Birds of the Philippines

Owing to just a short stay out in the country, most of the birds I captured are pretty common, but still very exotic from a New York point of view!

Brahminy Kite - a large eagle flying over the rice fields and pastures (someone said it's just like a Bald Eagle, but balder):


Cattle Egret - very common all around the world, even in US, but posing next to a distinctly Southeast-Asian-colored cattle here:


Little Egret - close cousin of the North America's Snowy Egret:



These evil-looking birds are Asian Glossy Starlings. The one with the striped breast and belly - and that seems most intent on causing some harm - is actually an immature:



Yellow-Vented Bulbuls - hardy soulds that are very common all over, even reportedly in Manila, although I haven't seen them there:


White-Breasted Woodswallow:


Long-Tailed Shrike:


Pied Bushchat:


And of course, I have to show the Euroasian Tree Sparrow here, which seems to be the only bird hardy enough to survive even in the concrete sea of Manila:

The Philippines: Tagaytay and Taal Volcano

As any Filipino will tell you, Taal is a vocano that's so huge that not only a lake has formed inside its caldera, but also that a smaller crater has popped up in the middle of that lake, and that this crater now has a lake of its own in it. It's a lake on an island in the middle of a lake! In reality, there are many smaller craters all around the original caldera, which is indeed huge (probably good 15-20 miles in diameter). The volcano has been active lately, and the trips across the lake and onto the island weren't running, but we could still see the stupendous views from one of the restaurants on the rim in the town of Tagaytay.


This is the most visible crater inside the lake, but still just one of many:


Fish farms on the lake:


Weather system coming in:

The Philippines: Pico de Loro club

For some relaxation we left Manila and went to Nasugbu, a beach-and-resort area about three hours south of the city. We managed to beg an invitation to a Beach & Country Club community called Pico de Loro. It is located on a small protected cove, with a great beach and extra-warm ocean waters. The beach club (it's not a resort - normally you to either own a condo there or be a guest of someone who does) was still very new and therefore mostly empty, with sparkling pools with fountains in them, and great local food (best mango smoothie I've ever tasted!).

The Philippines: Nature

As large as Manila is, its suffocating urbanity is an aberration in the Philippines. Most of the country's nature is beautiful and amazing:












Every conceivable surface is farms, even the steep hills:


The fauna includes the largest toad I have ever seen (discovered behind a fountain at our house in Manila):


Also, here are two strange beach creatures - a huge sand-digging insect, and a tiny crab (the rocks on which it is standing are actually individual grains of sand):

The Philippines: Jeepneys

A jeepney is the unhealthy offspring of a Jeep and a bus. They come in many different shapes, all of which look cobbled together over time from spare parts (and that's because they were), and in many more colors, each palette and decoration scheme as unique as their driver and owner. The longer they are in service, the crustier they get. They follow set routes like buses, but can be flagged and boarded anywhere. Unlike for the buses in the US, the fares for the jeepneys are dirt cheap - equivalent of 20 cents for a city trip.









The other deathtrap contraption that answers to the name of "public transportation" is a tricycle. Nothing more than a motorcycle with an enclosed cart, it is actually able to "seat" more people than a minivan - to different degrees of comfort.