Bird Finder

01/05/2026

| Custom Birding Tour: 19-days birding across the Philippines 🇵🇭

Lovely couple Klas and Karin Radberg from Sweden reached out and contacted Bird Finder Philippines for a one-of-a-kind excursion, primarily to see the Haring Ibon (The Great Philippine Eagle) and the country's other unique flora and fauna! Bird Finder tour leader Djop Tabaranza arranged a 19-day itinerary for the couple to the rich birdwatching destinations in Mindanao, Palawan, and Luzon, incorporating wildlife-watching and cultural immersion.

During our first leg in Luzon, the many lowland forest birds were the stars of our trip, including the Spotted Wood Kingfisher, Indigo-banded Kingfisher, Luzon Hornbill, and Bicol Ground Warbler. We also went up to Bangkong Kahoy Valley to look for the elusive Whiskered Pitta, one of the hardest Luzon endemics! Our time birding in Luzon was quick, thanks to sites accessible near Metro Manila, allowing us to focus more on the next two legs of the tour.💚

The second leg of this tour was on the island of Mindanao, where we spent most of our time around Mount Kitanglad, looking for the Haring Ibon and discovering many of Mindanao's hidden forest treasures. We're happy to report that we not only spotted one Haring Ibon, but we had two sightings during our trip!🦅🦅 Our Mindanao trip was particularly productive for raptors, seeing the Philippine Serpent Eagle, Black-winged Kite, Grey-faced Buzzard, Philippine Honey Buzzard, and the rare Pinsker's Hawk Eagle. Other Mindanao endemics that we saw include the Bagobo Babbler, Blue-capped Kingfisher, Striated Wren-babbler, adorable Grey-hooded Subird, and Everett's Scops-owl.

Our final leg on Palawan was relaxed and laid back. After visiting the Puerto Princesa Underground River, the Radbergs indulged in some of Palawan's best-ever birding, seeing all three of the famed "Tres Amigos," both of Palawan's nocturnal endemics with the Frogmouth and the Scops-owl, and, of course, no Palawan trip is complete without seeing the amazing Palawan Peacock-pheasant 💙

We ended our 19-day birding tour, recording more than 110 Philippine endemics across Luzon, Mindanao, and Palawan.

Thank you so much for exploring the Philippines with us, Klas and Karin!



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📍 If you are interested in going across the Philippines to explore our avian wonders, reach out to us at [email protected] to get your Philippine birding journey started!
www.birdfinder.ph | [email protected] | .ph | +63 947 890 6422

09/04/2026

We are honored to share that the Philippines and Bird Finder Philippines has been featured on 10,000 Birds — a globally respected platform dedicated to birding, nature, and lifelong exploration.

Founded in 2003 by Mike Bergin and now led by Kai Pflug, 10,000 Birds brings together a passionate community of writers, photographers, and naturalists from around the world. Their mission? To experience, document, and ultimately encounter the incredible diversity of the world’s birds—one species at a time.

Between us, we share that same dream: to one day see every bird species possible—guided by curiosity, conservation, and a deep love for nature.

Expect rich insights and stories spanning natural history, science, conservation, travel, and birding culture—all part of this shared journey.

If you are fascinated by nature, eager to explore new places, and passionate about birds, then this is a community you’ll want to be part of.

Let’s keep exploring. Let’s keep discovering. Let’s keep finding birds. 🇵🇭✨

Highlights 761 Bird species (2024) 274 endemic species (36%) 17 endemic genera 4th in the world in avian endemism ... and ... Largest number of endemic hornbill species in the world – 10 species Largest number of endemic woodpecker species in the world – 9 species Largest number of endemic sunbi...

27/02/2026

| Solo Custom Birding Tour: Southern Sierra Madre Day Trip ⛰️

Ms. Tahmina Watson decided to take a well-deserved respite from her hectic schedule during her busy conference week in Metro Manila. Seeking a moment of tranquility and connection with nature, she embarked on a brief one-day birding excursion with Bird Finder Philippines.

Our Bird Finder tour leaders, Djop Tabaranza and Extian Go Benavidez, arranged a Day-trip itinerary for Tahmina to the lush Southern Sierra Madre Forests in search for Philippine endemic birds to photograph.

The Southern Sierra Madre forest is located in the island of Luzon, making it a part of the Greater Luzon biogeographical region. Some of the greater Luzon endemic species seen in the trip include the very active Blue-headed Fantail, Grey-backed Tailorbird, a pair of White-browed Shamas, and the colorful Flaming Sunbird! The rich and moist lowland forests of the Southern Sierra Madre mountain range is also the home to a plethora of widespread Philippine endemic species, with a couple of localized subspecies as well! Some of the widespread Philippine endemics that we saw include the Philippine Fairy-bluebird, Amethyst Brown-dove, a colorful Philippine Trogon, and the incredibly attractive Spotted Wood Kingfisher!

A fun surprise during our rainy-day trip in Sierra Madre was bumping into our fellow Bird Finder Philippines Tour Guide, Anthony Balbin, with a guest from Bulgaria! All of the Bird Finder guides present that day were armed with our signature Optisan Optics Birding Binoculars, which were reliable during our rainy trips thanks to their water- and fog-resistant design.

Despite the persistent rains that marked our trip, we were thrilled to observe a remarkable total of 28 bird species throughout the day trip.

More impressive with 19 of these species, accounting for 68%, being Philippine endemics.

This high percentage underscores the rich biodiversity of the region, highlighting the unique avian life that can only be found in the Philippines.

17/02/2026

| Canarem Lake Bird & Landscape Photography Contest 🦆📸

Haring Ibon and Bird Finder Philippines' very own Alain Pascua participated in the 2026 Canarem Lake Bird & Landscape Photography Contest, hosted by the Local Government Unit of Victoria, Tarlac, the Provincial Government of Tarlac, the Tarlac Provincial Tourism Office, Victoria Tourism Office, and the Canarem Lake Wildlife Conservation and Ecotourism Team.

This Bird Photography Contest is a huge milestone for Canarem Lake, as it is the first such Contest conducted for the wildlife sanctuary and the municipality of Victoria, Tarlac.

This Contest is the second bird photography contest conducted in the province of Tarlac. The first Tarlac Bird Photography Contest, then called the "Tarlac Birdman 2014," was hosted by the Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines, in partnership with the Provincial Government of Tarlac.

Canarem Lake's status as one of the Philippines' must-visit destinations for Wetland birds has been growing ever since its management took the initiative to embrace ecotourism and bird photography tourism over the past few years. Its birds are numerous, and Filipino bird photographers regularly visit it from across the archipelago, as well as foreigners from around the world, to catch a glimpse of our amazing wetland birds.

We can't wait to see what Canarem Lake holds for the future of ecotourism and bird photography tourism in the coming years!

17/02/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to Haring Ibon and Bird Finder Philippines' very own Alain Pascua for winning the Best Bird-in-Flight Photo Special Award with his Common Kingfisher photograph during the 1st Canarem Lake Birds & Landscape Photo Contest, held in Canarem Lake Bird Sanctuary - Victoria Tarlac PH in Victoria, Tarlac! 🦆📸

16/02/2026

| Samar Island Natural Park site exploration 🌳

Haring Ibon and Bird Finder Philippines visited the Philippines' largest terrestrial protected area as a part of their Easter Visayas Birding site survey and exploration. The team's visit to Samar took place in two parts: the first was before they visited Leyte for the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race, and the second was after the bird race.

The island's rich limestone forests and diverse birdlife drew our team to the area before we headed straight to Leyte. With Samar directly facing the Pacific Ocean, it was no surprise to us that our visit was characterized by heavy rain, especially as a low-pressure area (later to become Bagyong Basyang) developed during our visit. However, the birds of Samar were still exceptional, and we had a lot of surprises during our trip!

Samar hosts several Greater Mindanao endemic birds, including the colorful Azure-breasted Pitta, the Philippine Leaf-warbler, and the Rufous-fronted Tailorbird. But it also harbors several Eastern Visayan endemics found only in Samar, Bohol, and Leyte. A couple of this region's specialties include the Visayan Babbler, a newly split species from the former Black-crowned Babbler, and the Visayan Blue Fantail, seen multiple times throughout the trip. Widespread Philippine endemics seen in the trip include the Rufous-crowned bee-eater, the ever-gorgeous and colorful Philippine Trogon, and the elusive Celestial Monarch.

Our visit to Samar has been rewarding and eye-opening for our team, and we are surprised by the huge potential of Samar Island Natural Park as a spot for our future birding tours. Birds were plentiful, and we are seeing steady growth in trail and lookout infrastructure that will, most certainly, serve as an inspiration to other parks and birding sites across the country.

Our kindest thanks and regards go to the Samar Island Natural Park staff and guides for welcoming us and for accompanying us during our two-day visit to the park. We are grateful for the incredibly insightful discussions on the park's future 🦅

07/02/2026

| 1st Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race in Buarauen and La Paz, Leyte🦜

Haring Ibon and Bird Finder Philippines joined Leyte's first-ever bird photography race held in Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park from February 2 to 3, 2026, organized by the Protected Area Management Board and Protected Area Management Office of Mahagnao Volcano National Park, led by Protected Area Superintendent Wincel Nuñez.

This marks only the second PAMB-organized Bird Photography Race in the Philippines, with the first being the Puerto Princesa Underground River International Bird Photography held in Palawan every November. The Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race also marks the first-ever bird photography race held in the Visayas region of the Philippines.

Alain Pascua, Djop Tabaranza, Christian Benavidez, and Vinz Pascua are our participants from Haring Ibon and Bird Finder Philippines for this bird race.

In addition to joining the bird photography race itself, we also set up a little Haring Ibon booth within Mahagnao Volcano National Park for visitors and participants to see and shop some of our latest field guides, graphic tees, discovery cards, and sticker sheets on sale for the 2-day event.

We also showcased our Optisan Optics Birding LR ED and EVR ED Binoculars, which were perfect for the park's foggy, rainy conditions thanks to their IPX7 Waterproof and Fog-proof rating.

Despite the continuous downpour throughout the bird race, the birds were plentiful around MVNP. We recorded several Eastern Visayas endemic species, such as the colorful Northern Silvery Kingfisher and the iconic Samar Hornbill, as well as incredibly distinct endemic subspecies that are rarely documented, such as the Naked-faced Spiderhunter and the Guaiabero.

Lake Mahagnao and Lake Malagsum host a large population of Philippine Ducks. During this year's migration season, Lake Malagsum is also home to several Tufted Ducks, Northern Shovelers, and Green-winged Teals, with the latter being documented for the first time in the park!

Bird Finder's very own Djop Tabaranza took the most awards, including the Overall Champion for scoring the Most Number of Bird Species Photographed with 31 species and 64 points, as well as the Best Wetland Bird Photograph and Best Bird Action Photograph awards with his Philippine Duck Photo 🏆

Haring Ibon's very own Vinz Pascua garnered the Best Endemic Bird Photograph award with his Guaiabero photo🏅

In the final scoreboard, Vinz took second place (31 species, 60 points) behind Djop, while our very own Christian Benavidez was fourth place (29 species, 55 points) behind Cube Fabella (30 species, 55 points).

The first-ever Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race has been a fun experience for us at Haring Ibon and Bird Finder Philippines. Despite the rainy weather, the birds were still plentiful during our stay, with over 50 species seen and heard.

We're glad to have met several bird photographers and bird watchers from across the country to experience the natural wonders of Leyte up close and to advocate for the conservation and documentation of Leyte's Avian Biodiversity.

We can't wait to see what the next MVNP Bird Photography Race holds! 🦆

07/02/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to Haring Ibon's very own chief design officer, Vinz Pascua, for garnering the Best Endemic Bird Photograph during the first-ever Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race held from February 2-3, 2026 🏅

Vinz's photograph of a Guaiabero (intermedius) was scored the highest by a panel of judges from Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park, DENR, and Philippine Eagle Foundation 🦜

07/02/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to our very own Djop Tabaranza, lead bird guide of Bird Finder Philippines, for garnering the most awards and for winning the first-ever Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race held from February 2-3, 2026 🏆🏅🏅

Djop is the champion of the first-ever Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Bird Photography Race, photographing 31 bird species with a total of 64 points. Djop also garnered the Best Wetland Bird Photograph and Best Bird Action Photograph with his Philippine Duck photo 🦆

27/01/2026

The Blue-naped Parrot, famously known as Pikoy, is one of the most attractive birds found in the Philippines! Although they are frequently seen flying (with their signature fluttering motion) across the forests, one can notice their striking colors when they are perched up close, from the red bill to their multi-colored wings! 🦜

Although the Pikoy is formerly widespread across the country, they now thrive in small numbers, with their strongholds remaining in Subic, Palawan, and Zamboanga.

Capturing a Blue-naped Parrot holds the same punishment as capturing a Philippine Eagle.

📸 by Vinz Pascua

31/12/2025

Happy New Year to all from Haring Ibon, Bird Finder Philippines, and Birds in Focus, Inc. 🎆

Let's welcome a fresh start for 2026 as we soar high and achieve great heights this year ⭐️

Manigong Bagong Taon!