Last Sunday a group of WBCP (http://www.birdwatch.ph) members together with a few of the Ateneo Environmental Law students went for a birdwalk at the film center and along the coastal road. It was drizzling every now and then, as usual, and I almost gave up hope of ever getting the chance to photograph anything. Here are some of the birds that I managed to take pictures of...

Chestnut Munia
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931246.kbrJ7ZPJ._mg_1375_dpp1.jpg

Little Egret
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931247.ZyEoSHni._mg_1395_dpp1.jpg

Black-Crowned Night Heron
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931249.1a0jfiBi._mg_1416_dpp2.jpg

An Immature Black-Crowned Night Heron
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931252.yo8fyrR7._mg_1488_dpp1.jpg

Oh BTW, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) is sponsoring the 2nd Philippine Bird Festival themed "Endemik: Dito lang sa Pinas" (http://www.birdwatch.ph/html/events/pr20060922.html) to focus attention on conserving endemic bird species of the Philippines, the bird watching hobby and responsible appreciation of nature. You are all invited to join us there and see for yourself why so many people all over the world are crazy about birds.

nice series tina,,
loved the 3rd picture...

Thanks a lot Jimmy :)

Wow, Tina... you're now a terror at fliers!

Great captures... you must've been very close to the Munia to get that detail... excellent stalking...:)

Romy

HEhEHEhEHEhEHEhe Thanks a lot Romy - I wish it were true !!! Chamba lang yan mga fliers ko. The Munias were right in front of us. What a blessing it was that Wency saw them otherwise wala akong ni isang kuha at the film center.

I enjoyed the place sa coastal road kaya lang kakatakot the place where we were standing - parang bibigay anytime soon :Grin:

More photos :

A couple of Little Egrets
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931254.qMpy1oPh._mg_1493_dpp1.jpg

A very graceful Little Egret
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931251.66MzDzoq._mg_1435_dpp1.jpg

Excellent captures particularly the Munia, the BCNH in-flight and the Little Egret, the reflection is a sure bonus. Well done Tina.

Reyno: Maraming salamat po fellow bird photography addict :Grin:

Reyno: Maraming salamat po fellow bird photography addict :Grin:

I'm not an addict Tina, just an Lcoholic....hehehehe...

nice capture of birds-in -flight...great job Tina :)

Ako din Reyno, Lcoholic too - yun nga lang I don't have the strength to carry big ones like you and Romy kaya super mini Lcoholic lang ako :Grin: I also don't have the funds to buy big ones :Grin:

Thanks Jojo :)

Great pics Tina! Romy's right, your fliers are good!

Thanks TJ !!!!

Even if you missed to capture some birds, it is actually the adventure rather the images but of course, better with some images :~). Nice going out there.
cheers,
gil

A lot of the pictures that I took also got deleted kasi the background of the photos were, simply put, not very pleasing to the eyes. Such beautiful birds with so much garbage around them. It was an adventure talaga :) Thanks a lot Gil

Tina,

Galing!! :)

Maraming salamat Carlos :)

wow. great shots there tina! :)

now, i'm beginning to have an interest in shooting birds (thanks to birdmeister Reyno, hehe).

Thanks a lot Etchie. Naku better be careful kasi once you start, you're going to be hooked. Once you get interested in birds, you'll be interested in the plants that they like and then you'll be concerned with the environment tapos the more expensive part is .... lens !!!! Ouchhhh yan - HEhEHhHEHE

Last Sunday a group of WBCP (http://www.birdwatch.ph) members together with a few of the Ateneo Environmental Law students went for a birdwalk at the film center and along the coastal road. It was drizzling every now and then, as usual, and I almost gave up hope of ever getting the chance to photograph anything. Here are some of the birds that I managed to take pictures of...

Chestnut Munia
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931246.kbrJ7ZPJ._mg_1375_dpp1.jpg

Little Egret
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931247.ZyEoSHni._mg_1395_dpp1.jpg

Black-Crowned Night Heron
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931249.1a0jfiBi._mg_1416_dpp2.jpg

An Immature Black-Crowned Night Heron
http://i.pbase.com/o4/66/595666/1/65931252.yo8fyrR7._mg_1488_dpp1.jpg

Oh BTW, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) is sponsoring the 2nd Philippine Bird Festival themed "Endemik: Dito lang sa Pinas" (http://www.birdwatch.ph/html/events/pr20060922.html) to focus attention on conserving endemic bird species of the Philippines, the bird watching hobby and responsible appreciation of nature. You are all invited to join us there and see for yourself why so many people all over the world are crazy about birds.

ang ganda naman.

Thanks a lot Jen. I enjoyed browsing through your flickr gallery :)

Tina, that Munia is a really cute birdy. :) Thanks for sharing.

Thanks a lot Jen. I enjoyed browsing through your flickr gallery :)

hehe nagmutual admiration :D i wish i could take pictures ng birds like you do... ganda ganda talaga. :)

Tina, nice pictures, what equipment do you use to get this photos? How long do you have to wait before getting this shots? How to join your birdwathching club?


sorry for all the questions...just curious and interested.

Hi Edwin,

Thank you so much for the compliment :)

I used a Canon 350D and my ever realiable EF 400mm f/5.6L lens that is attached to a Tamron 1.4x TC. With the coastal road location, I didn't have to wait at all kasi the birds were plentiful as in they are all over the place.

You can join WBCP just by joining one scheduled birdwalk and then paying a very minimal fee for an annual membership. Check out their website at :

http://www.birdwatch.ph/

You might also want to join the Philippine Bird Photography group at :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/philippine_bird_photography/

Don't be sorry ... It's always nice to make hawa other people to the wonderful world of bird watching and bird photography :)

Tina, that Munia is a really cute birdy. :) Thanks for sharing.

You should see the other varieties of Munias - lalong mas cute sila. Thank you din for taking the time to look at my pictures Earl :)

Thanks a lot Etchie. Naku better be careful kasi once you start, you're going to be hooked. Once you get interested in birds, you'll be interested in the plants that they like and then you'll be concerned with the environment tapos the more expensive part is .... lens !!!! Ouchhhh yan - HEhEHhHEHE

I'm starting to get hooked na nga eh [i'm currently looking for birds outside my office, hehe- - -found a few kaya lang they were fast enough for me to get a shot]. i'm more interested sana in travel photography kaya lang i think wildlife (and bird, to be specific) photography is more exciting except for...yeah, the lens part hehe. what i only have is 70-300mm which, i think, is still insufficient to get a good zoom.

Hi Edwin,

Thank you so much for the compliment :)

I used a Canon 350D and my ever realiable EF 400mm f/5.6L lens that is attached to a Tamron 1.4x TC. With the coastal road location, I didn't have to wait at all kasi the birds were plentiful as in they are all over the place.

You can join WBCP just by joining one scheduled birdwalk and then paying a very minimal fee for an annual membership. Check out their website at :

http://www.birdwatch.ph/

You might also want to join the Philippine Bird Photography group at :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/philippine_bird_photography/

Don't be sorry ... It's always nice to make hawa other people to the wonderful world of bird watching and bird photography :)


Thanks tina! will check it out, I'll try joining one of this days. But right now my longest lens is just a 70-210 f4-5,6, don't think its enough.

What do you reckon is the minimum lens to enjoy birding? are teleconverters a good tool to add to your arsenal?

Thanks tina! will check it out, I'll try joining one of this days. But right now my longest lens is just a 70-210 f4-5,6, don't think its enough.

What do you reckon is the minimum lens to enjoy birding? are teleconverters a good tool to add to your arsenal?

To tell you honestly, I don't know much about lenses. Almost everything I know about bird photography, I learned from the famous Romy Ocon.

Before I had my 400mm, I used to use a 70-200mm f/4L lens and I got very good results with it and was (and still am) very happy with it. I used it on fliers as well and it performed really well. Since the photos were very sharp naman, even if you crop the photos maganda pa din yun labas.

Like I said in my previous post, I use a Tamron 1.4 TC (Romy's suggestion too) and it's almost always attached to my 400mm.

Romy is a very, very approachable person. I can't think of a better person to ask questions about bird photography & the proper equipment to use kasi he's really the master when it comes to Philippine Bird Photography.

Read the WBCP website so that you will have an idea where you will most likely see lots of birds.

Good luck Edwin :)

To tell you honestly, I don't know much about lenses. Almost everything I know about bird photography, I learned from the famous Romy Ocon.

Before I had my 400mm, I used to use a 70-200mm f/4L lens and I got very good results with it and was (and still am) very happy with it. I used it on fliers as well and it performed really well. Since the photos were very sharp naman, even if you crop the photos maganda pa din yun labas.

Like I said in my previous post, I use a Tamron 1.4 TC (Romy's suggestion too) and it's almost always attached to my 400mm.

Romy is a very, very approachable person. I can't think of a better person to ask questions about bird photography & the proper equipment to use kasi he's really the master when it comes to Philippine Bird Photography.

Read the WBCP website so that you will have an idea where you will most likely see lots of birds.

Good luck Edwin :)


Thanks again Tina, I have been checking out Romy' pbase site, Idol nga eh, hehehe! galing!

Fantastic shots, tina. Makes me want to take up bird watching/photography. Please keep us posted if there are more Manila field trips. Will try to check the WBCP website also.

Thanks a lot Robert.

Hope you do take up birdwatching with the WBCP and bird photography with the Philippine Bird Photography group at Yahoo - both groups are really fun to be with :)

wow!!! ganda ng mga pics niyo.... can i share?
napakalayo lang sa mga kuha niyo to ha....
lots of camera shake, exposure not spot on and the like pero for me this is a keeper (for now?) because of the circumstances behind the shot/s...

was on my way back to SBMA from Anvaya Cove (Morong, Bataan) passing through the zigzag forest route just outside of SBMA south gate and i chanced upon a oair of forest kingfishers on a bamboo alongside the road.... took some quick shots but as it was late already and it was overcast, i had to erase the shots...

the very next morning, enroute back to Anvaya... on the same road on the same bamboo pole... its the same forest kingfisher, although this time, nag-iisa na lang siya.. i hurriedly opened the window of the pax side door... put my car's emergency lights on.... and squeaked in these shots from the drivers seat from my d200+sigma18-200...

still leaving a lot to be desired right? oh well.... end of story.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i194/illana_me/Local%20Birds/forestkingfisher.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i194/illana_me/Local%20Birds/forestkingfisher2.jpg

Manny, being aware of your surroundings is as important as the gear in my opinion. Know where you can find the birds, then you can take pictures of them! I'd love to check out that route to Anvaya Cove. :)

thanks TJ... that kinda boosted my confidence.
here's another shot of a brahminy kite in Anvaya Cove, the cove being a feeding ground for the pair...
taken with my trusty pana lumix fz20 @ 420mm
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i194/illana_me/Local%20Birds/P1230150-1.jpg