Oriental Honeybuzzard at Bacsil Ridge (La Union)

I visited  the mountainous eastern fringes of San Fernando City (La Union) this August 31, 2012, to inspect some concreting projects as part of my day job. I decided to bring some birding gear in the vehicle just in case I cross paths with an interesting avian subject to photograph.

True enough, a perched Oriental Honeybuzzard loomed into view as I drove down Bacsil Ridge (site of a famous battle at the end of WWII). I was pleasantly suprised to see this species in the area, which is nestled in the foothills of the Cordilleras (near populated areas and not heavily forested).

 

I came across the bird at mid-day, but the slightly overcast skies helped tame the harsh shadows. Luckily too, I was positioned a bit higher than the raptor, hence I was able to get out-of-focus terrestial backgrounds, instead of the usual boring sky.

 

This could be the first record of this raptor species in this city, and even perhaps in the province of La Union.

 

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Oriental Honeybuzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus philippensis, endemic race)

Habitat - Seen soaring above or near forest below 1500 m.

Shooting Info - Bacsil Ridge, San Fernando, La Union, Philippines, August 31, 2012, Canon 7D + EF 500 f4 IS + 2x TC II, 1000 mm, f/10, ISO 400, 1/250 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure in available light, uncropped full frame resized to 800x533.

1500x1000 version

 

 

 

Shooting Info - Bacsil Ridge, San Fernando, La Union, Philippines, August 31, 2012, Canon 7D + EF 500 f4 IS + 2x TC II, 1000 mm, f/10, ISO 400, 1/250 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure in available light.

 

 

 A short footage of the Oriental Honeybuzzard at Bacsil Ridge.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

This bird is found practically everywhere in the Philippines - in all types of habitat, from the lowlands to high mountains, from forest edge to parks to man-made structures to residential neighborhods. With a total length of around 5-1/4 inches, it's a smallish bird. It feeds on many things and this allowed it to thrive in huge numbers in so many places.

The ETS is so common that many local birdshooters do not bother to photograph it anymore (some of us are even hesitant to include it in our photo lifelist!).

However, I always believed that any ordinary subject - if the pose, lighting, environment and background are good - can also be transfomed into a decent image. I'd probably prefer a technically good photo of an ordinary bird over a blurry capture of a rarity in flat lighting, unless the latter is a lifer.

I was waiting for birds in flight below an Acacia tree at Candaba wetlands when this individual started frolicking at a nearby tree trunk. With BIFs slow to appear, I concentrated instead on capturing this bird in a good pose. This image is my favorite of the lot because the interesting head angle gave me a good catchlight.

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Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus, resident)

Habitat - Common in virtually every inhabited island.

Shooting info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, January 24, 2011, 1DM4 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 800, manual exposure in available light, 475B tripod/516 fluid head, near full frame resized to 800x533.

Short footage of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow.