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Post by Ely Teehankee on Dec 29, 2014 12:58:09 GMT
Nice photo of this Maroon-naped Sunbird with your SX50. I am also using one just in case a bird comes closer than 6 meters which is the MFD of my 800mm lens. Well done, Cheers & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Dec 29, 2014 12:52:41 GMT
I know that there are hardly any birds for you to shoot in Pangasinan. This one that you found is not wasted. It looks like a made up Yellow-vented Bubul. Well done Romy & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Dec 29, 2014 12:48:56 GMT
Congratulations Tateo on this rare and beautiful discovery. Well done & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Sept 25, 2014 21:02:45 GMT
Very nice capture of the Little Bronze Cuckoo. If I am not mistaken you have taken pictures of this bird before. Well done Tateo & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Sept 21, 2014 22:49:45 GMT
Thank you Godo. Romy Ocon will be back next month as the founder and administrator for the Philippine Bird Photography Forum. He will clean out the outdated datas. You can expect a lot of people participating on this Forum. I have a lot of pictures to share and with Romy back at the helm I am certain that it will be in the top 50 of birding websites.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Aug 17, 2014 1:55:44 GMT
Congratulations Onnie. Maybe it is time to go back to Twin Lakes. Problem now is that it is raining season and it would be a wasted trip if it is raining.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Aug 13, 2014 21:07:27 GMT
Ely Teehankee: Looking forward to see you and have some birding trips together like we use to do before. It would be nice to see the Philippine Bird Photography Forum get active again. Cheers & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Aug 11, 2014 21:15:08 GMT
You can count on this bird to be raiding your Atis yearly. I was hoping there would be other birds to give me a reason to go there especially now that it is rainy season. I like the second picture as the bird's expression is that of anticipating eating the delicious atis. Well done Romy & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Jul 25, 2014 11:33:37 GMT
Excellent detail and nice sense of environment! Thank you Mark. It is quite amazing to be able to see & photograph this bird. The male is evasive as he has only been see by a few.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Jun 20, 2014 7:26:18 GMT
Sharp and clean at ISO6400 This would not have been possible if we were still using films. Thanks to electronic chips and the internet we can enjoy the wonder of modern science & technology.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 31, 2014 0:30:20 GMT
Even dark,all nice capture, Ely.and very good details. Thank you Tateo for your appreciation. Because of the dark situation, I have to use a high ISO of 6400 and a low shutter speed. I have repositioned my Mongoose Gimbal Head that made it more stable without having to use a cable release. Some Hong Kong birders are using pneumatic heads which is super stable but would add a couple of pounds to your set up. If you do not mind the extra weight this is certainly the way to go for stable shooting.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 31, 2014 0:23:26 GMT
Microscopic details! Well done, Ely![/quote Thank you Ramon for your keen observation. The closest that I have taken a picture of a bird was the minimum focussing distance of 6 meters for the 800mm that I am using. I have been wary of using an extender for fear that the image quality would be reduced similar to that of using a teleconverter. I took the suggestion of Menchu of using an extension tube and I think I was at 5 meters in this series of photographs. I am happy with the result and look forward to experimenting further with it. Cheers.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 25, 2014 23:57:09 GMT
So far this is the only place where I have taken a White-browed Shortwing (Brachypteryx montana) 5-5 1/2 inches. After a 13 minute climb from Bangkong Kahoy at 831 meters ASL in a dark forested area one can encounter this bird. In a tight situation where the subject is less than 6 meters. the minimum focussing distance of my 800mm lents does not allow the camera to focus. I was able to take pictures of this bird by using a 36mm extension tube. Thank you Menchu Ymalay for your suggestion and I think the image quality is retained. In fact the bird comes out slightly magnified. Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light. 1/13 sec., f/5.6, ISO 6400 1/13 sec., f/5.6, ISO 6400 1/13 sec., f/5.6, ISO 6400 Full Frame 1/15 sec., f/5.6, ISO 6400 1/20 sec., f/5.6, ISO 6400
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 25, 2014 22:48:52 GMT
Wow, you got them with 4 hatchlings your adrenalin must have been high. Very nice especially the last two pictures. Well done Tateo & Mabuhay.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 24, 2014 1:48:43 GMT
It was a first time for me to see and photograph the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) 4 3/4 inches, lasting more than 10 minutes. Ordinarily you would only see them for a minute or so. After catching and giving the cicada to his mate, he was able to catch a big worm. I was wondering how he was going to swallow this worm that would probably choke him. Than I saw how he beat this worm against the trunk of the tree, probably to kill it or to bring it to a swallowable size. Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light. When I saw these two birds come together, I tried to keep the camera focus on them. Later when I viewed what I was able to capture, I saw that one of the birds, presumably the male, giving the food that he had on his beak to his mate. I have seen this being done by the Ruddy Kingfisher in Coron. Birds has a natural instinct to share with what they have with their mate. 1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 It turned out to be a cicada, a a large homopterous insect with long transparent wings. To those who are familiar with this insect, it is the male cicada that makes a loud shrill droning noise after dark by vibrating two membranes on its abdomen. 1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 Soon after that, I saw another Nuthatch catch a big worm. I do not know if it is the same bird or not. Occasionally a bird flock of mix species would appear from nowhere and go on a feeding frenzy. This is what bird photographers like to see & experience. You have to be focussed on what you want to do because it can be confusing to decide which bird you would like to photograph. I stayed with this Velvet-fronted Nuthatch wondering what he would do next. 1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 Just like Kingfishers who kill their catch before swallowing them, the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch beat this worm against the trunk of the tree, repeatedly for some time. 1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 This is what remains of the worm, before the bird took off. I can only wonder if he is going to give it to his mate or eat it for himself. 1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 23, 2014 11:09:56 GMT
Very nice shots of the Indigo-banded Kingfisher, Ely. I can see very much details. Thank you again Tateo. I know that Kingfishers are one of your favorite birds. Let me know if you will be coming to Manila, spend an extra day and you will like photographing this Indigo-banded Kingfisher.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 23, 2014 11:06:48 GMT
Very nice documentation of the Besra, Ely. I have friends who see the pictures only without an explanation do not understand what is going on. This documentation with a story that goes with the pictures gives them a better understanding of what the birds are doing. Thank you Tateo for your appreciation.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 22, 2014 11:12:09 GMT
Thanks to Ramon Quisumbing who shared with me his discovery of a new place in Dolores, Quezon where a single male Indigo-banded Kingfisher (Alcedo cyanopecta) 5 1/2 inches would do his fishing by the creek. This is one of my favorite Philippine endemic kingfisher because of its colors & the shape of the band on its chest. From where I was I saw him take his prey out of the water from a perch a distance of more than 10 meters. It is amazing how a small bird can see a small fish in the water, fly the distance, and catch the fish with its beak. I saw him do this several times but unfortunately, the fish being so small, he gets to swallow it before I can take a picture of it. Maybe next time. Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light. 1/40 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 22, 2014 10:22:53 GMT
Thank you William. The 4 hatchling have fledged so you will not be able to take their pictures until next year should they come back to nest. The problem is the disappearance of the female Besra. There is still another Besra nest at Bangkong Kahoy but the angle is steep upwards so it would be difficult to take a good picture unless the bird is standing up. The good news is the White-browed Shortwing is still there.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on May 20, 2014 22:37:09 GMT
It seemed a little bit strange to see the male Besra (Accipiter virgatus) 10 1/4 inches sitting on the nest. For a while it looked like maybe he take turns with the female Besra in sitting on the eggs until it hatches. No one has seen the female since the male started sitting on the eggs. It is feared that the female may have disappeared without a trace. What is amazing to see that he was able to hatch 4 eggs. Even more amazing was that he single handedly hunted and fed the 4 hatchlings until they fledged. I was lucky to have witness the last day that they were fed by the doting father. Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light. The 4 hatchlings has been venturing out of their nest but once in a while they come back hoping that the parent would bring in food for them. Here is one fledging waiting at the nest for the father to come. After a while he leaves the nest. 1/60 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 The father arrives with a fresh kill. Seeing no one he leaves the nest to continue to clean his kill. They normally remove the feathers of their prey before bringing it to the nest so as to keep the nest clean and free of ants. 1/60 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 Another chick comes back to the nest. I really can't tell the difference as they all look alike. He waits with one leg lifted up. It seems like they enjoy standing up on one leg. After a while he leaves the nest. 1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 This chick seems to be crying out to the father, asking for his food. 1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 The father arrives to the delight of the chick. The father no longer feeds the chick. He leaves the carcass for the chick to learn how to eat by themselves. 1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 It was a delightful experience to witness this event and I am happy to be able to share these pictures with you.
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