Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 17, 2012 10:40:15 GMT
Early this morning, I was determined to go up Mt. Banahaw as early as possible, and not be distracted by the birds in BK Valley below. Dion and I drove ATVs up the horsetrail and reached 3,000 feet above sea level by 7 am. We stopped at the first clearing which was surrounded by flowering "Caliandra" bushes, as I thought this would be a good spot to find birds. I was right.
Canon 1D Mark IV camera, Canon EF 100-400 mm IS lens, handheld. These photos are only documentary as they are not as good as on the 800 mm lens.
In the thick bushes beside the horsetrail, I discovered several small, rust and green colored birds with eyes like White-Eyes, roosting only a few feet away. They did not fly away but seemed confident that we could not get to them because of the thicket. My caretaker told me that when he was a little boy, they could easily kill CFBs with slingshots, because they did not fly away. Fortunately, Dion has banned all slingshots, airguns and cats in BK Valley to protect the bird populations.
The thicket prevented me from getting clear shots of the roosting CFBs.
100 mm, F/5.6, ISO-640, 1/40 sec.
These were Chestnut-Faced Babblers, endemic and usually found above 800 meters above sea level. A lifer! ;D
The CFBs were very shy and always hiding and moving - making it very difficult to photograph them. They would come out of the thicket to feed on a Caliandra flower for 3 seconds or less, and then duck back into the thicket.
320 mm, F/5.6, ISO-500, 1/250 sec.
320 mm, F/5.6, ISO-500, 1/250 sec.
A short while later, a mixed flock of insect-eating birds arrived. The CFBs joined them in the frenzy. The others were Mountain-Verditer Flycatcher, Elegant Tits, Yellowish White-Eyes, and tiny birds that I only got glimpses of and could not identify (I have to go back to capture this lifer).
330 mm, F/5.6, ISO-500, 1/200 sec.
330 mm, F/5.6, ISO-800, 1/500 sec.
330 mm, F/5.6, ISO-800, 1/500 sec.
I came back to Manila with a smile on my face!
Canon 1D Mark IV camera, Canon EF 100-400 mm IS lens, handheld. These photos are only documentary as they are not as good as on the 800 mm lens.
In the thick bushes beside the horsetrail, I discovered several small, rust and green colored birds with eyes like White-Eyes, roosting only a few feet away. They did not fly away but seemed confident that we could not get to them because of the thicket. My caretaker told me that when he was a little boy, they could easily kill CFBs with slingshots, because they did not fly away. Fortunately, Dion has banned all slingshots, airguns and cats in BK Valley to protect the bird populations.
The thicket prevented me from getting clear shots of the roosting CFBs.
100 mm, F/5.6, ISO-640, 1/40 sec.
These were Chestnut-Faced Babblers, endemic and usually found above 800 meters above sea level. A lifer! ;D
The CFBs were very shy and always hiding and moving - making it very difficult to photograph them. They would come out of the thicket to feed on a Caliandra flower for 3 seconds or less, and then duck back into the thicket.
320 mm, F/5.6, ISO-500, 1/250 sec.
320 mm, F/5.6, ISO-500, 1/250 sec.
A short while later, a mixed flock of insect-eating birds arrived. The CFBs joined them in the frenzy. The others were Mountain-Verditer Flycatcher, Elegant Tits, Yellowish White-Eyes, and tiny birds that I only got glimpses of and could not identify (I have to go back to capture this lifer).
330 mm, F/5.6, ISO-500, 1/200 sec.
330 mm, F/5.6, ISO-800, 1/500 sec.
330 mm, F/5.6, ISO-800, 1/500 sec.
I came back to Manila with a smile on my face!