Olongo Island, 9/11/12

After taking a day off from birding to recover from Honey's cousin's 40th birthday party(too much San Miguel and karaoke!)I was ready to get back to birding. Waking up at about 6:30 and seeing that it was partially clear I got the urge to go over to Olongo Island to check out the shorebird scene. Checking the tide charts, there was an early morning high tide so I didn't see any reason to hurry and we had time for a proper breakfast. Honey, her sister Hara and friend Jecka joined me in the taxi ride from Minglanilla (400p) to the Angasil Warf on Mactan Island, near the site where Magellan met his demise at the hands of Cheif Lapu Lapu. We paid 10p each to the 20 minute pumpboat ride to Olongo Island and hired a tricycle (120p) for the ride to the RAMSAR shorebird preserve. The tide was dropping as we arrived at 11AM and exposing the coral flats. Birds were arriving in small flocks so I got the camera ready and spent the next four hours wandering the flats while Honey and company enjoyed the fresh air and scenery. Animated Terek Sandpipers probed the wet sand and ran around like wind-up toys.

Here's a flyby Common Redshanks.

There were several Gray Plovers around but I think this may be a Pacific Golden-plover judging by the dark flecks on the undertail coverts. Anyone agree?.

Olongo Island is a great place to see the endangered Asian Dowitcher.

My fourth godwit species of the year, Bar-tailed Godwit.

Another great species at Olongo is Great Knot.

Gray-tailed Tattlers were common.

I studied this tern quite a while trying to decide on Common or Roseate. Comments are welcome.

Here's my list for the day. Little Egret 68 Striated Heron 5 Rufous Night-Heron 1 Black-bellied Plover 5 Pacific Golden-Plover 1 Lesser Sand-Plover 10 Greater Sand-Plover 15 Terek Sandpiper 6 Gray-tailed Tattler 20 Common Greenshank 3 Common Redshank 5 Eurasian Curlew 3 Bar-tailed Godwit 12 Ruddy Turnstone 3 Great Knot 3 Red-necked Stint 3 Curlew Sandpiper 40 Asian Dowitcher 4 Gull-billed Tern 4 Whiskered Tern 3 Roseate Tern 1 Collared Kingfisher 5 Golden-bellied Gerygone 3 Brown Shrike 1 Pied Fantail 1 Barn Swallow 1