Birds of Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park, Leyte

This is my first time visiting Leyte, and I'm grateful to have visited this island through Haring Ibon and Bird Finder's participation in the first-ever Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park (MVNP) Bird Photography Race!

Yup, who thought that Leyte would be the next spot to have a bird photography race?

Well, Leyte doesn't have as many photographic records of birds as other places in the East Visayas-Greater Mindanao region, particularly compared to nearby Bohol. So, a bird photography race like this is a brilliant and incredible way for the province to get the records going. This enables birders from across the Philippines (like me!) to support the park's documentation and conservation efforts by photographing all birds observed over a couple of days within MVNP.

We photographed over 30 species and recorded over 50 within MVNP! Leyte's birds are amazing. The gorgeous Northern Silvery Kingfisher (Ceyx flumenicola), the rare Naked-faced Spiderhunter (Arachnothera clarae), and the colorful Guaiabero (Bolbopsittacus lunulatus) are some of my personal favorites from the trip! But their endemic species and subspecies are often overlooked by their mainland Greater Mindanao, or even Bohol, counterparts. I'm still fascinated by how much we really don't know about the birds of the Eastern Visayas. Some species were lumped in recent years, but I find them quite perplexing once we start comparing Eastern Visayas birds with Mindanao birds.

The point is, we need more bird photographers to visit Leyte, Samar, and other less documented parts of the Philippines to really widen our understanding of our wildlife! I highly encourage birders and bird photographers to step out of their comfort zones and join initiatives like this to explore the Philippines and help local teams document our country's birdlife.

Thank you to the PAMB and PAMO of Mahagnao Volcano National Park, Protected Area Superintendent Wincel Nunez, Sir Kim Lumanas, and Sir Ian Harbjorn Redoña Bagol for all the help and support during our stay in Mahagnao Volcano National Park! Congratulations on making this event a fun and successful one!