Candaba Before Typhoon Pablo

[Ely Teehankee]

When I heard that super typhoon is heading towards the Philippines, I called up Jimmy and asked him if the perimeter road is now passable. He said yes, and I went there last Thursday. I am pleased with what I got but I fear for the devastation that will be caused by Bopha now named Pablo as it enters the Philippine area of responsibility. It is estimated to have a maximum sustained wind of 210 km/h near the center with higher gusts. Bopha is a large size tropical storm with a diameter of 720 kilometers across.



Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Manual exposure in available light. Bean bag on car window for lens support.



Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) 14 inches (355 mm) My first bird of the day taken about 6:00 AM
1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600




Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) 19 inches (480 mm) I have been watching this bird thru my view finder and all a sudden he was able to catch a fish. I was just as excited as the bird in trying to catch a picture of the fish that he just caught.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 800




Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis) 4 3/4 inches (120 mm)
Not too happy with the angle but it was the only clear shot that I got of this skittish bird.
1/1000 sec., f/6.3, ISO 400




Cinnamon Bittern(Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) 14 1/2 inches (370 mm)
It was good to see this bird after a long time but I wish it was closer than the 23.8 meters when I took this picture.
1/1250 sec., f/6.3, ISO 400




White-browed Crake (Porzana cinerea) 8 inches (205 mm) This bird was even further at 27.4 meters. In situations like this I tell myself a bird in hand is better than two in the bush.
1/400 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) 11 1/2 inches (290 mm) This bird was closer at 15.8 meters and I like the feathers being blown by the wind.
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400




1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) 13 inches (330 mm) Even if I have seen this bird a lot of times before, it was still a thrill to see it again as you never know what you are going to get this time.


This time I got to photograph this bird with his long neck stretch to the end. LOL.
1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Chestnut Munia (Lonchura malacca) 4 1/4 inches (109 mm) I attached a 1.4X TC to take a picture of a distant bird when this Chestnut Munia landed 9.87 meters from me. Normally at this distance I would not use a TC, but taking it out may mean that I will lose the opportunity to take a picture of this bird, so I went ahead and focus on the bird and I like it the way the bird has his chest out and tail flicked upward.
1/640 sec., f/9, ISO 400




Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) 36 inches (Ardea purpurea) 36 inches (915 mm) With the bird measuring almost a meter in length I took a picture of this bird even though it was 35.6 meters away.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris) 10 1/2 inches (266 mm) I like the distance of this bird at 11.8 meters enabling me to get more details of the bird's feathers.
1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) 14 inches (355 mm) I did not see any Purple Swamphen on this trip. I guess the Common Moorhen can take its place for the meantime.
1/1250 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Having seen another Yellow Bittern at a slightly closer distance of 21.1 meters I took a picture of this bird and found a parasite clinging in between his beak and eye.
1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400




The Yellow Bittern stretches its neck to see what is around him.
1/1600 sec., f/8, ISO 400




He makes a call as if looking for a mate. Behavior like this certainly makes it more interesting to photograph them.
1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata) 8 1/2 inches (216 mm) I could not resist taking a picture of this bird nicely perched at 14.4 meters.
1/1250 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) 9 1/2 inches (240 mm) Nicely perch on a vine and with the catch light makes this bird look very pretty.
1/1250 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala) 10 1/2 inches (270 mm) First time for me to see this bird in Candaba. Lucky for me it was preening its feathers giving me that rare opportunity to see and photograph this long beak bird.
1/800 sec., f/8, ISO 400




Looks like an immature Wood Sandpiper (Tringa gladiola) 8 1/4 inches (210 mm) to me but will change the name if incorrect ID. Taken with 1.4 X TC.
l/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400

[Bobby Kintanar]

Excellent series Ka Ely! Beautiful light and excellent timing on the Cattle Egret, too! I'm sure other birders will be going there after seeing all your gorgeous shots. :-)

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 3, 2012 0:08:57 GMT Bobby Kintanar said:

Excellent series Ka Ely! Beautiful light and excellent timing on the Cattle Egret, too! I'm sure other birders will be going there after seeing all your gorgeous shots. :-)

Thank you Bobby. Typhoon Pablo will be hitting the South tonight if its present course does not change. If it passes thru Luzon, it will probably take a couple of weeks to make Candaba passable. I pray and hope that it veers away from the Philippines. Last year in was typhoon Sendong that hit the South around this time causing the death of about 1300 people.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Excellent set as usual, Ely!

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 3, 2012 10:17:03 GMT Ramon Quisumbing said:

Excellent set as usual, Ely!

Thank you Ramon. Perhaps you would like to give Candaba a try sometime. There are interesting birds to photograph as you have seen them on this thread, besides the usual water bird. I always like the antics of the Yellow Bittern. Sometimes you get a chance to photograph the Blue-tailed Bee-eater at a close distance. I missed the Purple Swamphen this time but they are nice to photograph as they are the size of a female chicken and is also quite colorful. The best part is that it is not tiring. You can photograph the birds sitting in your car and use your car window with a bean bag as your lens support. Your car will do the walking for you. LOL.

[Tateo Osawa]

All excellent shots, Ely. This is the first time I saw Cattle Egret caught fish. Good timing. I like very much.

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 4, 2012 13:50:46 GMT Tateo Osawa said:

All excellent shots, Ely. This is the first time I saw Cattle Egret caught fish. Good timing. I like very much.

Thank you Tateo. I waited for about an hour to get this shot. Next time you come here, I will bring you to Candaba and you will be able to try for shots like this.

[oespena]

Great shots sir! I think a saw Arctic Warbler same sound with the wagtails.

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 7, 2012 2:32:12 GMT oespena said:

Great shots sir! I think a saw Arctic Warbler same sound with the wagtails.

Thank you Onnie. Let us be thankful that typhoon Pablo spared much of Northern & Central Luzon. It should still be safe to go to Candaba and not get worried about getting stuck in the mud in as much as it hardly rained in that area.

[Tirso Paris]

Very nice set Ely! I like all pics!

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 10, 2012 12:10:58 GMT Tirso Paris said:

Very nice set Ely! I like all pics!

Thank you Tirso. I hope to be able to go back to Candaba especially now that typhoon Pablo has spared us from the rain that usually comes with a typhoon. The road should be dry in a week or two to make it possible to make the full round without having to turn back.

[William Lim]

Fantastic set Ely. How are the roads to Candaba swamp?

[Ely Teehankee]

Dec 10, 2012 14:22:50 GMT William Lim said:

Fantastic set Ely. How are the roads to Candaba swamp?

Thank you William. You can take the usual route where you make a right turn after the bridge but don't take the rough road further down where you make a right and come out at the road where the elevated tank is. They filled it with mud to raise it higher but have not graded it yet. The road around the ponds at the Mayor's place is hardened except for one portion where the elevated tank is located so you have to turn back on that portion. It may be dry in a week or two.