Our temple was closed for two weeks for cleaning, so Ken went to visit Don and Ada in the Philippines. I chose not to go because I would miss several Keynote performances as we started our spring "tour" (we jokingly call it) where we visit and sing for assisted living centers and rest homes.
Plus, I knew that he would want to do a lot of birding. He had a wonderful time and added 111 new life lister birds to his list.
Ken will now tell about his trip. Yea! A man post.
A selfie with Don & Ada at the Manila Temple. We had a delightful evening doing an endowment session there.
Don & Ada arranged for me to rent a studio Airbnb on the top (51st) floor of their apartment building known as the "Olive Place". The outside wall of my apartment included a floor-to-ceiling window. During the few minutes I was in my apartment each day, I sat on the corner of the bed and looked out over Metro Manila City. My view was westward. On a clear day, I could actually see Corregidor Island and the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula. I found the view captivating.
Daytime view out my window.
Nighttime view out my window.
A selfie of Ken, with Don & Ada, at a Jollybee's chicken franchise restaurant near our apartment building. Jollybee's is the Philippine version of America's Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was an interesting culinary and cultural experience, but I think I prefer good ole KFC.
I saw this sign ALL over. English is the second language of the Filipino People. They have spelled our word "police" just the way we pronounce that word. I found it interesting and a bit amusing.
Don & Ada at the Manila Temple, after our endowment session.
Selfie with Ken, Don & Ada in front of the Manila Temple after our endowment session.
View to the west from the Olive Place's 17th floor. Don & Ada would meet up with me on this floor
as we started each day.
Selfie at the U.S. Military Cemetery in Metro Manila.
Retiring the Philippine & U.S. flags at the U.S. Military Cemetery in Metro Manila.
A park in the center of Manila's U.S. Military Cemetery, with the graves in the background, surrounding the park.
View from my apartment window of a sun setting over the Bataan Peninsula.
Closeup of the sunset.
Upon arriving at the airport in Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island, I found these youth performing traditional dances for some arriving guests (no, they were NOT performing for me.).
Selfie of Don & Ken at lunch on our first day of birdwatching. Our dining cabana was built above the water, just offshore. It made for a delightful lunch setting. You can see the main restaurant in the background.
Ken's selfie with our birding guide, Totic Failana, and our driver, June, in our lunch cabana.
Ready to chow down on lunch. LtoR: Don, Ken, Totic & June
Selfie of Ken, Don & Totic, while birding in the Palawan jungle.
Ken, Totic & Don, searching for birds along the roadside on Zigzag Road. Note our birding van in the background.
Selfie of Ken & Don at lunch on our second day of birding.
Having fun while visiting the Iwahig Prison. Unfortunately, the birdwatching at this site was a bust because the rice paddies had all been drained.
The Iwahig Prison was initially established by the American military in the early 1900's, after we won the Spanish American conflict. It was used to rehabilitate uncooperative Filipino citizens. It is still a working rehabilitative prison.
The endemic Palawan Flycatcher, at the birding hide at Irawan Ecopark.
Palawan Flycatcher.
Don & our Taiwanese & German fellow bird photographers at the birding hide at the Irawan Ecopark.
Ken's selfie at the birding hide in Irawan Eco park.
Ken's selfie with our German (Gabriel) bird photographer behind Ken, and Don & Totic on the right. We are waiting for the boat to arrive, which will take us out to the nearby island to see the Mantanani Scops-Owls.
Waiting along the shore for our boat.
Ken, noting the bird species just seen.
Don & Ken at "Randy's Garden" birding hide in Puerto Princesa. It provided some awesome views of some very special bird species.
Ken, trying to point out where the bird is that Don is trying to photograph.
Don & Ken birding at the "Birdwing" site in the Napsan Mountains Area.
Ken, birding along Zigzag Road.
Looking out to the small island we will go to in order to see the Mantanani Scops-Owls.
And here comes our boat!
Ken's selfie on the boat, with two of our Taiwanese, and our German (Gabriel) birding friends behind.
Ken & Don sitting under the tree in which we will photograph the Mantanani Scops-Owls. Just waiting for it to get dark enough for the owls to emerge.
My Vegan lunch, consisting of fresh mango, tofu katsu, rice and lettuce.
Sunset at "Birdwing" in top of the mountains in the Napsan Area.
"Birdwing" is a site established by the local birdwatching enthusiasts to protect the environment for various local endemic bird species, such as the Palawan Peacock Pheasant.
Each day, as we left town for our birding expedition, Totic would have the driver pull over at a roadside "mom-and-pop retail shop", where he would buy us some treats and sweet bread/rolls. This is a popular local pastry. I thought they were yummy.
This is a Chestnut-cheeked Starling. It was a totally unexpected and unusual vagrant. When I pointed it out to Totic while we were watching the sunbirds, he got really excited and took this picture, among a number of other shots. He excitedly explained that these pictures would assure that this site would soon be flooded with local birdwatchers trying to get a look at this unusual vagrant. This was not one of my new life-lister species on this trip. I had already seen this species on our mission in Tsuruoka, Japan.
Copper-throated Sunbird.
This is a Taiga Flycatcher. It had never been seen in Palawan before. Totic got very excited about seeing this bird. It had been reported at this site (a crocodile farm in Puerto Princesa) a day or two before I arrived. We visited this site twice, and spent several hours hunting before we found it. Totic couldn't quit taking pictures of it.
Palawan Hornbill
Falcated Wren-Babbler
Pale Spiderhunter
Palawan Flycatcher
Brown-throated Sunbird
Taiga Flycatcher
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