Intrepid Philippines

Cebu, Tablas, Bohol, Negros, Mindoro, Camiguin, Luzon

29th March - 20th April 2025

Leader: Pete Simpson

12th April - 4th May 2025

Leader: Rob Hutchinson

Our standard Philippines tours give and amazing taste of the endemicity that the archipelago has to offer, but there are many more that are off the regular circuit, or on less accessible islands, that leave birders yearning to return. Our Intrepid Philippines tour takes in an exciting selection of rare, enigmatic, or difficult to reach endemics which are not possible on our other Philippines tours. The tour offers at least another 60 endemics including such delights as Visayan Wattled Broadbill, Camiguin Hanging Parrot, Mindanao Lorikeet, Tablas Drongo, Isabela Oriole, Northern and Southern Silvery Kingfishers, Flame-templed Babbler and yet another collection of endemic night-birds. Not only this but it’s an extremely comfortable tour, staying in hotels throughout (not a tent or shared toilet in sight) and without the long treks that used to be a feature of this tour.

Day 1: 
International arrivals into Manila International (MNL) Airport. Night inManila. 

Day 2: 
‍Early morning flight to General Santos in southern Mindanao.  A relatively short drive from the airport finds us in good roadside forest where we will spend the rest of the day looking particularly for the localised T’boli Sunbird, and the rare Mindanao Lorikeet, which is still pleasantly common here, having been extirpated from much of its range by trapping for the cagebird trade. Night at Tboli. 

‍Day 3: 
‍We have another morning to explore this sub-montane forest with a fine selection of endemics on offer including the undescribed ‘Matutum’ Grasshopper Warbler,Flame-crowned Flowerpecker, Bundok Flycatcher, McGregor’s Cicadabird, and the very elusive Bagobo Robin. In the afternoon we return to General Santos and flyback to Manila. Night in Manila 

‍Day 4: 
‍Early morning flight to Tablas where we transfer from Tugdan Airport to our base in San Agustin. We begin our birding in the afternoon at the Dubduban Watershed, the only substantial remaining patch of forest on the island, in search of Tablas Bulbul, Tablas Fantail and the spectacular lyre-tailed Tablas Drongo. At night we will search for Romblon Boobook and Mantanani Scops Owl. Night at San Agustin, Tablas. 

‍Day 5:  
Flight schedules dictate that we have another full day on Tablas. We will hope to enjoy further views of the Tablas endemics as well as other more widespread Philippine endemics like Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove, Blue-crowned Racquet-tail, Philippine and Hooded Pitta, Rufous-lored Kingfisher, Northern Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, and Dimorphic Kingfisher. Night at San Agustin, Tablas.

‍Day 6:  
Transfer back to Tugdan Airport for our flight back to Manila before continuing to Tagbilaran. From the new Bohol-Panglao airport on the adjacent island of Panglao we cross to the main island of Bohol and transfer to Bilar. Night at Bilar, Bohol.

‍Days 7-8: 
We have two full days to explore Rajah Sikatuna Natural Park, which protects the most extensive forests on Bohol. There is good birding on a network of trails where we might hope to find all major targets; Visayan Wattled Broadbill often with mixed feeding flocks, Northern Silvery Kingfisher, Yellow-breastedTailorbird, Samar Hornbill, Bohol Sunbird, Visayan (Black-crowned) Babbler, and Visayan Blue Fantail, and perhaps even the rare Mindanao Bleedingheart. There will be plenty more to keep us entertained and this is an excellent place to see the likes of Philippine (Rufous-tailed) Jungle Flycatcher, Streaked Ground Babbler, Rufous-lored Kingfisher, Short-billed and Amethyst Brown Dove,Black-bibbed Cicadabird, Steere’s Pitta, and boholensis Mindanao Cuckooshrike. At night we will try to find Philippine Frogmouth, Luzon Boobook, and Everett’s Scops Owl, with good chances of seeing Philippine Colugo. Nights at Bilar, Bohol.

‍Day 9: 
This morning we return to Tagbilaran to connect with the fast ferry to Cebu.Once on Cebu we transfer to Mactan Airport for our flight to Camiguin Sur. The small volcanic island of Camiguin, just off the north coast of Mindanao, is a surprising hotbed of endemism. We have the remainder of the day on the island searching for the island endemic Camiguin Hanging Parrot, the recently split Camiguin Bulbul, and distinctive taxa of Black-naped Monarch and Yellowish White-eye. SouthernRufous Paradise Flycatcher and Dimorphic Kingfisher are not uncommon on the island, and at night we will look for the recently described Camiguin Boobook. Night on Camiguin. 

Day 10:  
‍We have a final morning on Camiguin Sur to concentrate on any endemics not seen the previous day, before flying back to Cebu and transferring to our comfortable resort. In the evening, we look for the endemic Cebu Boobook. Night on Cebu. 

‍Day 11: 
‍We have a full morning in the forest at Tabunan, one of the few forest patches remaining on the island, which retains just 0.03% of its original forest cover. We will be looking for Cebu Boobook, Black Shama andCebu Bulbul (part of the three-way split from Streak-breasted) but should also find major White-vented Whistler, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Magnificent Sunbird, and the distinctive cebuensis Coppersmith Barbet. Unfortunately, Cebu Flowerpecker hasn’t been reliably recorded for several year, although we will always be on the lookout! We return to Cebu City in the afternoon to connect with our evening flight to Bacolod. Night in Bacolod. 

‍Day 12: 
‍Full day at Gawahon Ecopark northeast of Bocolod, on the edge of theNorth Negros Forest Reserve. Our main target here is the elusive White-throatedJungle Flycatcher but there’s also an outside chance of the rare SouthernIndigo-banded Kingfisher, which is sometimes present, and more widespreadendemics such as the spectacular Flame-templed Babbler, Black-beltedFlowerpecker, ‘Negros’ Shortwing, Visayan Fantail, Visayan Tailorbird, andVisayan Bulbul. Night in Bacolod. 

‍Day 13: 
‍Morning birding on the lower slopes of Mount Kanlaon which is an excellent area to look for Visayan Shama, and further chances to find Flame-templed Babbler together with the increasingly rare Blue-crowned Racquet-tail. In the afternoon we make the long drive south to Dumaguete. Nightin Dumaguete. 

‍Days 14-15:  
We have two full days in the area which we willsplit between several sites. Mount Talinis is one of a very few places on Negros where we can find the islands’ only true endemic; Negros Striped Babbler, along with ‘Negros’ Shortwing which is surely a future armchair split. We will also spend time at Balinsasayao Lakes in search of remaining endemics including Visayan Cuckooshrike, White-winged Cicadabird, Yellow-faced Flameback, Visayan Rhabdornis, Visayan Hornbill, Visayan Fantail, Visayan BrownDove, Visayan Tailorbird, Visayan Balicassiao, Maroon-naped and Magnificent Sunbirds, and Black-belted Flowerpecker. At night we will hope for Negros Scops Owl and the vocally distinct menagei Philippine Frogmouth. Other nice species likely include winchelli White-vented Whistler, nigrorum Yellowish White-eye, Lemon-throated Leaf Warbler, Blue-crowned Racquet-tail, Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon, and Philippine Spinetailed Swift. We will also make side trips to looks for missing endemics like Visayan Shama. Nights in Dumaguete. 

‍Day 16: 
We have a final morning near Dumaguete in search of any missing endemics at Balinsasayao Lakes, or if we have already cleaned up, the option to cross to nearby Siquijor in search of Siquijor Bulbul. In the evening, we return to Manila for an overnight stay. 

‍Day 17:    
Early morning flight to San Jose, Mindoro, then transfer to Sablayan. The rest of the day will be spent birding within the nearby Sablayan Penal Colony where we will begin our search for the islands’ endemics and also remain after nightfall to search the forest edge for Mindoro Boobook. Night in Sablayan.  

Day 18: 
Full day birding at Sablayan Penal Colony. The penal colony has some of the last remaining lowland forest on the island and we will hope to find Scarlet-collared Flowerpecker, Mindoro Hornbill and Black-hooded Coucal. We will also expect to find the Mindoro Bulbul, a cryptic member of the former ‘Philippine Bulbul’ complex, and the recently split Mindoro Racquet-tail, while on the lookout for other taxonomic quandaries like the Mindoro Cuckooshrike and an undescribed resident form of Indian Cuckoo. We will also have a chance of several tricky Philippine endemics that are now easier to find here than elsewhere in the islands such as Spotted Imperial Pigeon, Pink-bellied ImperialPigeon, and Black-bibbed Cicadabird. At dusk we will again look for Mindoro Boobook if required, and this is an excellent place for Kayumanggi / ChirrupingNightjar, a recently split from Savanna Nightjar. Night in Sablayan.

Day 19:  
‍We depart early this morning to drive back to San Jose for our flights firstly to Manila, before continuing to Zamboanga City. We begin our birding in the afternoon with a search for Southern Silvery Kingfisher near the city. Night in Zamboanga City. 

‍Day 20: 
We spend the day in the well-preserved Pasonanca Watershed above the city. Our main targets will be Zamboanga Bulbul, which is endemic to the Zamboanga Peninsula, and White-eared Tailorbird found only inWestern Mindanao. There are many other good endemics on offer perhaps including Southern Sooty Woodpecker, Philippines (Rufous-tailed) Jungle Flycatcher and Little Slaty Flycatcher. Night in Zamboanga City. 

Day 21: 
We fly to Tuguegarao in the north of Luzon via Manila. From Tuguegarao we travel to Baggao near the foothills of the Sierra Madre, in search of one of the world’s rarest birds. Isabela Oriole vanished for nearly 50 years before being rediscovered in this corner of Luzon in 2003. These days much research has been carried out but the species in still known from just a handful of pairs. We will spend the afternoon in forest near Blue Waterfalls in search of the oriole.  Night in Baggao. 

‍Day 22: 
We have another full day in the Blue Water Falls area which holds not only Isabela Oriole but also good chances of Cagayan Malkoha, White-lored Oriole, Luzon Striped Babbler, Golden-crowned Babbler, Green-backed/Trilling Tailorbird, Sierra Madre Ground Warbler, Furtive Flycatcher, ‘Northern’ Cream-bellied Fruit Dove, Spotted Imperial Pigeon, and rarities like White-fronted Tit and Luzon Bleedingheart. Night in Baggao. 

‍Day 23: 
We return to Tuguegarao to connect with our flight back to Manila for International departures or transfer to Belmont Hotel for those continuing to the Philippines Endemic Bonanza tour. 

‍Note: itinerary is for illustrative purposes, the final itinerary will likely vary slightly from the above depending on available flight and ferry schedules but we expect to include all the featured destinations.