The migrants are back at Sto. Tomas (La Union)

I found some time to visit the vast fishponds at Sto. Tomas (La Union) yesterday, to check if my favorite photo subjects have arrived.

Yes, many of the visiting water birds are back. Their feathers  aren't very nice-looking at the moment, as such haven't recovered yet from the tearing and bruising of the long migration flight. Perhaps, in a few more weeks, their plumage will become well-groomed enough to be very photogenic. 

This long-billed wader flew in without warning from my left, flying towards the late afternoon sun. I'm glad my manual exposure settings were almost spot-on as-is, as I had no time to adjust the settings during the few seconds that the BIF was in the shootable zone. The hand held 7D MII with the TC-less 400 DO II, using all-points AI servo AF, had no trouble picking out the target from the shiny background (nearly dried up pond).

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Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus, migrant)

Habitat - Along the coast in grassy marshes, mud and on exposed coral flats, beaches and sometimes in ricefields. 

 

Shooting Info - Sto. Tomas, La Union, Philippines, November 4, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II,
400 mm, f/5, 1/2000 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 533.

High res 1500 x 1000 version