Text and photos by Djop Tabaranza Some novice birders might be intimidated to talk to the more experienced birders in the field especially when they hear scientific names being mentioned alongside the more familiar common English names or local Filipino names of the birds. So let us delve a bit deeper into how birds get…
by Maia Tanedo Binoculars are the most basic equipment a birdwatcher must have to be able to fully enjoy watching birds. Bins or binocs enable us to get close-up views of our subjects and has converted many of us from people ignorant of the birds around to fully fledged birdwatchers the moment we see birds…
by Maia Tanedo What is “twitching”?In birding lingo, twitching does not refer to the muscular spasm or convulsive body movement. Rather it is a British slang term for a dedicated pursuit to see a specific bird. Usually, these subjects of birders twitching trips are rarities, uncommon sightings, and even once in a lifetime birds seemingly…
by Djop Tabaranza Among the representatives of the animal kingdom, birds are the only group which have feathers. Feathers are specialized skin covers that are collectively known as “plumage.” The term “plumage” was derived from the Latin “pluma” which means feathers and refers to the bird’s collective feather covering, including its colors and patterns. During…
by Djop Tabaranza Right about this time of the year, the migratory birds that we have enjoyed over the past few months are beginning their northward return flight to their breeding grounds. This past migration season, we have been awed by sightings of rare spoonbills, curlews, and huge flocks of gulls and terns but we…
by Maia Tanedo As the year comes to a close, the Philippines finds itself well within the migration season. For birdwatchers, this means going out to enjoy the influx of migratory species and, personally for me, it’s time to go out and see some waders! There are many migratory hotspots throughout the country. In Luzon,…
Text and photos by Maia Tanedo For this issue, I’d like to share an article I wrote for my personal blog featuring some scientific names of birds I’ve encountered. I’m a teacher by profession and the world of ornithology and the “technicality” of taxonomy was an interesting but mysterious field when I started out birding.…
BIRDWATCHING 101: What a Fledgling Birder Needs to Know by Maia Tañedo Maybe you’ve heard the term before: birdwatching or birding. Maybe you let out a little snigger or commented something “green”, particularly if you’re Filipino and know the innuendo to the term “bird.” Maybe you’ve come across people staring up at trees in awe,…
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