Osmena Day at Olango Island

[luisitoco]

September 9,2011 was declared a local holiday here in Cebu City so Sir Bobby and family, Sir Tateo, me and my wife went to stay overnight on the new resort hotel near the Olango Nature Center.
We arrived around 10am and for our snacks, we feasted on the most delicious Olango bread and salvaro cookies, all locally produced in Olango Island. We then proceeded to the Olango Sanctuary to share our lunch with our friends at the center.
After lunch, Sir Bobby got the photo of the Skinny Shrike (posted at PBPF) while doing his routine oxygen therapy. We then moved to the small view deck and started to watch for the passing flying birds. This time, Sir Tateo was very eager to take flying bird photos with his 7D mounted with 300mm 2.8 lens, handheld at that! (thats the spirit, Sir Tateo!)
The following are some of my flying bird photos taken with D300s mounted with Sigma 150-500mm lens, handheld.

Little Heron (Butorides striata)
D300s, 400mm, f8.0, 1/2000 sec, ISO 400


Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
D300s, 450mm, f6.3, 1/5000 sec, ISO 400



Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
D300s, 500mm, f6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 400


Grey -tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)
D300s, 500mm, f6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 400


Grey (Northern) Plover
D300s, 500mm, f6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400


Rufous Night Heron(Nycticorax caledonicus)
D300s, 450mm, f6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400


Early morning the next day, when the tide was still low, Sir Tateo and I went to hide in the mangrove trees to position ourselves for the birds and waited for them to go near our places as the tide rose.
These are some of my captured photos.

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
D300s, 500mm, f8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 500


Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria enterpres)
D300s, 500mm, f10, 1/1000 sec, ISO 500


Mix Egret Flock
D300s, 250mm, f10, 1/500 sec, ISO 500


We went back to the center since the water was already knee-high. Sudddenly , we saw a little bird perched on a tree along the way. We were so excited to take photos of the 'mysterious' bird that we did not notice that it was backlighted. Below is my photo which needs PP.

Little Bronze Cuckoo
D300s, 500mm, f10, 1/320 sec, ISO 200


After this rare capture, we headed back to the center where we found this bird.

Golden Bellied Flyeater
D300s, 450mm, f6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 800


All three of us went back to the hotel for breakfast and took some close-up photo of this bird.

Pacific Swallow or House Swallow (Hirundo tahitica)
D300s, 500mm, f6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 800


Enjoy! Thanks for viewing.

[Lawrence Lo]

Nice BIF shots sir, its a good time to go back in Olango again.

[paulbourdin]

Very nice shots here. Two points about ID. Your "Common Greenshank" is a Grey-tailed Tattler, and your "Greater Sand plovers" are Grey (Northern) Plovers

[Ely Teehankee]

It looks like the birds are very close from where you were standing. I must remember the places to go like Jugan and Olango where there are lots of birds. You did a good job taking pictures of these interesting birds. Well done Luisito & Mabuhay.

[luisitoco]

@ Lawrence: Thank you for appreciating my BIF shots. I'm excited to see you with your 600mm nikkor when you come here in Olango.

Paul Guerrero: Thank you again Sir for the ID correction. Cheers!
@ Ely: You guessed it right Sir Ely. I was at a close distance to the birds that were captured perched on the branch and also with the Ruddy Turnstone.

[Tateo Osawa]

Very nice capture of flying birds Dc. Luico, I like a Ruddy Turnston the most.

[luisitoco]

I was lucky that the Ruddy came near the place where I was hiding. Thank you Sir Tateo!

[des]

Is this the first record for a bronze cuckoo on Cebu? I seem to remember one a few years ago.

[Nilo Arribas Jr.]

Sept 26, 2011 8:10:33 GMT des said:

Is this the first record for a bronze cuckoo on Cebu? I seem to remember one a few years ago.

This should be the third Des... The first was in Tabor Hills, the second was in Alegria, in southern Cebu and this sighting in Olango.

[mantarey]

Excellent set Doc Lui. Love the Grey Plovers in-flight with their breeding suits.. :-)

[des]

Thanks Nilo. I guess those Tabor and Alegria records did not appear on p.b.p.f.
I have tracked them down with google to flickr though.

[luisitoco]

@ Des: Thank you for dropping by to see my post. I always hear that the first recorded photo of the bronze cuckoo in Cebu was from Sir Bobby. He posted it in his Flicker account.

@ Rey: Thank you for your kind comment Sir Rey.

[tina mallari]

So many wonderful photos. I'd be in seventh heaven if I get to take photos of so many nice birds in a day :-)

[Agerico M. De Villa]

Some catch! Hahaha! Congratulations!

[alainpascua]

Wow, Doc Luis, you also have a bountiful harvest! Cebu is now teaming with lots of birds!

[luisitoco]

Thank you Ma'am Tina, Sir Agerico and Sir Alain.