This posts serves to document the birds I encountered in Culion, Palawan. Culion is part of the 200+ islands in the Calamianes group of islands. This includes the other three major islands Coron, Busuanga and Linapacan. Birding in this area shares similar sets of species and endemics. A nice companion to this post Birds of Culion, is the Birds of Coron and Busuanga which I did early part of the year.
First Documentation Visit in Culion
I’ve visited Culion before but my recent visit last December 19 and 20, 2021 wasn’t really a proper birding sortie. I was part of a tour group and I just take advantage of the time and location where I’m in. Birding takes a lot of time and patience. For this trip, I’m just glad to be able to visit Culion again which recently just opened during the pandemic.
Asy-fronted Bulbul
ashy-fronted bulbul (Pycnonotus cinereifrons)
Naglayan Island (SETIR)
2021.12.19
Palawan endemic
Nice to see this one again, one of the Palawan endemic bulbuls. Spotted this at the trees in the butterfly garden at Sunlight Ecotourism Island Resort (SETIR)
Palawan drongo
Palawan drongo (Dicrurus palawanensis)
Palawan endemic
Culion Town
2021.12.19
The Palawan drongo in this photo was found at the cliff behind the Culion Church. There’s actually a lot of Palawan drongos I’ve seen in the area. Easily noticeable by the shape of their tail.
Pink-necked green pigeon
Pink-necked green pigeon (Treron vernans)
Culion Town
2021.12.19
Found perched almost at the same spot as the previous Palawan drongo. This Pink-necked green pigeon looks to be a female (males have more distinct pink chest). Image isn’t as sharp as I liked but nice to find them here.
Common greenshank
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Naglayan Island (SETIR)
2021.12.19
*Lifer
The only lifer from the trip. Unexpectedly found this wader while biking around the island. I was heading to the northwestern side of the island when I stopped on a corner. Noticed this Common Greenshank perched on a rock.
Asian Glossy Starling
Asian glossy starling (Aplonis panayensis)
Naglayan Island (SETIR)
2021.12.19
Plenty of these flying around so it’s a nice distraction and practice shoot.
Pacific swallow
Pacific swallow (Hirundo tahitica)
Naglayan Island (SETIR)
2021.12.19
The pacific swallow is pretty common but its kinda tricky to photography as they fly around often and are small. Just took advantage of photographing them while perched on the roofs of the villas.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
