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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 24, 2011 14:24:54 GMT
I am one of those who went to Simply Butterflies in the quest of seeing the Rufous-lored Kingfisher (Todiramphus winchelli) a Philippine Endemic. Its been appearing for a day or two and disappearing for 2 to 3 days. I waited for the bird behind a hide waiting for them to appear. I remember Des asking if anyone took a picture of the termite mound where they were trying to bore a hole to build their nest. I took some pictures and than Felix texted me to inform me that it is perched on a tree near the restaurant. I immediately went there and true enough the male was busy looking for bugs to eat. I was able to take some pictures of it but at steep angle and was happy to have been able to see this bird. As I started to process the pictures tonight I saw that there was a snake on the hole that they were drilling on. I guess this must be the reason why they stop going there. Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light. 1/40sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600  The snake is a Dog-toothed Cat Snake (Boiga cynodon). According to Wikipedia it feeds mainly on small birds but may also take lizards and small mammals. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiga_cynodon1/320sec., f/8, ISO 800  1/125sec., f/8, ISO 800  1/200sec., f/8, ISO 800  1/250sec., f/8, ISO 800  |
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Post by Nilo Arribas Jr. on May 25, 2011 2:12:10 GMT
On the snake:
Predation is always part of the risks that these birds faced particularly during nesting season where they are most vulnerable.
Thanks for showing us the evidence Ely. I hope the pair will have "relative peace" and safe haven somewhere to complete the breeding cycle. Btw, the snake is small enough to be a RLKF prey judging from the size of the hole.
On the bird:
Good details of the RLKF despite the lighting conditions.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 25, 2011 10:36:45 GMT
On the snake: Predation is always part of the risks that these birds faced particularly during nesting season where they are most vulnerable. Thanks for showing us the evidence Ely. I hope the pair will have "relative peace" and safe haven somewhere to complete the breeding cycle. Btw, the snake is small enough to be a RLKF prey judging from the size of the hole. On the bird: Good details of the RLKF despite the lighting conditions. Its good to know that the snake can be food for the birds, however since it was the RLKF that left I guess they don't want to tangle with the snake. Too bad, it would have been a perfect site to watch the hatchlings being fed. Thank you Nilo for your comments. |
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Post by Bobby Kintanar on May 25, 2011 11:42:39 GMT
Those are some of the best RLKF images I've seen, Ka Ambassador! Now I know why the birds never even attempted to enter the nest when I was there. Darn snake! This is the only clear shot I got of that bird - from below!  Regards, Bobby K. |
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Post by cristy burlace on May 25, 2011 13:04:40 GMT
Wow Ely – that’s an interesting shot of the nest, with a visitor  . Snakes are plentifully in the garden as part of the rich biodiversity. I wish they could find some other place to hang out  ! Your shots for where the bird was feeding are really good, because the lighting and shooting space is all so limited. Great work. The interesting things about the feeding area, was that it was right above where the staff take their lunch, so there was always a lot of movement in the area, but the birds kept coming back to feed there. Thanks for sharing the shots  |
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Post by mantarey on May 25, 2011 13:30:54 GMT
Beautiful series with tons of fine details Ely. |
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 25, 2011 22:33:19 GMT
Those are some of the best RLKF images I've seen, Ka Ambassador! Now I know why the birds never even attempted to enter the nest when I was there. Darn snake! This is the only clear shot I got of that bird - from below! Regards, Bobby K. Thank you Bobby for your generous appreciation. I did not see the snake on my camera monitor. I only saw it when I started processing the pictures here. Had I known I could have asked Felix to see if there was something he could do about the snake. Its a treasure to have those RLKF in the garden. Maybe something better will come in the near future. |
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 25, 2011 22:40:13 GMT
Wow Ely – that’s an interesting shot of the nest, with a visitor . Snakes are plentifully in the garden as part of the rich biodiversity. I wish they could find some other place to hang out ! Your shots for where the bird was feeding are really good, because the lighting and shooting space is all so limited. Great work. The interesting things about the feeding area, was that it was right above where the staff take their lunch, so there was always a lot of movement in the area, but the birds kept coming back to feed there. Thanks for sharing the shots Thank you Cristy. You are right about the limited space & lighting. But after waiting for hours at the nesting site, I was only too happy to see the bird and able to take some shots. I missed the part when he had some kind of beetle on its beak because there were leaves in between us. It looks like there is plenty of food for the birds on that tree. |
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 25, 2011 22:45:52 GMT
Beautiful series with tons of fine details Ely. Thank you Rey. If not for the snake a lot of us would have the chance to take good pictures of this beautiful endemic bird just like you did when you were there with Boymac. Jimmy who came all the way from Singapore was also able to take some shots but not from the nesting area. Better luck next time for us who missed it. |
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Post by butchsanjuan on May 26, 2011 4:46:09 GMT
Wow, Ely! I like the second photo most.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 26, 2011 7:46:00 GMT
Wow, Ely! I like the second photo most. Thank you Butch. I like that one too because you can see the feathers protruding from the branch that its perch on. I would imaging that the feathers are quite thick. Its really a beautiful bird. |
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Post by alainpascua on May 26, 2011 13:38:40 GMT
Ooooppps! Looks like you and Bobby are just directly underneath the place where the birds perched. Good to know that you both captured it!
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Post by Ariel Matias on May 26, 2011 16:37:16 GMT
Just the sight of snakes scares me a lot  Beautiful feather details on the RLFK! |
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 26, 2011 21:55:57 GMT
Ooooppps! Looks like you and Bobby are just directly underneath the place where the birds perched. Good to know that you both captured it! This place where I saw the bird is near the restaurant while that of Bobby was near the abandoned nest. But you are right we got in directly underneath which is not a very good angle. Nevertheless it was a good consolation to have seen the bird. Thank you Alain. |
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 26, 2011 22:00:21 GMT
Just the sight of snakes scares me a lot Beautiful feather details on the RLFK! Snakes scares me too. I used to chase them away out of fear for them. But they are part of our ecosystem as they eat rats and other pest. After learning that they are more scared of humans and it is just their defense mechanism to bite it is better to just let them pass by if you can. Thank you Ariel for your appreciation. |
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Post by des on May 29, 2011 21:03:16 GMT
Great pics Ely! If you post the snake in the nest pic to the Facebook group: Philippine Biodiversity Net: Digital Library of Species, I expect they can identify it and tell you its life story.
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Post by Olan V. Balbido on May 30, 2011 1:59:35 GMT
all that i can say is, Haneeeeep!
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 30, 2011 4:20:35 GMT
Great pics Ely! If you post the snake in the nest pic to the Facebook group: Philippine Biodiversity Net: Digital Library of Species, I expect they can identify it and tell you its life story. Thank you Des. I don't use Facebook but it would be interesting to know about the snake and its also about time the I learn how to use the Facebook. |
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Post by ka rene bajit on May 31, 2011 1:08:44 GMT
that snake has a good memory where it can sense a yummy meal. not unless it's taken out and vanished a kilometer away, i guess?
these are clear poses of the lrkf, ely. what a gem. i wish i have more time to go around.
you have contributed much already to the cause.
this nation owe you and your kind, ely. all of u. you are doing this country a great service.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 31, 2011 2:48:44 GMT
that snake has a good memory where it can sense a yummy meal. not unless it's taken out and vanished a kilometer away, i guess? these are clear poses of the lrkf, ely. what a gem. i wish i have more time to go around. you have contributed much already to the cause. this nation owe you and your kind, ely. all of u. you are doing this country a great service. Thank you Rene. This is a good hobby to have where you can enjoy what you are doing and being able to share your happiness with others. |
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. Snakes are plentifully in the garden as part of the rich biodiversity. I wish they could find some other place to hang out 
! 
Beautiful feather details on the RLFK!