Eagle Owl at the Manila Water Compound

[Ely Teehankee]

This was certainly the best way to end the year with a big bird to photograph. Thanks to Neon who texted me about it and to Ding who made this possible for us to get inside the Manila Water compound. Ivan, Ramon, Bob, Cynthia, Neon, and Ding all arrived ahead of the designated time to try out Ding's favorite Corned Beef breakfast at Jolibee at the Petron Station along Katipunan Road. Lyds barely arrived on time and we left 5 minutes ahead of schedule to proceed to the Manila Water office in Balara. The bird is the Philippine Eagle Owl (Bubo philippensis) that is the biggest owl in the country. It is about 20 inches in length and what a beautiful bird. We were taking pictures of the bird for more than an hour when Ivan decided to go to La Mesa Eco Park. Ramon & I followed but just as we entered the subdivision Ivan called and said that it was closed for the day. I immediately called Neon & Bob so they would save the trip of 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.


We all got down from our vehicles taking along our gear and Ding pointed the Eagle Owl to us. I took some shots and asked Ding if I could have a full frame of the bird. He brought me closer to the bird but it was at a steep angle. He said not to worry because Bubo will look down to see who's there.
1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 Taken at 6:40 AM at 27.4 meters




True enough Bubo looked at who was taking his picture and raised his foot to welcome us. At landscape mode the bird hardly fit into the frame.
1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 Distance to bird is 15.8 meters




I had to changed to portrait mode to make the bird fit easily into the frame. Except for the 10th & 11th picture that I crop to fit the bird all the pictures here are full frame.
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




At this point I repositioned myself to avoid the twig that was in front of the owl. The sun was brighter at this time enabling me to lower the ISO to 800.
1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 Distance to bird became closer at 14.4 meters.




This is the first of the two pictures that I crop the owl to full size to remove the glare on the right side of the previous picture.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800




This is the second picture that I crop to fit the bird into a full frame.
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800




I went to the other side of the street to take a rear view of the owl in landscape mode at 21.1 meters. By this time the sun was really bright.
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400 This picture was taken at 7:49 AM.

[des]

If you go at night you might see it catching fish...

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 2, 2012 11:16:14 GMT des said:

If you go at night you might see it catching fish...

Thank you Des for the suggestion. I don't think the security concerns of the Manila Water will allow us to do that. It certainly would have been very interesting.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Wow, you have really brought out the magnificent beauty of this Eagle-Owl in your photos, Ely.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 2, 2012 11:51:32 GMT Ramon Quisumbing said:

Wow, you have really brought out the magnificent beauty of this Eagle-Owl in your photos, Ely.

Thank you Ramon. I think all of us went home very happy that morning having seen one of the most beautiful owl for the first time.

[charolim]

Hi Ely,you got these detailed sharp pics of this beautiful creature.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 2, 2012 14:34:43 GMT charolim said:

Hi Ely,you got these detailed sharp pics of this beautiful creature.

Thank you Charo. Here is a picture of the habitat of the Eagle Owl when we were taking his picture. Can you find the Eagle Owl? Heh heh heh.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 2, 2012 11:16:14 GMT des said:

If you go at night you might see it catching fish...

Des, I keep thinking of what you said. It would really be very interesting to see this bird fish at night and this may be the reason why it is in this particular area. La Mesa Dam is right next to it and there are plenty of fish in there. That is the same reason why there are also plenty of Raptors in the area during the day.

Speaking of the Eagle Owl catching fish, this bird has a nictating membrane similar to that of the Kingfisher. This is to protect their eyes when they dive into the water as the membrane closes but they can still see the fish that they are after to capture it with their beak or claw. I was able to photograph a sequence of the Eagle Owl closing his nictating membrane the morning we were there. Here are 4 consecutive pictures that I took in a series of shots lasting one second.

[Ding Carpio]

Clear and sharp photos, Ely. I'm amazed at the quality of the photos even at high ISOs. That MarkIV is one awesome camera. Of course, you've managed to complement it with your photography skills.

[Steve Albano]

This Eagle Owl loves to pose!! A New Year Celebrity!! Excellent series - thanks for sharing!!

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 2, 2012 21:33:46 GMT Ding Carpio said:

Clear and sharp photos, Ely. I'm amazed at the quality of the photos even at high ISOs. That MarkIV is one awesome camera. Of course, you've managed to complement it with your photography skills.

Thank you Ding. Perhaps if you have the time you can process some of the pictures that you took with the camera. I am sure you will be in for a pleasant surprise.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 2, 2012 22:44:00 GMT Steve Albano said:

This Eagle Owl loves to pose!! A New Year Celebrity!! Excellent series - thanks for sharing!!

Thank you Steve. I am still enjoying the thrill of seeing and photographing the Eagle Owl. The size is huge and the eyes are so prominent with the yellow and black combination. The eyes look like they are made of glass as they are so shiny.

[William Lim]

Great shots, Ely. I missed this. Telyds texted me but I was unable to go. Hope Ding will invite us again.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 3, 2012 5:29:02 GMT William Lim said:

Great shots, Ely. I missed this. Telyds texted me but I was unable to go. Hope Ding will invite us again.

Thank you William. I hope you get the chance to see this spectacular giant owl as it is really a beautiful bird. It is also endemic to the Philippines.

[Neon Rosell II]

Excellent series once again, Ely! love the nictitating membrane shots!

I don't think the owl dives in to the water for the fish but rather it swoops down at the surface and catches the fish, if it happens to be there.

[Ely Teehankee]

Jan 4, 2012 5:51:46 GMT Neon Rosell II said:

Excellent series once again, Ely! love the nictitating membrane shots!

I don't think the owl dives in to the water for the fish but rather it swoops down at the surface and catches the fish, if it happens to be there.

Thank you Neon for your appreciation. Seeing those nictating membrane similar to the Kingfisher I thought that it also dives into the water. You are right it does not have to do that with its powerful claws readily available to catch the fish.