Birds of Samar Island Natural Park
The island of Samar has enormous untapped potential for ecotourism and bird photography tourism that has yet to be fully explored. We were impressed by the lowland limestone forests we saw during our ride around the island, and the park's birdlife is among the most surprising we have seen! This is my first visit to Samar, and, although I do have preconceived notions of the island being difficult for bird photographers, we were impressed by Samar's potential, which could lead to a rebranding as one of the Philippines' most underrated birding destinations in the coming years.
We recorded around 35 species across our two-day visits in a single birding site. My favorite was seeing two Azure-breasted Pittas along the park's trails! Day 1 had very close encounters with a Philippine Jungle-flycatcher (Cyornis ruficauda). Day 2 treated us to several East Visayan endemics, including multiple encounters with Visayan Blue Fantails (Rhipidura samarensis) and Visayan Babblers (Sterrhoptilus nigrocapitatus) in the dark forests. Although they like to stay way up high in the tree's canopy, photographing them was incredibly difficult. We also had quick glimpses of famous Philippine endemics, notably the colorful linae subspecies of the Philippine Trogon (Harpactes ardens) and the incredibly elusive and sought-after Celestial Monarch (Hypothymis coelestis).
Samar definitely has a lot more for us to explore, and we only scratched the surface with our short stopover trips. The park still faces a couple of challenges that are beyond its control. Getting to the site is quite difficult, with many bumpy, unmaintained roads (I do mean a lot) and a lack of signal along the way. The trails themselves can get slippery during typhoon season. I slipped on the way down to a station, hehe! But it's been relieving to see a very supportive park staff that is incredibly open to transforming the park into the next Philippine birding destination, especially with their stations and established lookout towers for Hornbills and, potentially, Philippine Eagles.
Maraming Salamat, Sir Epifanio Obidos, Sir Ben Cancerian Zign, and the staff of Samar Island Natural Park for all the help and support during our trip to Samar!
