Birding the Cordilleras at 3 degrees Celsius

[Romy Ocon]

After over a year from my last visit, I went back up the Cordillera Mountains to check out what montane birds can be seen in this part of the year. My previous four visits were from May to December, all in 2006.

Lady Luck was not with me this time, as early morning temperatures plummeted to 3 degrees Celsius at 6000 - 7200 feet ASL, worsened by gusts of wind that made birding and photography virtually impossible tasks.

Battery life was severely shortened, all metal surfaces were a pain to touch, and chill tremors make long lens shooting extremely difficult. No lifers this trip, though I managed to get shots of several montane birds that are a bit better than my previous ones.

Here's the first one I processed - Blue-headed Fantail (Rhipidura cyaniceps), elev. 1610 m asl, Mankayan, Benguet, 40D + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 800, 1/100 sec, 475B/3421 support .



Romy

[Romy Ocon]

Here's half a lifer (I've already photographed the male way back in 2006):

Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni, female)
Elev. 1615 m ASL, MANKAYAN, BENGUET, 40D + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 475B/3421 support, EXIF intact





And here's an old photo of the male for reference:

[JP Cariño]

Romy even the birds look cold but great photos especially the LPF

[Bob Kaufman]

Great shots, Master Romy! I like the Blue-headed Fantail especially.

[Romy Ocon]

Thanks, JP and Bob K!

Here's a backlit Citrine Canary-Flycatcher (Culicicapa helianthea), captured at Elev. 1615 m ASL, MANKAYAN, BENGUET, 40D + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 475B/3421 support, EXIF intact:

[mantarey]

Wow, great photos again as usual. Nice to see a different Fantail for a change, it's always been the black and white for me

[Romy Ocon]

Thanks, Rey!

Here's a lowlander that's also found at high altitude, like the ET Sparrow and Brown Shrike.

Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata, female)
Elev. 2155 m ASL, BAUKO, MT. PROVINCE, 40D + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 1/60 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400, manual exposure, Ix! bean bag:

[Romy Ocon]

And finally, my old friend Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).... ;D

Tough to expose the reds when using Bayer sensors, and conversion/processing are a nightmare if one is color-challenged.

Elev. 1810 m ASL, BUGUIAS, BENGUET, 40D + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 475B/3421 support, EXIF intact:

[tina mallari]

All wonderful captures Romy !!!! I hope Wency and I will be blessed with better weather and more birds when we go up on the 22nd

[Ding Carpio]

All Oconific. The background on the Blue-headed Fantail looks shiverrrring.

[Bobby Kintanar]

If I had to rate all those shots from 1-10, I'd give 12 to all of them!

[steve pryor]

Yes, all very pretty. In this case, if for not other reason than the rarity of photos of it, my nod goes to the Canary-Flycatcher!