Diffraction Limited

Saturday, August 3, 2013

ornithography: Aug 2, 2013

Wood Swallow

Long Tailed Shrike

Straited Grassbird

Barred Rail (Gallirallus torquatus)

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

While driving up the valley on our way to school (valley golf, Penny Lane, Antipolo) we spotted this bird foraging the road and quickly grabbed the camera, We used our car as camo, I drove passed the bird then backed up slowly. It's awesome that birds have gotten used with the shape of vehicles that it's not that much of a threat to them anymore.

ISO 800 300mm F/8.0 1/640sec

and just a couple meters, we saw this

Long Tailed or Rufous-backed Shrike (Lanius schach)

We also spotted a Straited grassbird.

Lifer List (since I started shooting for this blog)

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
16. White-breasted Woodswallow
17. Zebra Dove
18. Straited Grassbird
19. Scaly breasted Munia
20. White rumped Munia
21. Lowland White Eyes
22. Pied Bushcat (not photographed)
23. Spotted Dove

Also, allow me to post bird photos I took from our trip at the beautiful Naga City (July )

Scaly-breasted Munia or Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)

White-rumped Munia or White-rumped Mannikin (Lonchura striata)

Mount Iriga or Mount Asog a 1,196 m stratovolcano

Friday, July 26, 2013

ornithography: July 26, 2013

Back to school at Faith Academy!

New Lifer on the list

Lowland White-Eyes (Zosterops Meyeni)

ISO 800 300mm f/5.6 1/250

Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos maculatus)

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
16. White-breasted Woodswallow
17. Zebra Dove
18. Straited Grassbird
19. Lowland White Eyes
20. Pied Bushcat (not photographed)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

ornithography: may 27, 2013

Zebra Dove(Geopelia striata)

ISO800 f/8.0 1/200 flash

Found this perched on the same kalachuchi branch as before, a very gentle bird. They forage in groups and is always careful. Had to use flash because It was cloudy and not too much light to expose.

Dragonfly

Shot outside my house this Saturday morning.

Friday, May 10, 2013

ornithography: may 9, 2013

Straited Grassbird (Megalurus palustris)

Spotted by my wife, did not have time to make a proper exposure..I had just a few seconds before he took off.

Lifer update:

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

16. White-breasted Woodswallow

17. Zebra Dove

18. Straited Grassbird

18 Species 2 Endemics

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus)

These guys are hanging out near the pool area of the school.

ISO 800 300mm f/22 1/200 built-in flash

F/22 killed chromatic abberation.

White Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)

Faith Academy Sentinels!

ISO 800 300mm f/9.0 1/250

Thursday, May 9, 2013

ornithography: may 8, 2013

White Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)

There were lots of clouds yesterday, I guess marking the start of the rainy season. Gloomy and humid weather at the high thirties. There wasn't much light for good exposures. But I was able to take a couple of pictures of kingfishers who i think are permanent residents of valley golf already.

ISO 800 300mm f/5.6 1/160sec

In flight

ISO 800 300mm f/5.6 1/160sec

This is the closest I have gotten to them and from this sortie I learned a couple things:

1. Approach them very slowly. No sudden movements.
2. Stop and Go. Move then stop (when you stop for a while they will forget where you are)
3. They have good hearing, they can hear the reflex of the camera shutter even from a couple meters away.
4. They have very good vision, of course..they are hunters.

Spot the two kingfishers

Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata)

ISO 800 300mm f/5.6 1/200 with flash

We Found this on hubert's house in kapitolyo pasig, had to use camera flash because it was already too dark. This adds to my photographed 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

16. White-breasted Woodswallow

17. Zebra Dove

17 Species 2 Endemics

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ornithography: may 07, 2013

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus)

Very agile flyer and glider. I love watching them ride the wind. They almost go stationary mid-air! It is so hard to photograph them while perched but if you do, you have to be quick. They always hang-out in flocks of more than two. They catch insects mid-air.

Flying at the same speed with the wind, they look like they are floating

Awesome flyer and glider

Photographed 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
16. White-breasted Woodswallow

16 Species, Two endemics