UP Diliman Birdwatching

I woke up at 5:30 am last July 31 to birdwatch around UP Diliman with a graduate student who recently got hooked with birdwatching. We were really not expecting to see a lot of birds, although i am hoping (for myself) to see at least 1 lifer. There were the usual long tailed shrikes, yellow vented bulbuls and orioles, but the rails that used to be common near the MSI Building when I started birdwatching in 2003 were nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, we went to the area near the Executive House, where we saw a lot of interesting feathered creatures. First was the coppersmith barbet, a lifer for me and a bird I really want to see up close. Next were the golden-bellied flyeaters, philippine woodpecker, pied thriller and, to our surprise, a plump and bright green guiabero, drying itself atop a lifeless (leafless?) tree, near where there were also a lot of white-collared kingfishers. Four (4) lifers for my companion in just 30 minutes!!!

For beginners, therefore, I would recommend this area (aside from NIGS/CS Complex and Hardin ng Rosas) because the birds are easy to spot and are relatively "large" enough to be identified even with the most simple binoculars.

birdwatching in UP

I started birdwatching when in 2003, Mr. Mike Lu (now President of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines) invited me to join one of their activities. I immediately got addicted to birdwatching and even got some of friends to get involved in the activity as well.

My favorite place is UP Diliman, where I took my BS and MS degrees and where I am now employed as a faculty. A lot of rare and unusual bird species have been photographed and sighted in this place, making the UP as an important birding sites in Metro Manila. This is something the UP community should be very proud of.

Lately, I've been birdwatching with a friend, trying to revisit areas around the Science Complex where we used to see a lot of birds. Sadly, because of the development in the area, many of the habitats have been disturbed. This is evidenced by the few sightings of birds that were present in the area many years ago.