Birds of Bislig

[Ely Teehankee]

I have not been able to get my URL from my website. Now that the problem has been solved I will try posting some pictures taken in Bislig, Surigao del Sur. The illegal logging is still going on as if there was no law against it. Surprisingly there were more birds than the last time I was there.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.

Silvery KIngfisher (Alcedo argentata) 6 inches. Endemic to the Philippines

1/80 sec., f/8, ISO 1600


Yellow-breasted Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus occipitals) 11 1/2 inches. Endemic to the Philippines

1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 1600


Steere's Pitta (Pitta steerii) 8 inches. Endemic to the Philippines

1/125 sec., f/8, ISO 6400

[Nilo Arribas Jr.]

Good to see the Silvery Kingfisher of Bislig, Ely. Reminds me of some good memories there. Thanks for sharing.

[Romy Ocon]

Great captures with tons of detail, Ely!

I wonder why the dove evolved such a colorful plumage.... seems it's a white bird that went berserk inside a dye factory.

[Ely Teehankee]

May 27, 2015 10:36:45 GMT Nilo Arribas Jr. said:

Good to see the Silvery Kingfisher of Bislig, Ely. Reminds me of some good memories there. Thanks for sharing.

Its been 5 years and the Silvery Kingfisher is still in the same pond. It may or may not be the same bird but for it to survive and continue to live in the same place speaks well of the people there.

[Ely Teehankee]

May 27, 2015 11:33:13 GMT Romy Ocon said:

Great captures with tons of detail, Ely!

I wonder why the dove evolved such a colorful plumage.... seems it's a white bird that went berserk inside a dye factory.

Thank you Romy for your appreciation. I am not at all surprise to see such a beautiful bird because it reminds me that there is a God who created them. Let me share an anecdote about God's accuracy:

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs. . . . .
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
-eggs of ducks and geese in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days;
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice
, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction.
No other quadruped is so made.
God planned that this animal would have a huge body,
too large to live on two legs.
For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and
each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number
and the next row an odd number. Amazing!

-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks.

It is no accident that the Yellow-breasted Fruit-Dove has such a beautiful color combination. The distribution and symmetry of the colors are very precise. We should all be happy that we have an endemic bird that can be considered one of the most beautiful dove in the Philippines if not in the world.

[Tateo Osawa]

All nice capture, Ely you got beautiful color and detail. Thank you very much for invited me for Bislig trip.

[Bobby Kintanar]

Very nice captures, Ka Ely, plus the write-up about God's accuracy and stuff - yeah so very good! Love that Pigeon shot!:-)

[Romy Ocon]

May 27, 2015 12:02:23 GMT Ely Teehankee said:

May 27, 2015 11:33:13 GMT Romy Ocon said:

Great captures with tons of detail, Ely!

I wonder why the dove evolved such a colorful plumage.... seems it's a white bird that went berserk inside a dye factory.

Thank you Romy for your appreciation. I am not at all surprise to see such a beautiful bird because it reminds me that there is a God who created them. Let me share an anecdote about God's accuracy:

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs. . . . .
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
-eggs of ducks and geese in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days;
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice
, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction.
No other quadruped is so made.
God planned that this animal would have a huge body,
too large to live on two legs.
For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and
each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number
and the next row an odd number. Amazing!

-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks.

It is no accident that the Yellow-breasted Fruit-Dove has such a beautiful color combination. The distribution and symmetry of the colors are very precise. We should all be happy that we have an endemic bird that can be considered one of the most beautiful dove in the Philippines if not in the world.

Nicely written, Ely!

[Ely Teehankee]

May 27, 2015 14:17:48 GMT Tateo Osawa said:

All nice capture, Ely you got beautiful color and detail. Thank you very much for invited me for Bislig trip.

Thank you Tateo. We had a productive adventure in Bislig with you coming from Cebu & me coming from Manila and we were able to meet at the airport of Davao at almost the same time to take the 4 hour drive to Bislig. To see the Writhed Hornbill, Mindanao Hornbill, & Rufous Hornbill, all Philippine endemic is a big bonus. Even if we all had to wake up early, we all had fun in seeing & photographing a variety of birds.

[Ely Teehankee]

May 27, 2015 23:01:16 GMT Bobby Kintanar said:

Very nice captures, Ka Ely, plus the write-up about God's accuracy and stuff - yeah so very good! Love that Pigeon shot!:-)

Thank you Bobby for your appreciation. It is just amazing that there are precise numbers, symmetry, & consistency that exist in God's accuracy. Someday we will have that kind of perfection when we are united with Him. Cheers & Mabuhay.

[Ely Teehankee]

May 28, 2015 2:20:38 GMT Romy Ocon said:

May 27, 2015 12:02:23 GMT Ely Teehankee said:

Thank you Romy for your appreciation. I am not at all surprise to see such a beautiful bird because it reminds me that there is a God who created them. Let me share an anecdote about God's accuracy:

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs. . . . .
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
-eggs of ducks and geese in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days;
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice
, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction.
No other quadruped is so made.
God planned that this animal would have a huge body,
too large to live on two legs.
For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and
each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number
and the next row an odd number. Amazing!

-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks.

It is no accident that the Yellow-breasted Fruit-Dove has such a beautiful color combination. The distribution and symmetry of the colors are very precise. We should all be happy that we have an endemic bird that can be considered one of the most beautiful dove in the Philippines if not in the world.

Nicely written, Ely!

Romy it was nice to see you at Canon's appreciation lunch at Niu. You are probably anticipating to do some birding now that your project is going on smoothly. The raining season is also about to come, but "Birdnuts" like us will always try to find a way. Looking forward to our next birding trip.

[William Lim]

Wonderful captures, Ely!

[Ely Teehankee]

Jun 8, 2015 13:34:43 GMT William Lim said:

Wonderful captures, Ely!

Thank you William for your appreciation. I hope you will find time to do some birding soon. I missed seeing your well planned & executed bird pictures.