|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 2:15:31 GMT
Hear, hear, Ely!
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 2, 2012 0:23:55 GMT
Thanks for the kind words, Ariel. Come on down to BK!
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 19:55:08 GMT
Beautiful captures, Nilo. I will try Olango when I go to Cebu in a few weeks.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 13:11:12 GMT
Nice BIF set, Steve. Congrats on your lifer. I have not seen a BBR yet.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 13:04:34 GMT
Ding, thank you for your gracious invitation to take more photos of the Eagle-Owl. Let me know when you invite the next batch of birders.
Good luck on finding and recovering the sick Eagle-Owl.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 10:25:34 GMT
Beautiful captures, Ely. I have to sit down with you sometime so you can show me how you do your photo-processing. I have the same shots of the White-eared Brown-Dove and the Elegant Tit, but they are not as clear as yours.
The second photo is a Bicolored Flowerpecker (Dicaeum bicolor).
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 10:12:26 GMT
Thanks, Ely, although it appears to be the iris (the yellow muscular diaphragm that regulates the amount of light that enters the pupil) that is closing, rather than an eyelid membrane. You're right that seeing the biggest Philippine owl was a real treat.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 5:39:03 GMT
Thanks, Steve.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 5:35:29 GMT
Thanks, Steve and Tito Poch.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 2:53:19 GMT
I was very fortunate yesterday to be invited to join a group of 7 PBPF members hosted by Ding Carpio to see a Philippine Eagle-Owl ( Bubo philippensis) - an uncommon endemic and a lifer for me - roosting in a big acacia tree beside Ding's office building in the Manila Water compound on Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. I would never have thought such a big and majestic bird would live in that area with all the traffic nearby. There must be a lot of mice and other prey available. And it has been protected in the Manila Water compound for years (according to an employee). Many thanks, Ding, for making this possible. I will not post my photos, as I am sure the other members will post better photos (Also, I screwed up the settings on my new camera to take Raw and small jpeg photos, and to my dismay, it took only 2 sets of small jpeg photos. Ely and I are trying to figure out the problem.). I will post only this one unusual photo showing the very different sizes of the Eagle-Owl's pupils, because the left pupil is in direct sunlight whereas the right pupil is not. Hence, the left pupil is half the size of the right pupil. Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800 mm lens, 1.4x converter, tripod with half-gimbal, F/8, ISO-640, 1/125 sec., taken from about 50 meters away. Ding, according to the Manila Water employee, this Eagle-Owl and its mate have been there for years, and they had a nest in the office building. But its mate got sick and fell down some time ago, and it was retrieved by an employee who brought it home to take care of it. Perhaps you can identify the employee and have him return the mate??? It would be wonderful if this Eagle -Owl had his/her mate back, and they continue breeding.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Jan 1, 2012 0:52:23 GMT
Super clear photos as always, Ely. Happy New Year!
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 10:24:36 GMT
Come on down to BK, Tirso. It's by far the closest and most convenient place to see montane birds. If you come Jan. 2, I will be there and there will be free accommodations for PBPF members at the new BK Mountain Lodge.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 7:42:16 GMT
When I step out of the room at 5:45 and saw that the weather was clear I anticipated that we will get to see a lot of birds. It was strange that with the sun shining and the wind hardly blowing that there were not that many birds around. What save the day was the mixed flock arriving later than usual in the morning. My favorite in this series is the Green-backed Whistler which I did not even see because the birds were jumping all around in a feeding frenzy. They certainly gave us a lot of thrills and excitement when they showed up. We certainly had a great time. Cheers & Mabuhay Ramon. Thanks, Ely. Funny, but due to the distance and shady conditions and the excitement, I thought the Green-Backed Whistler was a Philippine Bulbul - and I commented to you that I had never see a Philippine Bulbul join a mixed flock. It was only when I saw the photos that I realized it was a GBW. I have 30-40 photos of the GBW preening, which wil be the subject of a future posting.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 7:38:28 GMT
Thanks, Neon. Tito Poch and I will be back in BK on Monday, Jan. 2 for an overnight trip, if you or any other birders want to join us. I am providing free accommodations that night.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 7:35:46 GMT
Fantastic series Ramon, must be the best series I've seen from your work. Congrats. Muchas gracias, Reynaldo! I can't help but get better from all the practice. I still have much more to learn though. Ely has taught me a lot on shooting skills, but I haven't even begun to learn to photoshop, which I understand is half the game.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 4:46:43 GMT
Thank you for the ID, Neon. This is a lifer for me.
This mistletoe flowers in June when the host tree has lost all its leaves, so the mistletoe is in the sunshine. I took these photos last June. Thanks again.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 4:41:48 GMT
After a stormy December 27, Ely Teehankee and I were very happy to see that December 28 was clear and beautiful weather. Before sunrise, Ely watched for birds at the BK Mountain Lodge at the top of the hill, while I watched for birds in front of my house below, and we communicated by walkie-talkie as to the presence and location of birds. Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon 800 mm lens, tripod with half-gimbal. Before sunrise, I captured 2 birds. A lonely Citrine Canary Flycatcher ( Culicicapa helianthea), F/5.6, ISO-5000, 1/80 sec., from about 40 meters away in semi-darkness. One of 3 noisy Balicassiaos ( Dicrurus Balicassius), F/5.6, ISO-5000, 1/160 sec., from about 40 meters away. At sunrise, Ely decided to come down because I was seeing more birds and I spotted this White-eared Brown-Dove ( Phapitreron leucotis), alternatively roosting and munching on berries. 1.4x converter, F/8, ISO-800, 1/160 sec. A Philippine Bulbul ( Hypsipetes philippinus) feeding on ripening berries of a "Malapapaya" tree. 1.4x converter, F/8, ISO-640, 1/200 sec., about 40 meters away. A Brown Shrike ( Lanius cristatus) in bright sunshine. The towering 200-year old (est.) White Lauan tree in front of my house is reflected on the right side of its eyeball. 1.4x converter, F/8, ISO-640, 1/320 sec., about 25 meters away. Ely and I waited more than 2 hours in frustration for the usual mixed flock of insect-eating birds to come to the understorey of the big trees off my front deck. At 9:30 a.m., we had decided to give up and have breakfast before leaving BK - when a small mixed flock suddenly arrived. Ely and I furiously clicked away for 20 minutes until the mixed flock left. Halfway through, we had to remove our 1.4x converters because they slowed down the focusing in the mixed lighting conditions, and we often missed the fast-moving birds. The mixed flock had 1 each of Blue-headed Fantail, Sulfur-Billed Nuthatch, Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker, Elegant Tit, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, and Green-Backed Whistler. That made our day! Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker ( Dendrocopos validirostris). I just noticed that the dark top of the head is like a mop. 1.4x converter, F/8, ISO-1250, 1/250 sec. Green-Backed Whistler ( Pachycephala albiventris), F/5.6, ISO-2000, 1/250 sec. Ely, it was great birding with you. Thank you very much for all your invaluable lessons/tips in bird photography.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 3:30:04 GMT
Thank you for the kind words, Ely.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 30, 2011 1:19:38 GMT
Ely Teehankee and I did some early morning birding on Dec. 27 at BK Valley, Mt. Banahaw - but the weather was uncooperative, with strong winds and rain and cold. Nonetheless, I was lucky to capture these 4 birds during the very few, minutes-long breaks in the rain/wind. Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon 800 mm lens, tripod with half-gimbal. Documentary photo of an Island Flycatcher, formerly called Mountain Verditer Flycatcher ( Eumyias nigrimentalis), male, endemic. F/5.6, 1/400 sec., taken from 50 meters away from inside my living room. Yellowish White-Eye ( Zosterops nigrorum), F/5.6, 1/160 sec., taken from 8-10 meters away. Red-Crested Malkoha ( Phaenicophaeus curvirostris), F/5.6, 1/200 sec. Bicolored Flowerpecker ( Dicaeum bicolor), male, F/5.6, 1/400 sec., taken about 30 meters away. Ely was our second guest ever at the new BK Mountain Lodge. Thank you for bringing the yummy Paella, Ely.
|
|
|
Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 29, 2011 21:21:38 GMT
|
|