! Who doesn’t want a better world? You don’t have to wait for the government or a big foundation to take action. You can start small. You can team up with like-minded friends. You can be the change you want to see!
July was an interesting month. We visited the farm while there was a typhoon or tropical depression far away in the north. Of course there was a lot of rain! Even with all the rain, there was still so much to see and enjoy.
Philippine Ducks
The ducks were flying back and forth and all around. We guessed they were going from the Big Pond to the Water Lily Pond, and possibly other areas in the refuge. All the rain has filled up the smaller ponds. There are now many spots for the ducks to swim in! Tonji counted 47 ducks in the Big Pond.
The Big Pond
Weird Hybrid Duck
Our strange visitor is still around. I wonder how long he plans to stay?
Water Lily Pond
The Water Lily Pond is still going strong! All the plants make this an enchanting place to visit.
Other Pond Denizens
The pond’s cast of characters continues to grow! In the past, we would usually see Black Crowned Night Herons flying overhead. This time we saw one perched!
Black Crowned Night Heron
We are wondering if this is the same Purple Heron that we would see in the Picnic Area back in the early days. It’s nice to see it by the water!
Purple Heron
This Month’s Exciting Moment for Us as Birdwatchers
We have a picture of an Asian Koel! If you have an Asian Koel in your area, you probably know about it from its call. Their calls are very loud, even scandalously loud. Their call starts off normally, then gets louder and higher in pitch and intensity and sounds like someone in the throes of unrestrained passionate ecstasy. They manage to do all this while remaining mostly hidden and difficult to spot.
We were surprised to see one out in the open. I assumed it was a crow, but Tonji told me to take pics because it was hopping around like a Koel, not a crow!
note the red eye!
On a side note, I saw Koels in a golf course outside Bangkok and they were easy to see. Or maybe I was just lucky or my caddie was a good birdwatcher.
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.
Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge 