Post by Ely Teehankee on Jul 31, 2011 0:56:06 GMT
It takes 1 1/2 hours to go to Sabang about 50 kilometers from Puerto Princesa. Than you have to take a motorized banca to go to the town of Sabang where the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located. The river is 8.2 kilometers of navigable river and one of the 28 finalists for the "New Seven Wonders of Nature" competition. It is the world's second longest underground river. On December 4, 1999 UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage Site The river is subject to tidal influences so everyone is required to wear a hard hat and a life vest. The banca ride manually paddled is a short ride of 20 minutes to go in and 20 minutes to go out of the underground river. It was a quiet ride with the boatman rowing and explaining the different formation of stalagmites and stalactites. I am glad to have taken this trip as it is truly a wonderful experience to see this subterranean river. The banca comes equipped with a powerful search light powered by a car battery. There are plenty of bats in the cave and in some areas the smell of the guano is quite strong. The Palawan Underground River averages 800 tourist a day. During the summer it reaches over a thousand a day. It creates a source of livelihood for the community as the motorized banca are privately owned. It cost P700 per banca for the round trip. A system of rotation in taking turns to ferry passengers makes it fair & equitable for everyone. On a good day some earn more than one trip. This is a remarkable achievement by the City Government of Puerto Princesa. A word of caution is that you have to pay the city government P150 per person for the underground river cruise in the city of Puerto Princesa to be able to take the underground river cruise.
The famous Palawan Peacock was nowhere to be seen as there were big Monitor lizards in the area. There were also a lot of monkeys. They are so used to people that when they hear the rustle of a snack plastic or aluminum pack they would come near you and even snatch it from you. There is a sign there that says do not feed the monkey. After being ignored and avoided by the tourist they soon leave the area. The irony is that there is a person there who calls the monkeys in the middle of the day by yelling "Ungoyyyyyyyyyy". In a span of 10 minutes after a couple more calls you would see the monkeys rushing in from the forests trying to outrun each other to get to the cauldron of leftover rice. There were more than 30 of them and some with babies clinging to their mothers. The monkeys went banana feasting on the rice.
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light. 1.4 TC attached.
On the way back to Puerto Princesa, I came across this lifer at 27.4 meters. It is such a small bird for the distance but still a thrill to see and photograph the Dark-throated Oriole (Oriolus xanthonotus). The WBCP describes it as "Near Threatened".
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/200 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
This one is probably the Philippines' most famous talking bird. It easily catches what it hears and vocalizes it like a human being making it a popular household pet. To see it and call in the wild is a lifer and wonderful experience even if it does not talk. Distance to bird 311.3 meters. Probably endemic to Palawan.
Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa) ssp palawanensis
1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
1800 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
It is interesting to see this Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis) coming out of its nest at 27.4 meters. Until now I did not realize that it makes its nest from the trunk of a tree.
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 400
These Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense) was some 41.2 meters away, I am quite happy to have been able to photograph them on different instances.
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 800
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 800
This one was a little bit closer at 35.6 meters.
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 800
I have heard a lot about the Palawan Hornbill (Anthracoceros marchei) in Coron but has never seen one. It is a sight to behold as the shape of the bill is so unusual and large. As the poem goes that only God can make a tree, I would like to add that only God can create a bird such as this. This bird is endemic to Palawan. Another lifer for me.
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 400
[imghttp://www.elyteehankee.com/albums/birds/birds-of-puerto-princesa/ET1_3755-ACR-1200-ET.jpg][/img]
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 400
The Blue-headed Racket-tail (Prioniturus platenae) was 41 meters away. Although I did not recognize it as a Racket-tail, I took some pictures of it and with the help of Des he identified these birds for me. The first time I photograph this bird was in Coron and it was much nearer.
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
It was very exciting for me to see this bird for the first time. I wasted no time in trying to take the picture of this Palawan Tit (Periparus amabilis). It is endemic to Palawan and a lifer for me. Its conservation status is near threatened.
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400
The famous Palawan Peacock was nowhere to be seen as there were big Monitor lizards in the area. There were also a lot of monkeys. They are so used to people that when they hear the rustle of a snack plastic or aluminum pack they would come near you and even snatch it from you. There is a sign there that says do not feed the monkey. After being ignored and avoided by the tourist they soon leave the area. The irony is that there is a person there who calls the monkeys in the middle of the day by yelling "Ungoyyyyyyyyyy". In a span of 10 minutes after a couple more calls you would see the monkeys rushing in from the forests trying to outrun each other to get to the cauldron of leftover rice. There were more than 30 of them and some with babies clinging to their mothers. The monkeys went banana feasting on the rice.
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light. 1.4 TC attached.
On the way back to Puerto Princesa, I came across this lifer at 27.4 meters. It is such a small bird for the distance but still a thrill to see and photograph the Dark-throated Oriole (Oriolus xanthonotus). The WBCP describes it as "Near Threatened".
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/200 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
This one is probably the Philippines' most famous talking bird. It easily catches what it hears and vocalizes it like a human being making it a popular household pet. To see it and call in the wild is a lifer and wonderful experience even if it does not talk. Distance to bird 311.3 meters. Probably endemic to Palawan.
Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa) ssp palawanensis
1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
1800 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
It is interesting to see this Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis) coming out of its nest at 27.4 meters. Until now I did not realize that it makes its nest from the trunk of a tree.
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 400
These Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense) was some 41.2 meters away, I am quite happy to have been able to photograph them on different instances.
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 800
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 800
This one was a little bit closer at 35.6 meters.
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 800
I have heard a lot about the Palawan Hornbill (Anthracoceros marchei) in Coron but has never seen one. It is a sight to behold as the shape of the bill is so unusual and large. As the poem goes that only God can make a tree, I would like to add that only God can create a bird such as this. This bird is endemic to Palawan. Another lifer for me.
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 400
[imghttp://www.elyteehankee.com/albums/birds/birds-of-puerto-princesa/ET1_3755-ACR-1200-ET.jpg][/img]
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 400
The Blue-headed Racket-tail (Prioniturus platenae) was 41 meters away. Although I did not recognize it as a Racket-tail, I took some pictures of it and with the help of Des he identified these birds for me. The first time I photograph this bird was in Coron and it was much nearer.
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
It was very exciting for me to see this bird for the first time. I wasted no time in trying to take the picture of this Palawan Tit (Periparus amabilis). It is endemic to Palawan and a lifer for me. Its conservation status is near threatened.
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400
