Befriending a Brown Shrike

[Ely Teehankee]

For the past 3 months I have been seeing this bird on the vicinity of the tee off mound in the golf course. I would see that it would ignore the players and remain perch waiting for the worm to come out of the grass. There seems to be a lot of worms in the area as very often I would see the bird catching and eating them. I tried getting as close as possible every now and than but I can't get much closer than about 9 meters. So I started talking to the bird, letting him get used to my voice and appearances. I noticed that as time goes by it was more relax and I can get closer to it. My perseverance paid off when I got as close to 7.25 meters and had to stop because if I get any closer to the bird a part of it will come out of the picture frame. That is how the subject "Befriending a Brown Shrike" came about.



Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light.



The Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) is now appearing more often usually early morning before it gets chase away by the Little Heron.
1/250 sec., f/5.6 ISO 800




1/6400 sec., f/8, ISO 1600 31.3 meters




The Little Heron (Butorides striata) is the bully of the pond as it chases away the Yellow Bittern. I guess just like people they would fight for territory that they think belongs to them. LOL.
1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




1/1250 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




1/2000 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




1/2500 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




I was able to befriend the Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) with constant visitation and letting the bird hear my voice whenever I go near him. It sounds strange but it worked for me.
1/800 sec., f/11, ISO 400 13.1 meters distance from bird.




1/640 sec., f/11, ISO 400 13.1 meters distance from bird.




1/1000 sec., f/11, ISO 400 11.8 meters distance from bird.




1/200 sec., f/11, ISO 400 10.8 meters distance from bird.




1/200 sec., f/11, ISO 400 7.76 meters distance from bird.




1/1600 sec., f/11, ISO 400 7.25 meters distance from bird.

[Neon Rosell II]

Another excellent series, Ely!

Great control on the DOF with the macro BS and it's always nice to see birds out in the open sun which we seldom get.

[Ely Teehankee]

Internal Sever Error???

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 31, 2011 14:19:27 GMT Neon Rosell II said:

Another excellent series, Ely!

Great control on the DOF with the macro BS and it's always nice to see birds out in the open sun which we seldom get.

Thank you Neon for your appreciation and letting me have the opportunity to see the Eagle Owl live. I like your new Avatar with the Eagle Owl in different poses. I am waiting for the others to share their pictures of this big beautiful bird before I post mine. My neck is aching this morning from the strain of looking at this bird at almost 90 degrees straight up. The Brown Shrike is common but the beauty of the bird can be revealed when taken close up. We travel hundreds of kilometers to see the endemic Mountain Shrike which is just as beautiful but because it is rare there is a quest for it. I would like to take pictures of any bird before it becomes rare. Heh heh heh.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Super clear photos as always, Ely. Happy New Year!

[Tirso Paris]

Happy New Year Ely! Beautiful captures as always.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 1, 2012 0:52:23 GMT Ramon Quisumbing said:

Super clear photos as always, Ely. Happy New Year!

I am convince beyond any reasonable doubt that when you can get close to the subject you will have a clear photo with plenty of details. I cannot help but admire all those using 400 mm and coming out with good pictures because they were able to get close to the subject. In my case it took me almost 3 months and talking to the bird to get this close. LOL.
Thank you Ramon and Happy New Year.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 1, 2012 2:16:27 GMT Tirso Paris said:

Happy New Year Ely! Beautiful captures as always.

Thank you Tirso and Happy New Year. If you are not busy the next two days it will be an opportunity to visit BK for the Mountain Forest Birds.