The Big Birds We Used To Have

[mantarey]

Went to India on a Birdwatching conference with Alain last week. Having known that some of the large birds we used to have can still be found there, we tried our best to find them and they became our main targets. We were fortunate to capture a few of them and here's sharing two of them.

The Sarus Crane is said to be common before and can be found in large numbers just in Candaba Wetlands but is now an Extirpated Species. This Crane is known to be the tallest flying bird. What a big loss for the Philippine Bird Life.

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone), Gujarat, India January 2012
50D + EF500, f5.6, 1/1250, ISO 400, Manual Exposure, Handheld



This Stork is classified as a rare migrant even then but can no longer be found in the country. There were a few reported sightings but were not confirmed sightings.

Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus)
50D + EF500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 400, Manual Exposure, Handheld



Rest of the images can be seen here:www.flickr.com/photos/mantarey/sets/72157629094143247/show/

[Neon Rosell II]

Wow, nice to see the Sarus crane again, looks like it was just shot in Candaba, Rey! Nice take on both as always! Glad you and Alain were able to visit Incredible India!

[mantarey]

Jan 31, 2012 12:52:23 GMT Neon Rosell II said:

Wow, nice to see the Sarus crane again, looks like it was just shot in Candaba, Rey! Nice take on both as always! Glad you and Alain were able to visit Incredible India!

Thanks Neon, India is really incredible. There were so many birds and lots of them are really big birds like the Storks, Cranes and a lots of geese species flying in big flocks in the mornings and in the afternoons.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Very nice shots, Rey -- but very sad story.

[Ely Teehankee]

Nice captures Rey. It is indeed sad that we no longer see them and what is most disturbing is the continuing destruction of the bird habitat thru mining, logging and informal settlers. It is only the government who has the means and power to do something about it if there is the political will to do it. Otherwise, we will continue to lose some variety of birds that we used to have.

[Ariel Matias]

Very nice captures!

[mantarey]

Thanks a lot Ramon, Ely and Ariel.

[Mick Harris]

Great shots ...I wish my handheld shooting was as good as yours.

Regards'

Mick

[mantarey]

Thanks a lot Mick.

[tomvandenbrandt]

Beautiful shots Ray, great job.

Regards, Tom