Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jun 19, 2012 5:01:32 GMT
Yesterday morning, I went around Subic forest on the back of my pickup truck, where I set up a chair with my camera and tripod. It had rained continuously since the day before, and the sun was coming out for the first time. This turned out to be a great time to go around the forest, because many birds were coming out to sun themselves and dry off.
At around 8:30 a.m., I was happy to see a LIFER ;D – which I thought at first was a Koel – but then it looked like a Coucal, and I recalled reading about the Rufous Coucal in the Kennedy Guide.
I did not realize then that Rufous Coucals are not only uncommon and endemic to Luzon only, they are also very hard to capture because they skulk in the forest understorey and shy away from people. Luckily for me, this RC was apparently desperate for sunshine that it disregarded the fact that my pickup was below and across the street. Incredibly, it put on a show for more than 30 minutes and gave me plenty of poses.
All photos were with Canon 1D Mark IV camera, 800 mm lens, 1.4x extender, tripod at back of pickup truck.
F/8, ISO-1000, 1/100 second, manual exposure.
F/8, ISO-1000, 1/125 second, manual exposure.
F/8, ISO-800, 1/80 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
The RC then preened its feathers.
F/8, ISO-800, 1/500 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
F/8, ISO-1250, 1/200 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
Then, to my surprise, the RC’s mate joined it for sunbathing. What a double bonus!
F/8, ISO-1250, 1/400 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
What a rare and spectacular view!
F/8, ISO-800, 1/500 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
At around 8:30 a.m., I was happy to see a LIFER ;D – which I thought at first was a Koel – but then it looked like a Coucal, and I recalled reading about the Rufous Coucal in the Kennedy Guide.
I did not realize then that Rufous Coucals are not only uncommon and endemic to Luzon only, they are also very hard to capture because they skulk in the forest understorey and shy away from people. Luckily for me, this RC was apparently desperate for sunshine that it disregarded the fact that my pickup was below and across the street. Incredibly, it put on a show for more than 30 minutes and gave me plenty of poses.
All photos were with Canon 1D Mark IV camera, 800 mm lens, 1.4x extender, tripod at back of pickup truck.
F/8, ISO-1000, 1/100 second, manual exposure.
F/8, ISO-1000, 1/125 second, manual exposure.
F/8, ISO-800, 1/80 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
The RC then preened its feathers.
F/8, ISO-800, 1/500 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
F/8, ISO-1250, 1/200 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
Then, to my surprise, the RC’s mate joined it for sunbathing. What a double bonus!
F/8, ISO-1250, 1/400 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
What a rare and spectacular view!
F/8, ISO-800, 1/500 second, manual exposure, remote trigger.
