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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 5, 2012 10:24:10 GMT
Steve, as explained in my other posting today, I mistakenly dropped the second Latin name when I added the third Latin (race) name. I have modified this posting to insert the second Latin names of the 4 birds.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 5, 2012 10:01:07 GMT
Thanks, Neil.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 5, 2012 9:57:47 GMT
Steve, thank you for the correction of the Latin name. I did not know that the second Latin name is retained and that the race name is added as a 3rd name. I have modified my post accordingly.
I think it is fairly obvious that I am not an ornithologist (I am a lawyer, and birding is my hobby and not my profession) and that I do not claim to be an ornithologist. This posting is intended to be humorous, i.e., my wondering why the Green-Backed Whistler is called "Green-Backed" when there is no obvious green. Thank you for confirming my identification of this bird as the race crissalis and that the adult crissalis is less olive-green and browner.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 5, 2012 4:02:36 GMT
Wow, the KG says the Asian Brown Flycatcher is a rare migrant recorded in the southern Philippines. I have never seen one. Dennis captured this bird in Mt. Palay-Palay, Cavite.
Dennis, where in Palay-Palay did you see it, and at about what time of the day?
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 5, 2012 3:08:37 GMT
Thanks, Dennis.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 5, 2012 2:28:11 GMT
Last January 2, we were alerted by a farmer at BK Valley that there were plenty of birds at a fruiting balete (ficus) tree near my house. Dion and I rushed there and saw 4 types of Flowerpeckers (Orange-Bellied, Bicolored, Pygmy and Buzzing), 2 types of White-Eyes (Mountain and Yellowish), and 2 types of Bulbuls (Philippine and Yellow-Vented), all at the same time. What a feast for the eyes! The ficus tree had dropped practically all its leaves, which exposed all the birds for easy shooting. Canon 1D Mark IV, 800 mm lens, 1.4x teleconverter, tripod with half-gimbal. The backlighting was challenging, but for the first time I was able to adjust for it (with valuable advice from Ely Teehankee). Three male Bicolored Flowerpeckers ( Dicaeum bicolor inexpectatum). It was surprising to see so many male BCFPs together. F/8, ISO-800, 1/500 sec., from 30-40 meters away. A female Bicolored Flowerpecker. F/8, ISO-800, 1/400 sec., from 25 meters away. Two Yellowish White-Eyes ( Zosterops nigrorum luzonicus) and one Mountain White-Eye ( Zosterops montanus whiteheadi). F/8, ISO-800, 1/125 sec., from 30 meters away. A male Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker ( Dicaeum trigonostigma xanthopygium) with a Mountain White-Eye. F/8, ISO-800, 1/125 sec., from 30-40 meters away. (For more photos of Orange-Bellied Flowerpeckers, see my 1/2/12 posting.) A male Pygmy Flowerpecker ( Dicaeum pygmaeum). F/8, ISO-800, 1/320 sec., from 25 meters away. A Philippine Bulbul. F/8, IS)-800, 1/640 sec., from 25 meters away. What a great day! The ficus tree will probably keep fruiting for another week; if anyone wishes to see the Flowerpeckers and White-Eyes, Dion can show you where it is.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 21:36:22 GMT
Yes, it looks like a male Pied Bushchat.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 21:34:39 GMT
Good BIF shots, Mick.
Could you provide the specs on each photo?
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 21:32:12 GMT
Nice clear captures, Mick.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 21:27:16 GMT
Last December 26 in BK Valley, I was lucky to catch the endemic Green-Backed Whistler ( Pachycephala albiventris crissalis), sitting and preening. They are usually active and moving and difficult to photograph. I had been wondering why it is called "Green-Backed" when there is no obvious green on its back. Now I know why! Note the olive-green underfeathers in its rump that come out when it preens its back. Perhaps it should be called "Green-Rumped Whistler"? Canon 1D Mark IV, 800 mm lens, 1.4x teleconverter, tripod with half-gimbal, F/8, ISO-2000, 1/100 sec., about 25 meters away. Even this bird is laughing! F/8, ISO-2000, 1/250 sec., about 25 meters away.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 20:50:13 GMT
Thank you, Tina.
If you have not seen Sepoc Beach in many years, you will see big changes now. We added a dining pavilion, bathrooms, kitchen and a few cabanas. More importantly, we had a crew of 10 workers stay for a month to clean up all the garbage left behind by 30 years of picnickers and divers, and to clear the underbrush in the main area while preserving all the trees, in order to create a shaded park where one can go barefoot. It's a paradise now.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 9:12:24 GMT
Thanks, Des.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 7:13:29 GMT
Great, thanks for the ID, Neon. It's so hard for me to distinguish between the Buzzing Flowerpecker and the Bicolored FP (Female) and the Pygmy FP (female).
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 4, 2012 4:13:55 GMT
Last December 29, I took a speedboat at 6 a.m. to Sepoc Beach, Maricaban Island, Batangas, to do some early morning birding there for the first time. I saw a good selection of birds - and 2 lifers: a male Siberian Rubythroat and a tiny brown bird that I could not identify. Unfortunately, I could only get 2 poor documentary photos of the Rubythroat and none of the tiny bird. I have to go back and try again. Canon 1D Mark IV, 800 mm lens, 1.4x converter, tripod with half-gimbal. Black-Naped Oriole F/8, ISO-2000, 1/400 sec., about 50 meters away. Large-Billed Crow F/8, ISO-1000, 1/160 sec., about 40 meters away. Olive-Backed Sunbird, male F/8, ISO-2500, 1/8000 sec., about 15-20 meters away. I was shooting another bird in the dark shade, when I saw this OBS out of the corner of my eye perch in the bright sunlight. I did not have time to change my ISO but could only change the shutter speed. Brown Shrike F/8, ISO-1250, 1/320 sec., about 40 meters away. Pair of Zebra Doves F/8, ISO-800, 1/2500 sec., about 25 meters away. Blue Rock-Thrush, male, immature, at the mouth of a cave on Sepoc Rock. Note how well-camouflaged he is. F/8, ISO-500, 1/250 sec., about 120+ meters away. White-Collared Kingfisher F/16, ISO-400, 1/250 sec., about 40 meters away. F/16, ISO-250, 1/160 sec., about 40 meters away. Here is the sunset over Mt. Calavite in the northern tip of Mindoro taken from Eagle Point Resort. F/5.6, ISO-400, 1/8000 sec.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 15:13:44 GMT
Mick, that is troubling news about the theft of your camera and lens. What vehicle were you riding on the way to Subic?
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 12:32:37 GMT
I took these documentary shots of a pair of tiny Flowerpeckers this afternoon in a mistletoe on a tree in front of the BK Mountain Lodge. They did not hop around or move much. ID please.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 11:51:32 GMT
Wow, you have really brought out the magnificent beauty of this Eagle-Owl in your photos, Ely.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 11:05:39 GMT
Thank you, Ely.
Thank you, Rey, it is exciting to record another species in BK. You may be interested in seeing the fruiting ficus tree which attracted this Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker. I also saw 3 other types of Flowerpeckers (Bicolored, Buzzing and Pygmy), 2 types of White-Eyes (Mountain and Yellowish), and 2 types of Bulbuls (Philippine and Yellow-Vented) in a feeding frenzy, all at about the same time. This will be the subject of another posting.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 11:00:03 GMT
Ariel, yes, this Eagle-Owl is huge.
Thank you, Rey.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 9:26:37 GMT
This is to update my posting of yesterday, because I was able to identify the female Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker in my other photos. Canon 1D Mark IV, 800 mm lens, 1.4x teleconverter, tripod with half-gimbal, F/8, ISO-800, 1/500 sec., from about 30-40 meters away. A pair of OBFPs with a Mountain White-Eye. A female OBFP. ********************* ORIGINAL POSTING Dion Pullan and I were thrilled this morning to see - for the first time in BK Valley, Mt. Banahaw - a male Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker ( Dicaeum trigonostigma xanthopygium), an endemic. I had previously seen OBFPs only in Eden Mountain Resort in Davao. The other bird in the photo is a Mountain White-Eye. This was taken off the road near the entrance to my driveway. Canon 1D Mark IV, 800 mm lens, 1.4x teleconverter, tripod with half-gimbal, F/8, ISO-800, 1/125 sec., from about 30-40 meters away.
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