avian photography april 30, 2013

Unknown, can someone help me identify this..

I heard a new bird sound this morning at school so I brought out my camera, I knew it was something different, this bird was being chased by a swallow and he landed on this fence and I was able to take a photo of him.

I am not sure what kind of bird it is or maybe it's someones pet or something, but I saw another one fly passed my position so they might be breeding or something.

7:55PM edit: I thnk this is some sort of yellow parrot.

Lifer list:

1.  Golden bellied Flyeater  
2.  Long tailed shrike        
3.  Olive backed sunbird      
4.  White Collared Kingfisher
5.  Pacific Swallow          
6.  Black naped Oriole        
7.  Yellow vented bulbul      
8.  Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker
9.  Pied Thriller            
10. Elegant Tit              
11. Brown Shrike              
12. Large billed Crow        
13. Eurasian Sparrows        
14. Blue throated bee-eater  
15. Pied Fan tail

beetle

avian photography april 26, 2013

Golden-bellied Flyeater (Gerygone sulphurea)

Flyeaters fly in tandem ..caught this couple talking to each other

Olive backed sunbird

Tree Lizard very well camouflaged from predators

Large Billed Crow vs. Black Naped Oriole

While imaging the bulbul, A black bird caught my attention, the lone crow was attacked by the orioles. The thing is, the both species have a very aggressive behavior. I had to scramble to take decent photos of the event but not fast enough.

crow and oriole

Pied Thriller

Large billed Crow in-flight

crow

tree lizard

Philippines Pygmy Woodpecker

Antonov AN-124-100 in manila

I also spotted a rare bird! Flight RA-82047

(confirmed here http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/volga-dnepr-airlines-vda)

I love anything and everything that flies! (controlled flight, that is!)

Today was the first day for me to see a russian heavy lifter plane, It was the Antonov AN-124-100 from the Volga-Dnepr airlines.I kind of know how most of the planes sound when they passby.

I can hear differences between airbuses, 747s, C-130s, ATR turbo props and small planes. Of course this one sounded way different than the normal ones so it got my attention.

With the four Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofans spewing out 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) each. It sounded louder and meaner than 747s (which is always the loudest).

avian photography march 26, 2013

Three species in one photo..let's take a closer look of the two..

Blue throated bee-eater (Merops viridis)

White collared Kingfisher

All pictures were taken at Morong, Bataan.

avian photography april 25, 2013

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

awaiting for its lunch

Pied Thriller (Lalaga nigra)

this guy just kept on moving..

Very hot day today! I'm very tolerant of warm weather but this year is very hot! 

What I don't get is when people just pass by these beautiful creatures and don't notice them. I guess everyone is already too tied already with facebook, twitter and all that crap. People have forgotten what living is all about.

avian photography april 24, 2013

First photo of this day. I'm so happy I get to do this with my wife. She has better vision than I do and can spot birds faster.

 Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)

Very smart and aggresive, flying around Faith Academy like he owned the place

Long Tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)

waiting for its prey

Black Naped Orioles (Oriolus chinensis)

avian photography april 23, 2013

Elegant Tit (Pardaliparus Elegans)

Elegant Tits (Pardaliparus Elegans) are endemic to the Philippines, bringing my endemic photo collection to two. Saw them for the first time at Springs of Living Water Bethesda garden today (Antipolo). I set up expecting only to see Eurasian sparrows and Sunbirds, but I heard a different sound. Something I have not heard before, then I checked out the treetops and found these yellow 10cm long birds actively moving around from branch to branch, it was really hard to photograph them with my all manual setup. I had neck pains after taking pictures of them for an hour. It was all worth it though!

Olive backed Sunbird

I also saw a Crow do a flyby, a grass bird and off course sparrows. Also saw a V formation of around a hundred birds at around 1000ft AGL but was not able to take a picture of it. I am assuming they are egrets moving northbound.

To finish the shoot, I took this

avian photography april 22, 2013

Going up the valley, my wife and I were able to spot a couple species of birds. These are the ones I was able to take pictures off.

Black naped Oriole

Pied Triller (Lalage Nigra)

Pied Triller is a new addition to my photo collection.

After lunch, i went out and walk around the campus to take pictures, it was so hot and what I saw rewarded my effort.

Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos maculatus)  

Endemic to the Philippines!

I saw around 8 of them flying and pecking from branch to branch!

I also learned how they sounded, hope to bring a recorder next time.

Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

avian photography april 19, 2013

White-collared kingfisher

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Olive backed sunbird

some macro shots

wild flowers, they always go unnoticed!

Second day for my cheap tamron 70-300mm LD macro, I am trying to maximize usage of it, squeezing every single pixel resolution I can get out of it. It is not VC so everything is done manually, the AF works but I still focus manually.

Sun-birds. If you're an observant, you'll notice how common they are.

The Elusive Black-naped oriole (Oriolus Chinensis)

Pacific Swallow (Hirundo Tahitica)

This couple I took in Hacienda Isabela Tagaytay, I also found their nest. They were collecting small materials for their nest.

After just two days of shooting, I can now distinguish three bird sounds, that of the Kingfishers, orioles and of the sunbirds. I know when they're around and I can get ready, although Orioles are too elusive.

Crows are unmistakable when you hear them, though i have yet to take photos of them. They always would keep their distance.