Largest Philippine sunbird - the Naked-faced Spiderhunter

Measuring about 172 mm (6.75 inches) from tip of tail to tip of bill, the Naked-faced Spiderhunter is the largest sunbird in our islands. For comparison, many of our sunbirds are barely 4 inches in total length, with a few reaching between 4 - 5 inches. This bird is found only in the Philippines.

I was staking out a blooming macopa tree (Syzygium malaccense) at Mt. Makiling way back in 2006, the site being a virtual feasting area for many species of sunbirds and flowerpeckers,  when I saw this individual foraging among the photogenic macopa buds and flowers.

It was the first time I saw this species in the wild, and naturally like any other birder I was mesmerized and almost frozen motionless with the endemic lifer encounter. I'm glad though that I recovered enough of my senses to manage firing some shots at the active bird. The low light under the canopy forced me to use a slowish shutter speed, so many of the shots were blurred. This photo is among the ones that came out recognizeable.

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Naked-faced Spiderhunter (Arachnothera clarae, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat - Forest, forest edge and clearings

Shooting info - Mt. Makiling, Laguna, Philippines, May 11, 2006, Canon 20D + EF 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO 800, 475B/3421 support, manual exposure in available light, major crop.

The majestic Rufous Hornbill

One of the most exciting moments in wild bird photography for me is witnessing for the first time the spectacular beauty of a rarely photographed Philippine endemic in the wild. This individual was among a flock of three birds that were foraging among the treetops at Quezon National Park way back in 2005.

With a total length of almost a meter, this bird is the largest Philippine hornbill. It is found in forest and edge, and in recent times has become less common on account of its fast shrinking habitat and its “single nestling” breeding habit.

Apart from its huge size, the feature that grabbed my attention even from afar was its striking casque (horny outgrowth on the head) - it is huge, with a color similar to cooked crab claws. This part of the head/bill must play a major role in the bird's very loud (and scary) kaaaaw call.

The Sigmonster at full zoom (800 mm) was still not long enough to fill the frame at a shooting distance of circa 80-100 meters. I had to crop aggressively to strengthen the composition of the shot.

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Rufous Hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat - Forest and edge.

Shooting Info - Quezon National Park, Quezon Province, Philippines, November 5, 2005, Canon 350D + Sigmonster (Sigma 300-800 DG), 800 mm, f/8, ISO 400, 1/160 sec, 475B/3421 support, jpeg capture in available light, major crop.

The microscopic Pygmy Flowerpecker

How I wish I had a 1.4x teleconverter mounted!

I was shooting birds in flight at a mangrove area in San Juan, Batangas, way back in July 2009. Light was low and I needed the brightest aperture I can come out with, so I mounted the bare 500 f4 IS on the 5D MII.

Certainly not my intended subject, this bird flew in and started foraging among the foliage near my position. It was very active in nature, hence I had to shoot right away with whatever gear I have set up, no time to add a TC.

Philippine flowerpeckers are quite very small, with the largest just around four inches in total length. In this lilliputian family, the tiniest is the Pygmy Flowerpecker at circa 3 inches total length.

Despite the deficient focal length used, there’s still enough detail left after massive cropping for a decent-sized web display, or for small prints. As posted here, the bird should appear a bit larger than lifesize on a 96-dpi display.

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Pygmy Flowerpecker (Dicaeum pygmaeum, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat – Forest, edge and second growth.

Shooting Info - Pinagbayanan, San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, July 14, 2009, Canon 5D MII + EF 500 f4 IS, 500 mm, f/4, ISO 800, 1/800 sec, 475B/3421 support, manual exposure in available light, major crop.

And here’s the full frame (resized to 800×533) from which the version above was cropped, showing the extreme detail gathering capability of the 5D MII’s 21 MP sensor.

Uncropped full frame, resized to 800x533.

La Union surfing fun

I've been waiting for the waves to pick up a bit at nearby San Juan beach, La Union, Philippines. On a recent weekend (September 25th), the waves were decently sized enough, and I had fun aiming my birding gear at waveriders.

This surfer looks stoked, enjoying the waves under the early morning sun.

Shooting info - San Juan, La Union, Philippines, September 25, 2011, 1D4 + 500 f4 IS + 1.4x TC, 700 mm., f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 400, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, AWB.

Our indigenious food, in plastic bags

Whenever I find myself in my native La Union province (northern Philippines), the first place I visit is the local market to buy foodstuff that I've relished since childhood.

The vegies are still as fresh as ever, being sold barely a couple of hours after leaving the farm. But alas, everything is now packed in non-biodegradeable plastic bags, which will eventually clog up our waterways.

In this snapshot, one buyer is holding a 5 peso coin (USD 0.11) to pay for the bunch of ampalaya leaves (aka bitter gourd plant, sc. name Momordica charantia). These leaves go well with our native recipe of free-range chicken soup, providing a distinctive flavor that we so treasure.

Incidentally, the bitter gourd fruit/leaves have been discovered to have amazing medicinal properties, particularly for the treatment of diabetes. Concentrated extracts are now commercially sold in tablets as herbal medicine. For us natives of northern Philippines, we eat this plant for the taste..... the medicinal value is just a newly discovered bonus.

Shooting info - Bangar town market, La Union, Philippines, October 16, 2011, 7D + Sigma 10-20, 10 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/60 sec, hand held, available light, uncropped full frame.

The uncommon Flaming Sunbird

Philippine sunbirds are mostly diminutive in size, and the Flaming Sunbird is no exception. At a mere 95 mm (3.75 inches) total length, it is one tiny bird. Even with a 700 mm lens, I needed to get close to decently fill the frame with the subject.

I got the chance to do this at Mt. Makiling in 2007 when a patch of bird-of-paradise plants were abloom at the lower slopes of the enchanted mountain. A wide variety of sunbirds descended on the flowers to sip nectar, and I had a field day shooting the tiny beauties up close .

Endemic to the Philippines, the Flaming Sunbird is found in Luzon, Catanduanes, Guimaras, Panay and Negros islands.

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Flaming Sunbird (Aethopyga flagrans, male, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat - uncommon in forest, edge and second growth up to 1350 m.

Shooting info – Mt. Makiling, Laguna, Philippines, November 3, 2007, Canon 40D + EF 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, 1/60 sec, f/6.,3 ISO 800, manual exposure in available light, 475B/3421 support. 

A documentary clip of a Flaming Sunbird at Mt. Makiling.

Portrait of a Lowland White-eye

With a total length of only 102 mm (4 inches) and given its very active nature, this tiny avian dynamo is very tough to capture well.

This intimate portrait I got way back in 2005 at Tiaong, Quezon, was more of a lucky shot, considering the slow shutter speed used. I probably pressed the shutter button just at the moment when the bird was in between motions. The DOF at nearly 700 mm focal length, f/5.6 and close focusing distance was very thin, and I'm glad I managed somehow to focus precisely at the eye area of the active subject.

The Lowland White-eye is common in lowland second growth, scrub and gardens. It ranges in Luzon and Batanes group of islands. It is found mainly in the Philippines.

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Lowland White-eye (Zosterops meyeni, a near Philippine endemic)

Habitat - second growth, scrubs and gardens.

Shooting info – Tiaong, Quezon, Philippines, November 27, 2005, Canon 350D + Sigmonster (Sigma 300-800 DG), 687 mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, 475B/3421 support, some tiny branchlets in the background were removed to improve aesthetics.

Footage of preening Lowland White-eyes filmed in La Union in 2011.

Coleto

This large, bald-headed myna (292 mm total length) is found only in the Philippines and at Bangi Island off Borneo. It is common in forest, edge and clearings, where it perches in open on exposed dead branches. It ranges in most Philippine islands except the Palawan group.

A fruiting balete (local fig tree) at Mt. Makiling was the site of an avian feast way back in 2007. Multiple bird species of various sizes were gorging themeselves on the ripe fruits. Among the feasters was this individual that seemed to almost choke on a 10-mm diameter balete berry.

The Canon 350D's mild shutter slap helped tame camera shake at 1/100 sec shutter speed, which is slowish for the fully zoomed out, non-stabilized Sigmonster (800 mm).

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Coleto (Sarcops calvus, a near Philippine endemic)

Habitat - forest, edge and clearings.

Shooting info – Mt. Makiling, Laguna, Philippines, January 2, 2007, Canon 350D + Sigmonster (Sigma 300-800 DG), 800 mm, 1/100 sec, f/8, ISO 800, manual exposure in available light, 475B/3421 support.

A short video of a Coleto at Mt. Makiling.

Grass-Owl in flight

I’ve been to Candaba wetlands dozens of times, and I usually stay in the area from dawn until well after sunset. But I’ve gotten near this night hunter in daylight only twice – both cases under the same lighting circumstances and similar time of day.

The late afternoon sun was covered by heavy clouds, making it appear that nightfall was coming in ealier than it should. Perhaps seeing that it was already dusk, the owl came out to hunt, flying low and silently over the grassy areas of the wetlands. Just before the sun disappeared in the western horizon, the clouds thinned somewhat, allowing some light to illuminate the place. This made it possible to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the bird in the air.

This raptor acted like it was curious – it circled around and looked straight at me while I was trying to acquire focus in the low light. The out of focus grasses in the distance provided a pleasing creamy background to the nocturnal bird of prey.

Many of the shots were misfocused, probably because the dim light was straining the AF system or maybe because I was trembling with excitement as I was tracking the subject. Whatever the reason why I missed many frames, I wouldn’t know for sure. But I got at least one photo sharp, and this made me do the “dance of joy” once I confirmed the keeper in the 1D MII’s LCD.

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Australasian Grass-Owl (Tyto longimembris, resident)

Habitat – Grasslands and canefields.

Shooting Info – Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, May 27, 2008, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 IS, f/4, ISO 800, 1/500 sec, 475B/3421 support, near full frame, manual exposure in available light, pushed +2/3 stop in RAW conversion.

A short video of the Australasian Grass-Owl.

 

Philippine Serpent-Eagle

Funny.

I’ve spent a small fortune on birding gear, but the most published image I ever snapped was taken with a cheapo rig. Shot in jpeg. Using AI servo at f/8 when the camera was designed to autofocus down to f/5.6 only. Worse, the image was underexposed because I was in Av priority and I didn’t have time to dial in some exposure compensation.

I was standing on a ridge at Subic rainforest when I espied this raptor soaring nearly level with my position. Most of the shots were out of focus, as the ancient AF system of the 20D saddled with a non-reporting 1.4x TC could barely focus on a static subject, much less at a bird in flight. But in one critical frame, when the eagle banked with the distant Zambales mountains as background, the sluggish AF locked on magically and I got a decent shot.

This is one good example of a modest rig at the right place and time being better than a state-of-the-art gear with no photogenic shooting opportunity.

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Philippine Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis holospilus, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat – Forest from lowlands to over 2000 m.

Shooting Info - Subic rainforest, Bataan, Philippines, June 2, 2005, Canon 20D + EF 400 5.6L + Tamron 1.4x TC, 560 mm, f/10, ISO 400, 1/1000 sec, hand held.