Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Apr 29, 2013 3:27:26 GMT
Last April to June 2012, I posted and reported on the progress in the successful nesting by a pair of Besras (Philippine Sparrowhawks) in BK Valley, Mt. Banahaw, Quezon, under the protection of our BK Nest Stewardship Program. They raised 2 hatchlings which fledged in June 2012.
I am thrilled to report that as hoped for, the Besras have returned to the very same nest and laid a new batch of eggs. The same local farmer who discovered the nest last year has been appointed as the nest guardian again this year.
BESRA (Accipiter virgatus), also called the Philippine Sparrowhawk. This is presumably the confusus subspecies endemic to Luzon, Mindoro and northern Visayas.
Photos taken on 4/27/13. Canon 1DX camera, 600 mm lens, 1.4x TC, tripod.
Last year, I took plenty of photos of the female Besra and 2 nestlings. But I only saw the male Besra twice and could only take a distant head shot. This year, I wanted to make sure I captured the male, which comes to the nest only during the building of the nest and occasionally while the female is sitting on the eggs - but apparently not after the eggs have hatched.
So, last Saturday at 7:30 am, I positioned myself behind a screen of cut branches and waited for the male to appear. Little did I know that I would have to wait 7-1/2 hours for the male to appear. The female sat patiently on the eggs for that long, and hardly moved and never took a nap. Amazing! It was not until 3:00 pm that the male apparently called to the female, and the female suddenly left the nest, presumably to feed on a kill brought by the male to a nearby tree. Even last year, I noted that the male does not bring kills to the nest but to a nearby tree and calls to the female to eat. Perhaps they want to minimize the risk that a predator will discover the nest, or they want to keep the nest sanitary while the eggs are unhatched.
During the 10 minutes that the female was feeding, the male came to the nest twice but only for 5 seconds each time and did not sit on the eggs (it is much more skittish than the female). I was able to take only 2 frames, but luckily they are both clear shots. Success finally! ;D
Note the white feather stuck to the male's bill, which may have belonged to the kill.
840 mm, F/5.6, ISO-1600, 1/200 second.
After an absence of only 10 minutes, the female returned to the nest to again sit on the eggs. She looks angry, perhaps because she got only a 10-minute lunch break after at least 7.5 hours straight sitting on the eggs!
840 mm, F/5.6, ISO-1600, 1/250 second.
Here, the female is stretching and showing its beautiful, barred underwing feathers.
840 mm, F/5.6, ISO-1600, 1/200 second.
Note of caution: Birders who come to BK Valley to see and photograph the Besra nest will only be allowed access to the lower vantage point that is 30 meters below the nest and has a blind. This is for the protection of our Besra family, so as not to scare them and cause them to abandon the nest. Thank you for your understanding.
I am thrilled to report that as hoped for, the Besras have returned to the very same nest and laid a new batch of eggs. The same local farmer who discovered the nest last year has been appointed as the nest guardian again this year.
BESRA (Accipiter virgatus), also called the Philippine Sparrowhawk. This is presumably the confusus subspecies endemic to Luzon, Mindoro and northern Visayas.
Photos taken on 4/27/13. Canon 1DX camera, 600 mm lens, 1.4x TC, tripod.
Last year, I took plenty of photos of the female Besra and 2 nestlings. But I only saw the male Besra twice and could only take a distant head shot. This year, I wanted to make sure I captured the male, which comes to the nest only during the building of the nest and occasionally while the female is sitting on the eggs - but apparently not after the eggs have hatched.
So, last Saturday at 7:30 am, I positioned myself behind a screen of cut branches and waited for the male to appear. Little did I know that I would have to wait 7-1/2 hours for the male to appear. The female sat patiently on the eggs for that long, and hardly moved and never took a nap. Amazing! It was not until 3:00 pm that the male apparently called to the female, and the female suddenly left the nest, presumably to feed on a kill brought by the male to a nearby tree. Even last year, I noted that the male does not bring kills to the nest but to a nearby tree and calls to the female to eat. Perhaps they want to minimize the risk that a predator will discover the nest, or they want to keep the nest sanitary while the eggs are unhatched.
During the 10 minutes that the female was feeding, the male came to the nest twice but only for 5 seconds each time and did not sit on the eggs (it is much more skittish than the female). I was able to take only 2 frames, but luckily they are both clear shots. Success finally! ;D
Note the white feather stuck to the male's bill, which may have belonged to the kill.
840 mm, F/5.6, ISO-1600, 1/200 second.
After an absence of only 10 minutes, the female returned to the nest to again sit on the eggs. She looks angry, perhaps because she got only a 10-minute lunch break after at least 7.5 hours straight sitting on the eggs!
840 mm, F/5.6, ISO-1600, 1/250 second.
Here, the female is stretching and showing its beautiful, barred underwing feathers.
840 mm, F/5.6, ISO-1600, 1/200 second.
Note of caution: Birders who come to BK Valley to see and photograph the Besra nest will only be allowed access to the lower vantage point that is 30 meters below the nest and has a blind. This is for the protection of our Besra family, so as not to scare them and cause them to abandon the nest. Thank you for your understanding.
Thanks for sharing.
