Birding on a Rainy Weekend in LB

[Tirso Paris]

This Rizal's Birthday weekend was quite rainy due to Typhoon Egay. However, that did not prevent me from going out to see what my lens could capture. Since the roads around AgriPark were very soggy, I decided to avoid it and instead visited my usual buttonquail area. After the rains subsided, a couple of barred buttonquails came out to the streets to forage on rice grains left behind by those who use the road as drying bed. Swallows also came out to take advantage of the soft soil to gather mud for their nests. The regulars were also there -- the ETS, the oriental pipits, the paddyfield pipits, striated grassbirds, and zitting cisticolas. The surprise of the day was the slaty-breasted rail which emerged from the grasses into the street. All told, it was not such a bad weekend afterall.


All pics were taken using Canon 7D, EF 100-400mm L IS USM, car window support, natural light.


Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator)
2011-06-18 07:40, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6, ISO 400, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator)1a.jpg[/IMG]


Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator)
2011-06-18 07:42, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6, ISO 320, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator)2a.jpg[/IMG]


Striated Swallow (Hirundo striolata)
2011-06-18 07:50, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 6.3, ISO 1000, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Striated Swallow (Hirundo striolata)1.jpg[/IMG]


Striated Swallow (Hirundo striolata)
2011-06-18 07:53, 1/320 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6.ISO 100, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Striated Swallow (Hirundo striolata)2.jpg[/IMG]


Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica)
2011-06-18 08:23, 1/1000 sec, Shutter priority, F 6.3, ISO 400, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica).jpg[/IMG]


Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
2011-06-18 08:33, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6, ISO 500, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)1.jpg[/IMG]


Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
2011-06-18 07:38, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6, ISO 400, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)1a.jpg[/IMG]


Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris)
2011-06-18 08:45, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6, ISO 250, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris).jpg[/IMG]


Slaty-breasted Rail (Gallirallus striatus)
2011-06-19 09:29, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 6.3, ISO 800, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Slaty-breasted Rail (Gallirallus striatus).jpg[/IMG]


Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)
2011-06-19 09:16, 1/1600 sec, Shutter priority, F 5.6,ISO 800, 400 mm
www.tbparis.com/photos/birds/pbpf/Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)2.jpg[/IMG]

[fred serrano]

hi sir!

you finally nailed the slaty-breasted! excellent shot!

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Excellent captures, Luis!

[Bobby Kintanar]

Very nice set you have there, Tirso! You have done well. :-)

[Mark Itol]

Very nice captures, Prof.!

[alainpascua]

Bountiful harvest you have there, Prof. Tirso! And the lighting is excellent! I like the first and last photos, and the slaty one, of course! Congrats!

[Agerico M. De Villa]

Slaty-breasted Rail, very important capture. Highlight of flowers within the background of the quail makes the composition really really nice. Congratulations!

[Tirso Paris]

Jun 20, 2011 16:27:02 GMT fred serrano said:

hi sir!

you finally nailed the slaty-breasted! excellent shot!

Thanks Fred. It was quite surprising that the slaty-breasted rail would appear there. But then the thick bushes also provide them with a hiding place, yet be able to partake of what are on the streets.

[Tirso Paris]

Thanks a lot Ramon, Bobby, Mark, Alain, and Propjerry! I'm glad you liked my photos. Very encouraging indeed!

[Tonji Ramos]

Wow. Great series again Tirso!

The Slaty is a super bird to see there. Awesome!

A very entertaining set of pictures. Keep it up!

[Tateo Osawa]

All nice shots Tirso, I especially like the buttonquail photos.

[gabriel buluran]

love the buttonquails! congrats on this harvest!

[mantarey]

Wonderful set Prof, agree with Tonj, the Slaty is really a prize catch, congrats.

[Olan V. Balbido]

Superb collection Prof. Tirso! buttonquail image and lighting are excellent, congrats on slaty breasted rail, really a rare catch!

[Adri Constantino]

wowowow! slaty-breasted rail! congrats prop tirso!

[Tirso Paris]

Thank you so much Tonji, Tateo, Gabs, Rey, Olan and Adri. I really appreciate all your kind words and encouragement.

- The slaty is indeed a prize catch considering that I only had a window of about 5-10 seconds with which to capture the images. Luckily, the one sec high speed burst gave me a few decent images. When I tried to change my position in order to obtain a full view, the slaty disappeared into the bushes before I could take a shot, never to come out again during the 20 or so minutes of waiting.

- Re buttonquails, if and when they come out to the street, they would be just less than 5 meters from the car so one can easily obtain sharp pictures, that is, if they momentarily stop or slow down. However, they are very fast moving that even with a high shutter speed the image might be blurry. Sometimes they try to cross the street, so they would be even closer to you.

[JV Noriega]

What a great set Tirso! Fine exposure, sharpness, composition and pose on all shots!

[Mick Harris]

An outstanding series.

[Tirso Paris]

Thank you very much JV and Mick for your kind comments. They brighten my day!

[Ely Teehankee]

Those are all very nice captures. I like the ETS best of all even if it is a common bird. Its a perfect capture of a common bird that is sharp and clear. The best part of the picture is the worm on its beak. Well done Tirso & Mabuhay.