Birds and Birders in Bislig

Philippine Oriole
Canon 40D + 600mm + 1.4x TC at 840mm f/5.6, 1/50Sec, ISO-800, EV+2, Gimbal and Tripod

Awesome set Nilo. The Yellowish Bulbul is a killer, amazing details and great exposure job.

Azure-breasted Pitta (a.k.a. Steere's Pitta)
Canon 40D + 600mm, f/5.6, 1/5Sec, ISO-160, EV+1, Gimbal and Tripod

Congrats, Doc Clemn, for having this pic as Bird of the Week!

I would surely go back to Bislig to nail this guy!

Wow .. Nice capture Nilo ... I missed this one. It should be a lifer for me.

Wow thanks for the ID Ivan, I was actually torn between the but hoping it was a Brown Tit. Now I have the BTB.

We stalked this Tailorbird, and I stalked it hard. The 300mm f2.8 really worked wonders at that time when the sun was just rising in the east and it was not yet so bright in the forest on our way to Tinuy-an Falls.

This bird did not pose for even a second as it jumped from one branch to another, one had to walk faster to be in ahead of it to get decent shot.

But alas, we were not able to nail its cousin the Black-Headed Tailorbird, as it only showed itself once, and then hid from our view. But there will also be next time!

Here's the Rufous-Headed Tailorbird, an endemic and split species from the Philippine Tailorbird.

Rufous-Fronted Tailorbird Orthotomus frontalis, Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, August 30, 2010
Canon EOS 50D + EF 300mm f2.8... 1/200, f/2.8, iso400, handheld

This was the time when our lunch was supposed to be a warm Tinola from one of the chickens that roam in the forest, but domesticated by a dweller there. Sadly, the supposed cook went "malling" and did not come back.

I was proposing to Zardo our guide that he mobilize an assistant or two assistants that would bring along chairs, tables, kitchenware, etc. so they can always provide foldable chairs to birders, can set up hot lunch or dinner on tables with chairs and candles, can even sell ice-cold soda and beer, and can setup hammocks or tents for alittle nap! Whew!.... what very good things to wish for after having hiked for some kilometers and chase birds for hours! ;D

Zardo and/or the Vice Mayor can even organize the local dwellers in the forest so they can provide homestays for birders who want to sleep there to avoid the 1-2 hours travel from hotel to the forest and to have first crack of the birds in the area even before the sun rises.

The very next day, the idea of hiring porters to carry tripods and long lenses came into fruition... Oh what an easy birding could it be! It's like a walk in the park! ;D

If these can happen, the community can be organized, and all those involved in the birding cycle - the guide, the assistants, the porters, the drivers, the homestays, etc. can form themselves into a cooperative or ngo... and with the support of the LGU, can do more and many things for themselves and for the birds and the forest... for us too! ;D