By Frances Lee
Last April 26–28, 2025, WBCP members Enrico Legaspi, Jayanti Pandey, and Frances Lee went to Zamboanga City to…bird. We were accompanied and guided by local bird guide and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) forester Jay Paul, who is also the mentee of former Zamboanga bird guide Joel.
Overall, it was an enjoyable and fruitful birding trip. The Latin City of the South did not disappoint! We were able to spot 80+ unique bird species including star birds such as the Jerdon’s Baza, Wattled Broadbill, Black-naped Fruit Dove, Pinsker’s Hawk Eagle, Glossy Ibis, Giant Scops Owl, Mindanao Boobook, Southern Silvery Kingfisher,and even the Philippine Eagle! We also saw Zamboanga endemics such at the White-eared Tailorbird and Zamboanga Bulbul.
We also saw cool and amazing critters such as the cloak-and-dagger bee, spotted tortoise beetle, trilobite beetles and more!
Special thanks to my birding companions – Enrico and Jayanti – for the amazing bird spotting and patience in pointing out common Luzon birds that I only lifer-ed in Zamboanga and especially to Enrico for organizing this trip and driving us around Zamboanga!
Day 1
Landing in Zamboanga airport at around 7 am, we drove for almost an hour to Upper La Paz, a secondary forest used as a research ground for the forestry students of West Mindanao University.
It was a relatively slow start, we mostly saw usual forest birds such as the Coleto, Dollarbird, Guaiabero, Everett’s White-eye – but still lifers for relatively newbie birders like me! It was around 9 am in the middle of the sun’s heat when we saw a raptor soaring overhead, it was a Jerdon’s Baza!
Soon after, we heard the Black-naped Fruit Dove calling. After a few minutes and lots of patience, we finally saw some movement amidst the canopy and spotted this rare dove!
Soon after, we heard suspicious rumbling sounds, which turned out to be our hungry stomachs, so we drove back to the city and headed for lunch at Mano Mano by Le Gran.
Where all of us left our bins in the car, Jayanti is the sole responsible birder who brought her bins along to lunch. And the extra minutes carrying 700 kg of load paid off, because as we stepped out of the restaurant, Jayanti spotted a not-Maya-or-YVB looking bird perched on a wire. We all thought it to be just a starling and then a Sunda Brush Cuckoo upon seeing the striped belly, but with her bins and then Enrico’s bazooka camera, we were able to see the red eye ring and identify it as a Little Bronze Cuckoo! (Another lifer for all of us! J) It was just 2pm and we were already dead tired, so we went to the hotel to check-in and take a little nap.
Having been recharged, we drove to Intake to see the Southern Silvery Kingfisher but alas, rush hour traffic got the best of us so we decided to reroute to the Zamboanga College of Marine Science & Technology Fish Pond to search for the Glossy Ibis, migrants who first showed up in 2022, and have chosen to stay. Jay Paul said that there are a total of 12 of them, and we spotted 2-3 individuals. In addition, we also saw ~18 other species of waterbirds as well as urban birds.
At sundown, we headed for dinner at Bayside to try Zamboanga local food. We had Tiyula Itum, Chicken Pianggang, and the trusty Egg Fried Rice for our vegetarian friends! Delectable!
Day 2
Another day, another day for birding. We started early to head to Pasonanca National Park, an ASEAN Heritage Park and the 3rd most diverse national park in the Philippines. Due to road construction, we had to traverse an unexpected 300 meter walk uphill rocky path and mossy concrete (which was like ice skating, without ice!) The Zamboanga adventure truly had begun!
We first birded near the DENR station, and thanks to Enrico’s sharp eyes, we were able to spot a seemingly nesting Whiskered Treeswift – which was super cute! We also saw a few flowerpeckers, sunbirds, and lots of swiftlets!
It rained the night before, so we ended up exploring the Upper Baluno trails as the lower trails were extremely muddy. So up we go…and up we go… relatively low density of birds in the early parts of the trail and it was super hot! Jay Paul led us off trail, overlooking a canopy of trees…and sure enough, we saw a huge, white raptor soar above the canopy! Jay Paul identified this as a Philippine Eagle!
Thereafter, Jay Paul called the mixed flock in the area to spot our star target bird, the Zamboanga endemic White-Eared Tailorbird. Instead, the mixed flock leader Rufous Paradise Flycatcher showed up– which was super pretty and vividly orange amidst the green canopy.
We headed back to the DENR sub-station to have our packed lunch. After eating, as Jay Paul helped us arrange dinner and logistics for the day, we decided to do our own birding around the area. Enrico heard the sound of hornbills and true enough, just next to the station we saw two Mindanao Hornbills flying across the canopy! We also saw the elusive, but noisy White-Eared Tailorbird.
After the trails dried up (to the extent possible), we explored the Lower Trails. It was slope-y, it was slippery, it was a challenge with a few near-miss slips here and there, but we didn’t care because the trek was totally worth it. We saw a Pinsker’s Hawk-Eagle perched on a dead tree and then shortly thereafter – in its backdrop – 20+ Writhed Hornbills were soaring above the sky! Amazing!
As we continued on, Jay Paul led us to an area where he said Wattled Broadbills were spotted before. We were excited, but Jay Paul tried to manage our expectations saying he is only 40-50% sure that it would show up. We still chose to believe and look at it as glass half-full and true enough, within a few minutes, a pair of Wattled Broadbills showed up and posed for us!
Energized by our recent find, we continued birding in the area. We saw lots of birds communing around a super tall tree. Our necks were about to break, but we carried on as we heard the Philippine Leafbird call (although bummer, we didn’t see it) and spotted the McGregor’s Cuckooshrike and Black-bibbed Cicadabird among others!
Extremely satisfied with the afternoon’s trek and birding, we hiked back up to the DENR substation only to see a Crested Goshawk stuck on its second floor. Jay Paul carried it down and let it go.
After our hearty home cooked dinner c/o Jay Paul, we went owling around the DENR substation. We heard the Giant Scops-Owl, but only Jayanti saw it. We also heard the Great Eared Nightjar, but before we could walk to find it, we heard the rumblings of thunder. Because of the road construction, Jay Paul suggested for us to head back early for our safety and just continue owling the next day!
Day 3
The early bird catches the worm and so does the early birder. So, we left the hotel at 4 am to continue owling in Upper La Paz. Doing this turned out to be a great idea, as we saw all our target birds – the Giant Scops-Owl, Mindanao Boobook and bonus Great Eared Nightjar flying over us.
We continued “easy birding” along Upper La Paz. Highlights were spotting the Buff Spotted Flameback, three of them pecking on a single tree. It was a photo-worthy moment, and it was only the beginning, because minutes later a Southern Sooty Woodpecker arrived to join the Flamebacks in pecking the tree!
We headed back to town to have lunch at Cosmic, a vegan-Filipino restaurant! After lunch, we headed back to Intake to find the Southern Silvery Kingfisher. We easily spotted the bird and was gifted with at least 5-6 mins of observing it eat worms, shimmer in the sunlight, turn its back, turn to its front and all that!
Alas, all adventures must come to an end. We headed to the airport to catch our late afternoon flight back to Manila – leaving Zamboanga with a ton for lifers (for newbies and veteran alike), some bug bites, and lots of memories to cherish forever!
E-bird checklists:
Pasonanca National Park: https://ebird.org/checklist/S229841935, https://ebird.org/checklist/S229845098, https://ebird.org/checklist/S229884230, https://ebird.org/checklist/S230342898
Upper La Paz: https://ebird.org/checklist/S229428021, https://ebird.org/checklist/S230311463
Zamboanga University Fish Pond: https://ebird.org/checklist/S229470887