Birding Around Villa Lapas Hotel

[Ely Teehankee]

I usually wake up early and head to the breakfast area to see if there are any birds gathered around the terrace where there are lots of big trees. I have seen a variety of birds but this particular day there were very few. So after having breakfast I decided to go around the forest near the hotel and these are the birds that I saw. This was a good day for me as it happened that I did not have a guide and yet I was able to see and photograph both the male and the female of two species of birds namely the Green Kingfisher and the Variable Seed Eater. Thank you to my friend Andres Chinchilla of Los Cusingos who identified the birds of this series for me.



Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM with Canon Extender 2X II.
Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light.



Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) 7 inches (18 cm) Male
1/1600 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) 7 inches (18 cm) Female
1/1600 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacaranda) 4 inches (10 cm) Female
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) 25 inches (64 cm)
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 1600




Yellow-throated Euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea) 4 inches (10 cm)
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gartered Trogon (Formerly Violaceous Trogon) (Trogon violaceous)
9 inches (23 cm)
1/800 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/1250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/60 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200




Variable Seed Eater (Sporophila americana) 4 inches (10 cm) Male
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Variable Seed Eater (Sporophila americana) 4 inches (10 cm) Female
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600

[Edwin Matias]

Sir Ely,

Great Captures, first time to see those Variable Seed Eaters.....

Very nice shots on the Gray-capped Flycatcher

Regards,
Edwin

[Ely Teehankee]

Nov 22, 2012 0:57:07 GMT Edwin Matias said:

Sir Ely,

Great Captures, first time to see those Variable Seed Eaters.....

Very nice shots on the Gray-capped Flycatcher

Regards,
Edwin

Thank you Edwin. All these birds, I have never seen before. I had to walk a lot and carry my gear. I am glad that I brought my 300mm.