Field Report
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philippines February 7 - 27, 2015 THE PHILIPPINES Donsol / Legazpi Sibuyan Ticao Island Island Coron Island Capul Island ST. PAUL'S Baclayan Island NATIONAL Sogod Bay PARK El Nido Limasawa Island Bucas Grande Island Puerto Princesa Camiguin Lajanosa Island PALAWAN Bohol / Balicasag Island Pamilacan Island Cagayan de Oro Davao City Sandakan MALAYSIA Tuesday, February 10, 2015 Sandakan, Malaysia / Embark Caledonian Sky We all converged in the city of Sandakan from distant reaches of the planet for the same reason—to embark on an expedition to experience the culture, wildlife, and landscapes of the Philippines. Having gathered the previous night for our welcome cocktail party, we checked out of our hotel this morning and made our way up to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. We watched in awe as a young orangutan made its way closer, its large hands and feet making travel on vines and branches look so easy. From there, we traveled to a private reserve for the very distinct-looking proboscis monkey. One of the largest monkeys in Asia, the proboscis monkey is named for its large nose, which is quite different in shape and size between the sexes and the old and the young. We watched both bachelor groups and harems interact; the roof and railings of the building we observed from were the play area of silvered leaf monkeys, small and fearless balls of fur with long non-prehensile tails. Also present were large Oriental pied hornbills. We stopped for lunch at a tea garden with white-bellied sea eagles soaring overhead and fantastic views to the sea below us. We wandered through the former residence of American writer Agnes Keith, who wrote three books about her life in Borneo, in and around the time of World War II. We then stopped at an impressive Buddhist temple, still completely decorated from the recent Chinese New Year. Late in the afternoon, we arrived at the pier and boarded the Caledonian Sky, our home for the next few weeks. Expedition Leader Mike Messick introduced us to the staff, Cruise Director Lynne Greig gave us an overview of the ship, and Assistant Expedition Leader Mike Moore briefed us on Zodiac operations. Following a wonderful dinner served in the dining room, we were ready for a good night’s sleep. Wednesday, February 11 Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines We awoke to gorgeous blue water in all directions, well on our way to Puerto Princesa, the provincial capital of Palawan. Kathy Robinson gave the first lecture of the day, People, Religion, and Culture of the Philippines, which was an excellent introduction to the origins and customs of the people here. We then met Brad Climpson for a snorkel briefing and the divers had an introduction meeting as well. After lunch, we pulled alongside in Puerto Princesa, where we received a wonderful welcome in the form of various dance groups performing on the dock. Those of us birdwatching disembarked first, driving up into the mountains in the hopes of spotting some of Palawan’s birdlife. A group of Palawan hornbills were perched in a tree on a ridge across the valley, while an occasional hill myna flew past overhead. The rest of us went off on a cultural tour of Puerto Princesa and the surrounding area. We had the chance to try our hand at weaving at the Binuatan Cultural Center, where we quickly gained an appreciation for the skill required to do it competently. We also visited with the local Batak tribe, meeting many interesting characters along the way. We had lovely interactions with the local children, who happily posed with us for photographs. Once back onboard, we pulled away from the pier, with a dance performance and many a waving hand giving us a wonderful send off. Later, we gathered in the Main Lounge for Captain Hakan Admarker’s Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party. We mingled over champagne, and the captain introduced some of his senior officers. Thursday, February 12 El Nido A beautiful sunrise illuminated the striking islands and islets of El Nido as we maneuvered our morning’s anchorage. El Nido, which translates as “the nest,” refers to the many swiftlets that nest in the caves and crevices of the karst limestone mountains in this area. The swifts, which are one of the few birds that can echolocate, flew back and forth overhead as we arrived by Zodiac to a protected cove, where we would spend the morning diving, snorkeling, and exploring a lovely white sand beach. The divers did their check-out dive, getting re-familiarized with their gear, while the snorkelers took to the water for our first glimpse at the underwater diversity here in the Philippines. We came across Clark’s anemonefish, nestled cozily among the stinging tentacles of its host anemone, and foraging pairs of beautiful long-beaked coralfish, a type of butterflyfish. Feather stars sat conspicuously on coral heads, and the long white feeding arms of spaghetti worms stretched out across the seafloor, in search of organic material. We repositioned to a new area as we relaxed over lunch on the outer deck. Once the anchor was down, some of us made a landing on a gorgeous beach where the bar staff were ready to greet us with icy refreshments. Some local fishermen were on the beach and we had the chance to talk with them about life in this remote part of the Philippines. Underwater, the divers and snorkelers dove on a steep drop- off covered in coral growth. Staghorn and scissor-tailed damsels hovered above the reef itself, plucking plankton up as it drifted past the reef. Some of us headed into the shallows, where the reef transitioned to sand and the community of fish consisted of many tiny juveniles. Back on the ship, we grabbed a cocktail and watched the sunset before meeting the expedition team in the lounge for a lively recap, followed by dinner. Friday, February 13 Ulugan Bay, St. Paul’s National Park Today we set out to visit one of the longest underground rivers in the world, a stretch of the Cabayugan River that disappears into a limestone cave for over five miles before it empties out into the sea. Exploring the cave was quite an adventure, but the various means of transport required to even get to the river was good fun itself—after taking a Zodiac ride up a mangrove-lined river, we went by road to the town of Sabang, where we boarded colorful wooden boats with outriggers. Under glorious sunshine, we cruised along the coast all cozy in our covered seats. We disembarked at a beach not far from the river mouth, where boardwalks took us through thick forest to the edge of the river. There we donned hardhats, boarded a local canoe, and selected among us who would have the all-important job of shining the light where the local guide asked. Once inside, we encountered every imaginable shape of rock formation. The clicks of echolating swiftlets came and went, while we passed huge roosts of several species of bats clinging to the cave ceiling above us. There were impressive stalactites and stalagmites, and stretches where we entered a massive chamber where the ceiling was so far overhead that the roosting bats appeared as tiny dark specks. Some of us went on a long hike through beautiful terrain on the way back from the cave. It was quite the work out, but well worth it to get out into the wilds of Palawan. Others went off in search of birds, spending some time admiring the impressively large monitor lizards along the way. In addition to white-rumped shamas and Palawan flowerpeckers, we came across the gorgeous male Palawan peacock pheasant, with beautiful reflective blue feathers. On the way back to the ship for lunch, we stopped at a school where the local band performed for us, and then came around to say hello. In the afternoon, Rommel Cruz spoke to us about many of the birds we may encounter in the Philippines, which was followed by special waffles and ice cream at afternoon tea. This was followed by Rich Pagen’s talk, Productivity on the Coral Reef: How Interspecies Relationships Have Built an Empire. Saturday, February 14 Coron Island This morning, we boarded Zodiacs and sped across a glassy sea, which reflected perfectly the steep karst limestone cliffs of Coron Island. Erosion from falling rain has left impressive gray rock spires, accented by green forest. We landed in a small cove, and began a climb up several hundred steps to a viewpoint out to the sea on one side, and down to beautiful Kayangan Lake on the other. We hiked down to the lake, where a boardwalk wound around part of the rocky shoreline. Snails were everywhere on the submerged rocks, and some of us jumped in for a swim or a snorkel. Ashy drongos sallied for insects from bare tree branches, while an occasional racquet-tail parrot flew overhead, calling loudly. Meanwhile, the birders headed off to the Mabentangin Nature Reserve to stake out a stream for kingfishers, and the divers dropped in on one of severalWorld War II shipwrecks in the area. We returned to the ship to gear up for a pre-lunch snorkel in a nearby marine park, where the diversity of corals and fish was astounding. Several species of brightly colored nudibranchs were spotted, as well as several species of cardinalfish, somewhat unusual for these nocturnal creatures. Other highlights included a huge school of yellowtail barracuda and false clown anemonefish living among the stinging tentacles of their host sea anemone.