Weaver Ants (in full HD)

Some full HD footage of Weaver Ants up close. These are called "hantik" in Pilipino and "abuos" in Ilocano.

I had to shoot many of the clips in 240 fps so it's easier for the eye to catch the twitchy movements of these amazing insects.

From Wikipedia:

"Oecophylla smaragdina (common names include weaver ant, green ant, green tree ant, and orange gaster) is a species of arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae."

Shooting info - filmed in natural habitat at northern Philippines on October 13, 2019, Sony RX10 IV, Uniqball UBH45 + Manfrotto 455B tripod, manual exposure in available light.

Music - "Forest of Fear" by Aakash Gandhi and "Clover 3" by Vibe Mountain.

Call of the Red-keeled Flowerpecker

On account of its tiny size (4 inches total length), skittishness, and the fact that it ranges only in the Philippines, this microbird is challenging to film well. I got lucky this morning to be able to capture it in the open, as well as record its high-pitched call. 

Red-keeled Flowerpecker (Dicaeum australe, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat - Canopy of forest, edge and flowering trees.

Shooting info – Bued River, La Union, Philippines, October 11, 2019, Sony RX10 IV, Uniqball UBH45 + Manfrotto 455B tripod, manual exposure in available light.

Olive-backed Sunbird

Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis, resident)

Habitat - Common lowland sunbird.

Shooting Info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, October 10, 2019, Sony RX10 IV, Uniqball UBH45 + Manfrotto 455B tripod, manual exposure in available light.

Music: "Side Path" by Kevin MacLeod

Bued River presented in two ways

This photogenic river winds down from the high Cordilleras to the flat lands along the border of the provinces of La Union and Pangasinan, then ultimately discharges to the South China Sea at San Fabian town. 

Nature dictates that flowing water follows the path of least resistance. This perhaps guided the designers and builders of the Kennon Road early last century - the picturesque access to Baguio City was constructed by the side of the Bued River, following it to the mountains like a twin snake. Why the need to level mountains, when you can follow a clear path already carved out by water  rampaging seasonally over millions of years?

Here's presenting the river in two ways:

First, during a lightning storm in the early evening.

Shooting info - Brgy. Camp I, Rosario, La Union, September 30, 2019 at 8:18 pm, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, 10.30 mm, ISO 100, 4 sec, f/2.8, manual exposure in available light, near full frame resize to 800 x 533.

Link to high-res 1800 x 1200 version

Second, covered with a layer of fog early in the morning.

Shooting info - Brgy. Camp I, Rosario, La Union, October 5, 2019 at 6:53 am, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, 10.30 mm, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, f/6.3, manual exposure in available light, near full frame resize to 800 x 533.

Link to high-res 1800 x 1200 version