few shots of the rock formations in Kaluwayan Beach Resort, Marabut, Samar last weekend. i considered this as a bonus for the day 
photographing travel & landscapes while in a wedding engagement!
while proceeding to the islets thanks for this photo Aldrich!
in action
so fortunate to visit again the Biri-Larosa Protected Seascape of Northern Samar with a great weather. This time, our group stayed at the island overnight but never at the rock formations 
it would have been a perfect time shooting the seascape and rock formations at night having the moon’s disk fully illuminated! anyways, i’ll try to schedule another trip next fullmoon
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i’ve been stuck at home these past days because of the incessant rain… no birds, no landscape either… so i “traveled” within my hard disk drive to perhaps felt like i went out and revisited some places here in samar here are the photos from the first stop of my virtual travel, capul.
the historical lighthouse
the church’s belfry and wall built by the Jesuits in the 18th century and renovated by the Franciscans in the late 19th century
facing mt. bulosan of sorsogon
more photos coming from the second stop of my virtual travel
had an opportunity last weekend to guide two international birdwatchers here in samar. our sortie was successful spotting their bird objectives, the slender billed crow and blue fantail 
we also got bonus by seeing naked-faced spiderhunter, rufous and tarictic hornbills, few tailorbirds, raptors, phil falconet, dollarbirds, fairy bluebird, black naped monarch, and also the regulars at SINP veranda. here are some of the limited photos that i managed to snap during the trip.
Dean and Craig, along the road…
The Rufous Hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax), also known as Philippine Hornbill and, locally, as Kalaw (pronounced kah-lau) is a large species of hornbill. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs in primary, mature secondary and disturbed forests on 11 islands: Luzon and Marinduque (race hydrocorax), Samar, Leyte, Bohol,Panaon, Biliran, Calicoan and Buad (race semigaleatus), Dinagat, Siargao, Mindanao (plus Balut, Bucas and Talicud) and Basilan (race mindanensis). It is still common locally, notably in the Sierra Madre of Luzon, but continues to suffer from substantial hunting pressure and widespread loss of habitat. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous_Hornbill
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The Samar Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides samarensis), sometimes shortened to Samar Hornbill, is a species of hornbill in the Bucerotidae family. It is found in forests on the islands of Samar, Calicoan, Leyteand Bohol in the east-central Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of P. panini. Alternatively, it is considered a subspecies of P. affinis. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samar_Tarictic_Hornbill
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The Naked-faced Spiderhunter (Arachnothera clarae) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked-faced_Spiderhunter
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Guests: Cebu Bird Photographers (Dr. Boy and Marester Macasiano, Tateo Osawa and Dr. LuiCo)
Location: Samar Island Natural Park
Date: Feb. 24-26, 2011
Note: Aside from the common birds found in our birding sites, one uncommon species was photographed - the samar endemic Blue Fantail
here are some of the documentary photos. enjoy viewing!
the Cebu Birdnuts
Samar Tarictic Hornbill, captured while having our first mug of coffee
Stripe-Headed Rhabdornis
Everett’s White-eye
Purple Throated Sunbird
Philippine Trogon
a more intimate shot of Everett’s White-eye
Stripe-Headed Rhabdornis
White-Throated Kingfisher
Philippine Bulbul
Black-Naped Monarch
Dollarbird
Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker
Crested Serpent-Eagle
Whiskered Tree Swift and Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker (background)
Coleto
a mixed flock of small birds
Rufous Hornbills in flight. a documentary shot, taken at a very far distance
Purple Throated Sunbird (female)
the shy and uncommon, Blue Fantail (Rhipidura Superciliaris Samarensis). Taken in a dark understorey of the forest.
Gecko
Few more birds, the Samar’s Spangled Drongo, Silvery Kingfisher, Fairy Bluebirds, etc., were spotted during the sortie but we failed to take photos due to distance and poor light availability inside the forest. Nevertheless, what is more important is we were able to confirm the presence of those bird species inside the Samar forests, and we have something more to photograph in the next trip!
