Little Egret tries to evade the 7DII's AF, didn't work

I was traveling yesterday along NLEX from Manila to La Union when I decided to make a short detour to Brgy. Paralaya, Candaba (Pampanga) to check out the water birds. The skies were overcast, resulting into flat lighting, but that didn't dissuade me at all from making the side trip.

Unfortunately, there were not a lot of birds in the area at this time and I decided to leave after a few minutes of scouting. Before I could dismount the lens from the camera for packing, this white bird came flying straight towards my position. I started tracking it in my viewfinder, firing off short bursts as the subject got nearer.

At the last minute, it noticed me and immediately executed an evasive maneuver. It wasn't successful in evading the sticky focus lock of the 7D II though. I was able to bring home a small consolation prize for the two hour detour from my scheduled route.

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Little Egret (Egretta garzetta, migrant)

Habitat: Coastal marsh and tidal flats to ricefields. 

Shooting Info - Candaba, Pampanga, Philippines, October 20, 2017, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II,
400 mm, f/5.6, 1/3200 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 800. 

 Larger 1000 x 1000 version

My favorite mountain bird: Citrine Canary-Flycatcher

This tiny feathered creature is hands down among my top favorite highland birds. It's easy for me to fall in love with this subject - it looks so cute, its colors jump out even to my color-blind eyes, its call is pleasant sounding, and its less shy demeanor makes it easy to approach. 

Likewise, its preference to perch on a clean branch often for quite long moments allow me to sometimes change vantage points for a better background, or a more favorable direction of light. It is only about 4-1/2 inch long (from tip of bill to end of tail), so I had to get really close to fill the frame.

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Citrine Canary-Flycatcher (Culicicapa helianthea septentrionalis, endemic race)

Habitat - Understory usually in montane forest. 

 

Shooting info - Elev. 1526 m ASL, Camp John hay Eco Trail, Baguio City, October 1, 2017, 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 2500, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 533.

High-res 1500 x 1000 version

And here's an old video footage where the call of this bird was recorded:

The (less colorful) female Narcissus Flycatcher

I actually saw both the male (more colorful) and female of this species during a quickie birding walk along Camp John Hay's Eco Trail last weekend. However, the former confined itself inside the thick undergrowth, and the images I got of it were just of documentary quality, not fit for web posting.

The female was less shy and it perched quite close to me, allowing me to fill the frame despite its small size of just over 5 inches. Though its plumage is less impressive, the capture was a welcome one - it's my first time to see it in the wild.

The available light in the undergrowth was very low, and I've to push my ISO to 2500 to expose the subject well enough. I wish the background was a bit cleaner, but I was at the edge of steep slope and couldn't move to a better vantage point.

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Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina, migrant, female)

Habitat - Rare in forest, second growth and mangroves. 

Shooting info - Elev. 1526 m ASL, Camp John hay Eco Trail, Baguio City, October 1, 2017, 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 2500, manual exposure in available light, hand held, uncropped full frame resized to 800 x 533.

High-res 1500 x 1000 version

A reunion with some mountain birds

After months of no serious birding, I found some time to drive to Baguio and try my luck at Camp John Hay's Eco Trail. I walked the slippery path down to the small stream, and encountered a bird wave along the way. Light was very low under the canopy of pine trees so I had to shoot at high ISOs. 

I had a blast trying to focus at the small birds in dim lighting - just a couple of hours of birding allowed me to meet quite a few montane feathered friends again. 

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Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis, migrant)

Habitat - Variety of forest types at all levels and elevations.  

Shooting info - Elev. 1526 m ASL, Camp John hay Eco Trail, Baguio City, October 1, 2017, 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 2500, manual exposure in available light, hand held, near full frame resized to 800 x 533.

High-res 1500 x 1000 version

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 Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni, resident, female)

Habitat - Forest canopy or understory and edge, montane forest down to 800 m. 

Shooting info - Elev. 1526 m ASL, Camp John hay Eco Trail, Baguio City, October 1, 2017, 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 2500, manual exposure in available light, hand held, near full frame resized to 800 x 533.

 High-res 1500 x 1000 version

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 Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus, resident)

Habitat - All forest types above 1000 m. 

Shooting info - Elev. 1526 m ASL, Camp John hay Eco Trail, Baguio City, October 1, 2017, 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 2500, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 533. 

  High-res 1500 x 1000 version

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 Mountain Verditer-Flycatcher (Eumyias panayensis, resident, male)

Habitat - Mountain forests above 800 m. 

Shooting info - Elev. 1526 m ASL, Camp John hay Eco Trail, Baguio City, October 1, 2017, 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 1250, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 533.

   High-res 1500 x 1000 version