Purple Heron in flight
A Purple Heron glides over dense vegetation as it comes in to land at one of the ponds in Candaba wetlands. Despite the featured background and the incoming flight trajectory, my 1D MII’s AF had no trouble catching the target.
Light was not as bright as I wish for birds in flight, and I was forced to slow down the shutter speed to 1/640 sec at the risk of camera shake or subject motion. I got lucky in panning and the feather detail turned out decently sharp.
These large birds (length of 1.145 m and wingspan of 1.90 m) are fairly common residents all over our islands, and they are a guaranteed catch at Candaba wetlands at any time of the year. They are so slow in the air that I sometimes refer to them as ships-in-flight. 🙂
My website’s banner photo above is a composite of 5 frames from a burst at this species.
- Shooting Info – Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, April 10, 2007, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/640 sec, manual exposure in available light, 475B/3421 support.
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea, resident)
Habitat – Fairly common in all types of wetlands.
Black Bittern in flight
This uncommon waterbird is secretive and solitary. It is medium size, being 23 inches in total length, and a resident at all major Philippine islands.
The Black Bittern’s shy nature and dark plumage make it tough to see when in cover. It took me several years of birding at Candaba wetlands to get a good glimpse of the bird.
This one was flying low over the grasses of the wetlands when I chanced upon it. My manual exposure settings were priorly set for mid-toned birds, so I quickly reduced my shutter speed from 1/1600 sec to 1/1000 sec for a 2/3 stop boost in the illumination of the dark subject. The 1D MII’s AF did a great job of locking focus on the dark plumage despite the featured surroundings.
- Shooting Info – Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, July 29, 2008, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 400, 1/1000 sec, manual exposure in available light, 475B tripod/ 3421 support.
Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis, resident)
Habitat – Uncommon in wetlands from ricefields to mangroves.
Northern Shoveler in flight
The distinctive large bill of this uncommon migratory duck makes identification in the field quite easy. This female was flying full speed in a slightly upward trajectory when I caught it at Candaba wetlands. The background was out-of-focus pond water and vegetation.
This duck is medium large (19 inch length and 31 inch wingspan). When coming in to land as a group, their swift flight makes an audible swoosh sound as their wings slice through the air. They feed by swimming with their neck outstretched and lower mandible below the water, sifting floating vegetation.
- Shooting Info – Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, March 5, 2007, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1600 sec, manual exposure in available light, 475B/3421 support.
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata, female)
Habitat – Uncommon in fresh water marshes and shallow lakes.
The colorful Common Kingfisher
It is not easy to fill the frame with this colorful migrant, given its shyness and small size (6 inches total length). This kingfisher is found all over the Philippine islands from late August to June, but it’s not as common as its name implies.
An effective way to get close is to look for fishponds where the kingfisher is used to seeing people around, then stake out near a favorite perching spot. This was what I did at San Juan, Batangas, in 2008. I used the trunk of a coconut tree as cover and hand held the 1D MII + 700 mm from a kneeling position.
- Shooting Info – San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, September 29, 2008, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, f/8, ISO 400, 1/1600 sec, manual exposure in available light, hand held.
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis, migrant)
Habitat – Along coasts, fish ponds and open rivers.
Pied Fantail
So common a bird.
So few decent photos I’ve captured so far (in fact, this maybe my only one).
This fantail, with a 7.5-inch total length, ranges in all major Philippine islands. It is conspicuous and noisy in many places, including urban residential areas and parks. It is easily seen and in many instances can be approached closely. However, its continuous tail fanning and constant movement among branches make it probably among the toughest common birds to photographed well.
This individual was captured inside the campus of the University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City. I hand held my 1D MII + 100-400 IS + 1.4x TC so I could follow the active bird better. I might have only one useable photo of this species, but I’m glad it was under golden, late afternoon light. Even with a 1.4x TC and shot wide open, the optics of my 100-400 IS perform quite well.
At 96 dpi displays, this bird should appear slightly larger than lifesize at this posted resolution.
Shooting Info – UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, November 20, 2006, Canon 1D MII + EF 100-400 IS + Sigma 1.4x TC, 560 mm, f/8 (wide open), ISO 400, 1/320 sec, hand held.
Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica, resident)
Habitat: Common in parks, residential areas, thickets, early second growth and mangroves.
Smallest RORO craft in the world?
This watercraft …..er…..random arrangement of wooden planks was inching towards our side of the mighty Cagayan river to fetch our two-car convoy for a birding sortie at Malasi Lake a few kilometers beyond. This place is over 500 km north of Manila.
Supported by two wooden boats each with its own 4-cylinder diesel engine, the platform of the raft can carry 3 small cars or tricycles. I initially hesitated to risk the crossing, but when I looked at the faces of drivers that crossed before us, it looked like doing so is the most ordinary thing in the world. Well, the prospect of bagging quite a few lifers swayed me to go for it.
Shooting Info - along the banks of Cagayan River, Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines, January 20, 2007, Canon 1D MII + EF 100-400 IS, 235 mm, f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, hand held, manual exposure in available light, near full frame.
Whew…. we made it across the river.
My brother Jeff (driving the lead car) and I heave a sigh of relief as our vehicles make it across the Cagayan River, and he was just too happy to drive to terra firma. I couldn’t imagine the nightmare of the raft capsizing and God forbid, losing my Sigmonster, 500 f4 IS and other gear stowed in the vehicle.
Oh…. the things we do for love! 🙂
Shooting Info - along the banks of Cagayan River, Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines, January 20, 2007, Canon 1D MII + EF 100-400 IS, 100 mm, f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, hand held, manual exposure in available light, uncropped full frame.
A breeding Pheasant-tailed Jacana in flight
In some places, jacanas are called the “Jesus bird” because they can walk seemingly on water. In reality however, their overly long toes can spread their weight over a large area and this allows them to walk on floating or emergent vegetation near the water surface. This gives the illusion of walking on water.
When in breeding plumage, the Pheasant-tailed Jacana sports an elongated tail and the nape turns from pale yellow to golden yellow. Such adornment makes this bird an ornately beautiful subject to photograph, particularly when it’s in the air where the long tail, thin feathertips of the wings and very long toes are very visible.
It’s a shy customer though, so it’s not easy to approach and capture well. I’ve been wanting to photograph it in flight each time I visit Candaba wetlands, but luck wasn’t on my side always.
My fortune changed for the better on July 2008. I saw this particular individual making numerous trips between its presumed nesting site in the middle of the pond and an area in the adjoining ricefield. An earth dike ran in between the two places.
As soon as I saw it land in the ricefield, I immediately hid myself on the earth dike and waited in an ambush position along the expected flight path back to the pond. Sure enough, the bird rose above the rice plants after a few minutes and headed my way. My 1D MII had no trouble locking focus on the contrasty target, given a plain sky as background. I probably filled my RAW buffer to capacity, and this particular shot was my pick because of the good wing position and eye contact.
- Shooting Info – Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, July 22, 2009, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/2000 sec, 475B/3421 support, manual exposure in available light.
Pheasant-Tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus, resident, breeding plumage)
Habitat – In wetlands with floating or emergent vegetation.
Philippine Duck in flight
I have many captures of the endemic Philippine Duck in flight, but this one should be my favorite. I just like the way the wings were frozen in the full downstroke position, and the angle of light was just right to show the iridescence of the speculum * well.
(* colorful patch on the wing)
That herons and egrets can fly is not too impressive to me – their large wing area and light slender bodies allow them to soar even in the slightest wind. Duck flight is a different matter though. Beneath the streamlined curves of the duck’s body, there are hints of powerful flight muscles that enable this relatively heavy bird to get to the air even with stubby wings.
Quackers fly by sheer muscle power, and when they come in to land on the pond water (belly-flop, actually), they drop almost like a rock as soon as their wingbeats slow down.
This frame came from the middle of a burst of over half a dozen shots, most in good focus and each shows a different wing position. The background was out-of-focus pond water with some vegetation. Amazing what modern autofocus technology and fast frame rates can do at birds-in-flight photography.
Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, Philippines, April 3, 2007, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1600 sec, 475B/3421 support, near full frame, manual exposure in available light.
Philippine Duck (Anas luzonica, a Philippine endemic)
Habitat – Freshwater marshes, shallow lakes and ricefields.
A worm too long
A common migratory bird, this Greater Sand-Plover had just snagged a long worm at a dried up fishpond in Tagburos, Puerto Princesa, when I snapped the photograph.
I always use AI servo AF for active birds on the ground, treating them similarly as I shoot birds in flight. The fast shutter speed freezes the action, AI servo assures correct placement of focus even when the subject moves, and M mode keeps the exposure of the bird optimized regardless of the changing background which can easily fool the meter.
The worm was too long to be ingested whole. Using its beak and some head jerking, the bird cut the invertebrate into shorter manageable pieces before swallowing. I reckon this bird hit the jackpot for the day as far as a juicy meal was concerned.
- Shooting Info – Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines, February 11, 2007, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC II, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/100 sec, A328/3421 support, manual exposure in available light.
Greater Sand-Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii , migrant)
Habitat – Along the coast on exposed mud, sand and coral flats.
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.
- 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.
Australasian Grass-Owl (Tyto longimembris, resident)
Habitat – Grasslands and canefields.
Romy Ocon's Wild Birds of the Philippines 