Trip Report

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!