Birding with Ramon at Bangkong Kahoy

[Ely Teehankee]

I had a chance to go birding with Ramon at his favorite place up in Mount Banahaw where we drive up the ATV to get there without the difficulty of climbing the mountain on foot. We had two birds in mind the Metallic Sunbird and the Fire-breasted Flowerpecker which he was able to photograph recently. The Fire-breasted Flowerpecker is a beautiful bird which I would love to photograph. While waiting for the birds to show up we saw some Sunbirds feeding on the top levels of the tree. They were skittish as usual and backlighted. But in situations like that we just hope for the best.




Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.



Unfortunately it did not come out the best but it proved that the Metallic Sunbird is there.
1/250 sec., f/5.6 ISO 1600




At a distance of 14.4 meters the Metallic Sunbird is just too small. To get a good capture of this bird I think it has to be less than 10 meters and that would require super luck for this frisky bird.
1/250 sec., f/5.6 ISO 1600




Back to Ramon's viewing deck the following day we saw the Citrine Canary Flycatcher (Culicicapa helianthea). It was 17.2 meters away but an opportunity to take his picture is better than nothing. It was also backlighted.
1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




The Citrine Canary Flycatcher moves to another branch and the light was better this time but still too far for a bird this size.
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




After the CCF flew away, I waited for a while to see if there are other birds. Not seeing any I started moving my gear when I saw a silhouette of what look like a bird. But it could also be a leaf. I looked thru my lens and saw that it was a bird. It was different. It was a Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus). I called out to Ramon and he came out and exclaimed that it was at the exact place where he took the picture of the same bird last year. Could it be the same bird? We were just happy to have seen this bird at 11.8 meters which is quite close considering the size of the bird. The lighting was also better. This bird certainly made it our day.
1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Just as we were about to pack up, we decided to give this moth a try with our 800mm. It is not as good as a macro lens but under the circumstances it was still worth a try.
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 1600

[Michael R. Anton]

Beautiful Ely! Really like the Brush Cuckoo photos. Fantastic!

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 12, 2012 2:58:37 GMT Michael R. Anton said:

Beautiful Ely! Really like the Brush Cuckoo photos. Fantastic!

Thank you Mike. That was a lucky break for Ramon and me to see it relatively close and with just enough light even if the sun was not shining on the bird.

[Tateo Osawa]

Nice shots of Brush Cuckoo Ely, Beautiful back ground and a clear shots, like #2 of B. Cuckoo.

[Ely Teehankee]

Thank you Tateo. It is always a good deal if you get the chance to get near the bird and the big bonus is when there is adequate light on the bird. May the bird be near you and the light be with you should be the kind of blessing one would pray for.

[Ariel Matias]

Very nice capture of the Brush Cuckoo, Ely.

[Mark Itol]

Very nice set, Ely. Love the Brush Cuckoo.

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 12, 2012 21:28:17 GMT Ariel Matias said:

Very nice capture of the Brush Cuckoo, Ely.

Thank you Ariel. That bird was the hero of the day. Coming to perch just as we were getting ready to leave.

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 13, 2012 10:56:39 GMT Mark Itol said:

Very nice set, Ely. Love the Brush Cuckoo.

Thank you Mark. As a general consideration for me any bird within 10 meters is a good distance to get good details. For slightly larger than usual birds like this Brush Cuckoo a meter or two more is still okay. Though that is not always the case so we just try to make the best out of it.

[Mick Harris]

A great set of cuckoo shots

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 14, 2012 11:00:20 GMT Mick Harris said:

A great set of cuckoo shots

Thank you Mick. Most people like the close up pictures. It is understandable.

[William Lim]

Great cuckoo shots, Ely.

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 14, 2012 13:55:46 GMT William Lim said:

Great cuckoo shots, Ely.

Thank you William. Bangkong Kahoy takes pride in using organic fertilizer and no pesticides at all. They allow the insects to eat on the fresh vegetables that are planted there. They reason out that insects can only eat so much and it is just the outer layer that gets eaten. When they harvest they remove the outer layer and the vegetable looks like it has never been touch by the insects. This in effect attracts the birds like the Orinetal Cuckoo to come and feast on the insects. I am waiting for that time to come and it will be soon.

[luisitoco]

Hi Sir Ely. I noticed that your metallic sunbird has a red color at the chest while the one taken from Bohol was just plain yellowish-white. Congratulations on these three beautiful birds!

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 15, 2012 11:56:04 GMT luisitoco said:

Hi Sir Ely. I noticed that your metallic sunbird has a red color at the chest while the one taken from Bohol was just plain yellowish-white. Congratulations on these three beautiful birds!

Thank you Luisito. I did not notice this but it is good to know that there are variances for this endemic bird. Perhaps someday it may be classified as a subspecies.

[Sylvia Ramos]

Wow, that Brush Cuckoo shot is a classic! Great pose, bird, perch and background! I also like the Citrine because it's so cute!

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 16, 2012 14:16:11 GMT Sylvia Ramos said:

Wow, that Brush Cuckoo shot is a classic! Great pose, bird, perch and background! I also like the Citrine because it's so cute!

Thank you Sylvia. There is nothing like having a bird that is close by because you can get so much more details. The Citrine certainly looks cute but at 17.2 meters for a small bird like that it is really too far to have more details. The Brush Cuckoo certainly made our day.

[tina mallari]

BK Valley is such a treasure talaga. Great to see that it was another fruitful birding sortie for you Ely :-)

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 17, 2012 6:42:48 GMT tina mallari said:

BK Valley is such a treasure talaga. Great to see that it was another fruitful birding sortie for you Ely :-)

It is a treasure especially when you look at it in terms of accessibility.
To see similar birds one has to go to Banaue or Mount Polis which can easily be 8-10 hours away. BK is only about two hours. I will still be on my way to Banaue and you could be birding for hours at BK and having lunch by the time I get to Banaue. The Brush Cuckoo made our day.

[Tirso Paris]

Beautiful pictures especially of the Brush Cuckoo and the Flycatcher. My future lifers, hopefully!