The PHILIPPINES: Cebu – Mangroves & Mountains

On the sixth day of our Philippine Fam Tour, we arrived at Mactan Island, just east of Cebu, staying several nights at the lovely Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort. There, we feasted on expansive buffet meals, served by very gracious staff.  Striking Zebra Doves (above) were common around the grounds, while Pink-necked Green-Pigeons came into the treetops to roost.

We took a 15-minute, outrigger boatride across the Hilutungan Channel to the small island of Olango, to visit the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary on the southern tip. Interestingly, our transport from the dock to the sanctuary was via “Tricycles” (above) – a motorbike with sidecar, which held a driver plus 2 passengers, one of which was crammed into a hot little cabin, with the other one perched onto the edge of the motorbike. We passed a small village, with simple one-room houses and children running along the streets.

The Sanctuary encompasses 920 hectares of sand and mudflats, mangroves and coconut groves, and features a neat, modern visitor’s center with friendly staff. We walked on a foot path of exposed blocks to the center of the saltwater tidal marsh, enjoying all-around views from the shade of a small, elevated gazebo-like structure.

On an incoming tide, several waders and shorebirds edged ever closer, feeding intently. The rare, endangered Chinese Herons were the highlight, running around in shallower areas, while the more sedate Little Egrets posed in slightly deeper waters. One Far-eastern Curlew mingled with a group of Whimbrels. Other species included Striated Heron, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Redshank, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-bellied Plover, Greater Sand Plover and Red-necked Stint. A pair of Rufous Night-Herons flew along the distant mangroves. Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns soared overhead.

Cebu is a long, narrow island in the Central Visayas, with a central mountain range that rises to elevation approx 3,000 ft. During an afternoon cultural tour, we drove by 16th century Fort San Pedro, and learned a little about the early Spanish settlement of the islands. The human population expanded quickly, leading to rapid deforestation (above) and consumption of resources by the end of the 1800’s. This was quite evident as we drove above Cebu City through desolate habitat and agricultural plots, seeing the mountainous areas ravaged with bare areas of terraced farm crops.

Following centuries of rampant deforestation, remnant patches of original forest have been recently re-discovered and preserved within the Central Cebu National Park. We visited one of these at Tabunan, where local guide, Oking, led us up the trail. We began hiking in an open area, along the edges of pea patches and eggplant plots, negotiating slippery boulders and muddy paths over narrow streams. Along the way, we found several striking Coppersmith Barbets with red heads, these being the endemic Cebu race. We also had Everett’s White-eyes and a stunning male Crimson Sunbird. Entering into a dense, dark forest, the trail became less defined, and, at times, we were negotiating giant boulders and climbing up vertical, knife-edge, rocky crags, where one false move could have grave consequences. One of the specialties of the forest is the secretive Black Shama, which we were lucky enough to see several of them quite well. We also found White-vented Whistler, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Emerald Dove, Elegant Tit, Black-naped Monarch and the white-bellied race of Ballacaisso.

After a 3-hour climb, we squeezed through a final outcropping to reach our destination platform. We hauled ourselves up a makeshift set of piping that acted as steps to scale the vertical rock face. The platform, about the size of a king bed, was situated not on the edge of a precipice, but set back in the forest. Unfortunately, the vantage was obscured by foliage, and we had the slimmest of views (above), and not much to see. A few Red-keeled Flowerpeckers and Olive-backed Sunbird were flitting around. We milled around hoping for the target Cebu Flowerpecker, which was never seen. Birds seen from the top, included: Philippine Serpent-Eagle, White-eared Brown-Dove, Philippine Hawk-Cuckoo, Philippine Needletail, and Streak-breasted Bulbul. The small, endemic Blue-crowned Racquet-tail was not seen, but heard screeching by. After about 2 hours, porters brought-up a picnic lunch for the group. Noticing a thunderstorm moving in, some of us elected to return back down the treacherous trail, while a few stayed a little longer. All of us got drenched with rain!