Post by Romy Ocon on Jan 14, 2008 6:16:59 GMT
(Writer's note - this was written February 2007 and also appears in my web-galleries. )
Palawan is an island (area = circa 14K square km) about 600 km south of Manila, and it cradles one of the few pristine patches of rainforest remaining in our islands. I did a 4-day birding sortie in this island-paradise from February 8-11, 2007, my first here and surely not the last. This was more of a scouting trip to set up future forays, so I concentrated my activity in the capital Puerto Princesa.
I got a total of 22 lifebirds, though mostly just of documentary quality. It was tough to bird in a terrain yet unfamiliar to me. I hope to add more lifers and improve the quality of the photos in future visits.
DAY 1 (February 8, 2007) - We touched down at the Puerto Princesa airport at a little past 9 am, and we went directly to our hotel. Our guide (Toto Alfas) picked us up from the hotel in a 4x4 Jeep-type vehicle and we motored to an area called Balsahan, inside the Iwahig Penal Colony, about an hour drive from the city proper.
I expected this first day as more of a scouting or "getting-to-know-Palawan better" affair, and indeed it turned out to be. I got some shots of familiar water birds, and five documentary photos of lifebirds - Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Palawan Hornbill, Ashy Drongo and Rufous-tailed Tailorbird. The fifth lifer is a very enteresting one - a Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris, male)! This species is not recorded in the Kennedy Guide and is probably a new country record.
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris, male) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/320 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held:
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus curvirostris) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/8, 1/500 sec, ISO 200, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
DAY 2 (February 9, 2007) - I birded for most of my second day at Irawan, Puerto Princesa's watershed. Toto's 4x4 didn't have any trouble crossing 5 shallow mountain streams blocking our way up. The weather is cloudy, but I prefer it this way because the diffused sunlight allows me to shoot even at mid-day. I got 7 lifers in this area - Palawan Flowerpecker, Stork-billed Kingfisher, White-vented Shama, Black-headed Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Olive-winged Bulbul and Lovely Sunbird.
Light gets low very early in the afternoon at Irawan because my preferred birding area is blocked by a small mountain to the west. I decided to make a short dash to Montible, a mangrove area adjoining Iwahig. Here, I got to see and photograph my 8th lifer for the day - the very pretty Common Iora.
LIFEBIRD GOLDMINE. I found this unidentified fruiting tree by a mountain stream in Irawan (Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines), and it yielded a bounty of four lifers - Black-headed Bulbul, White-vented Shama, Grey-cheeked Bulbul and Olive-winged Bulbul.
Black-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotous atriceps) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
Stork-billed Kingfisher (Halcyon capensis, endemic gouldi race) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/160 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
Palawan Flowerpecker (Prionochilus plateni , endemic gouldi race) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/500 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held:
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) - 1DM2 + 100-400 L IS, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held:
DAY 3 (February 10, 2007) - My third day was spent exclusively at the Iwahig area - the Balsahan trail for lowland forest birds, and the Iwahig ricefields for water birds. I captured 7 lifers today - Crested Goshawk, Spangled Drongo, Hill Myna, Yellow-throated Leafbird, Striped Tit-Babbler, Pintail Snipe and Long-toed Stint . I also got close to a few Egret species and got these full frame, in portrait orientation, with no need to crop further for composition. These full frame captures should be good test prints for a 24"x36" size...
ENJOYING FRESHLY-MANUFACTURED OXYGEN. We walked up the Balsahan trail (Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines) until we came upon a forked stream (after 4 or 5 stream crossings). We stopped here to catch our breath and enjoy the view. I set up my gear and waited for more lifers, as my birding buddy Arnold took a snap shot.
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/80 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
Crested Goshawk (Accipeter trivirgatus, endemic palawanus race) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and 1.4x TCs, 1400 mm, f/16, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure and focus, tripod/gimbal head, no MLU:
NOT JUST BIRDS. Palawan's lowland forest is teeming with interesting fauna, like this tiny frog posing for me on top of a rock along a stream in the Balsahan trail.
BUTTERFLIES TOO! Along the streams of Balsahan trail, I saw butterflies of all shapes and colors, floating in the air like a living painter's palette.
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/9, 1/500 sec, ISO 100, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
DAY 4 (February 11, 2007) - I slowed down on my last birding day, as the first 3 days are very tiring sunrise to sunset drives. This old birdnut couldn't keep up with the frenetic pace. I decided to take it easy and just go out after lunch. I visited some fishponds adjoining a vast mangrove area in Tagburos, about 7 km from the Puerto Princesa proper. This last "decompression" sortie rewarded me with a couple of lifers - the rare Chinese Egret and the tough-to-catch Edible-nest Swiftlet.
Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes ) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/9, 1/1250 sec, ISO 200, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
Greater Sand-Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) - 20D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal head:
For the complete set of bird photos from this Palawan sortie, visit my galleries at www.pbase.com/liquidstone/palawan020807 . Can't wait to return to this amazing place again!
Romy
