Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

dolina said:

Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) by alabang, on Flickr

This is the Black-faced Spoonbill, a very rare bird reported in the news last week.

Read more about it in the link below.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/340837/scitech/science/rare-black-faced-spoonbills-spotted-in-candaba-swamp

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The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one regarded as endangered. Spoonbills are large water birds with dorso-ventrally flattened, spatulate bills.[2] These birds use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey.[3] Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution. It has a niche existence on only a few small rocky islands off the west coast of North Korea, with four wintering sites at Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as other places where they have been observed in migration. Wintering also occurs in Cheju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and Red River, Delta Vietnam. More recently, sightings of Black-Faced Spoonbill birds were noted in Thailand, the Philippines, mainland China, and Macau[4] They were classified as an endangered species through IUCN in 2005.[5] Declines in their population are predicted in the future, mainly due to the amount of deforestation, pollution, and other man-made industries.

The Black-Faced Spoonbill population as of 2012 census was recorded at 2,693 birds, with an estimation of 1,600 mature birds. Breeding colonies occur between March and August, on small islands. These birds are known to be crepuscular eaters, using intertidal mudflats.[4]

Conservation efforts have been made, and surveys were taken in order to determine the opinions and awareness of the local residents, residing close to the Black-Faced Spoonbill’s natural habitats.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-faced_Spoonbill

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candaba,_Pampanga

Settings: 1/500 ƒ/9 ISO 100 800mm
Great shot Paolo. Have a peaceful Christmas and I´ll be looking forward to your posts in the coming year!
 
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Thank you Eldar. To you as well!


Chestnut Munia, (Lonchura atricapilla) by alabang, on Flickr

The Chestnut Munia is 11–12 cm in length. The adult has a stubby pale grey-blue bill, black head, and brown body, with a brick red patch on the lower back, visible only when it flies. Some races also have a black belly.

The sexes are similar, but immature birds have uniform pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head and have white to pale buff underparts.

The Chestnut Munia is a small gregarious bird which feeds mainly on grain and other seeds. It frequents open grassland and cultivation. The nest is a large domed grass structure in a bush or tall grass into which 4-7 white eggs are laid.

Philippine birds

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_Munia

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candaba,_Pampanga

Settings: 1/250 ƒ/5.6 ISO 160 800mm

Notes: Hand-held shooting. Cropped 10.7MP from 16MP frame
 
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Great birding shots!

I use mine mostly for motorsports, which I'm sure is not unusual, but I'll leave it on the body and also use it for non-action detail stuff when I really want to compress and emphasize depth-of-field. It lets me get much "closer" than I otherwise might if I was wandering around the pits with, say, a 70-200.

svra-1.jpg


svra-2.jpg


svra-3.jpg
 
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Jul 29, 2012
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dolina said:

Flaming Sunbird (Aethopyga flagrans) by alabang, on Flickr

The Flaming Sunbird (Aethopyga flagrans) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Male: Very colourful feathers.

Female: Less colourful feathers.

Philippine Birds

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Sunbird

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Ba%C3%B1os,_Laguna

Settings: 1/160 ƒ/5.6 ISO 320 800mm

Beautiful colored bird. Lovely shot Paolo.
 
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Awesome application JClark.

Thanks CLick!


Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) by alabang, on Flickr

The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions. It has become common in summer even inside the Arctic circle along the Norwegian coast.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Heron

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candaba,_Pampanga

Settings: 1/1000 ƒ/5.6 ISO 160 800mm

Full Screen Retina Display: http://500px.com/photo/56440134

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About this image.

I normally ignore Grey Herons as they tend to fly too high or perch too far. I also ignore em because I have a lot of good photos of them already.

What made me record this image is the fact that the bird was flying so low off the water. Something I yet to have.
 
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JClark said:
Great birding shots!

I use mine mostly for motorsports, which I'm sure is not unusual, but I'll leave it on the body and also use it for non-action detail stuff when I really want to compress and emphasize depth-of-field. It lets me get much "closer" than I otherwise might if I was wandering around the pits with, say, a 70-200.

Awesome Photos. I love to see "alternative" uses for a lens like this. One on my favorite portrait of my son was a grab shot with a 400mm f2.8 IS through a doorway.
 
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Male Flaming Sunbird (Aethopyga flagrans) by alabang, on Flickr

The Flaming Sunbird (Aethopyga flagrans) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Male: Very colourful feathers.

Female: Less colourful feathers.

Philippine Birds

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Sunbird

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Ba%C3%B1os,_Laguna

Settings: 1/250 ƒ/5.6 ISO 1250 800mm

Retina Display: http://500px.com/photo/57450530
 
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Handsome Sunbird (Aethopyga bella) by alabang, on Flickr

The Handsome Sunbird (Aethopyga bella) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handsome_Sunbird

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Baños,_Laguna

Settings: 1/200 ƒ/5.6 ISO 1250 800mm

Retina Display: http://500px.com/photo/57453244
 
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Thanks Eldar and serendipidy


Grey-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes griseigularis) by alabang, on Flickr

The Grey-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes griseigularis) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is found in a wide range of semi-open wooded habitats in the northern and eastern part of the Philippines. It is often considered a subspecies of the Brown-throated Sunbird, but the two differ consistently in measurements and plumage, and there is no evidence of intergradation between them.[1] It has not been rated by BirdLife International (and consequently IUCN), but is generally common and therefore unlikely to be threatened.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey-throated_Sunbird

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Banos,_California

Retina Display: http://500px.com/photo/57452030

Settings: 1/160 ƒ/5.6 ISO 1250 800mm
 
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Brown-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis) by alabang, on Flickr

The Grey-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes griseigularis) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is found in a wide range of semi-open wooded habitats in the northern and eastern part of the Philippines. It is often considered a subspecies of the Brown-throated Sunbird, but the two differ consistently in measurements and plumage, and there is no evidence of intergradation between them.[1] It has not been rated by BirdLife International (and consequently IUCN), but is generally common and therefore unlikely to be threatened.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey-throated_Sunbird

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Makiling

Settings: 1/100 ƒ/6.3 ISO 1250 800mm
 
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Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis) by alabang, on Flickr

Buff-banded "Buff-banded Rail" Candaba "Candaba Pampanga" Gallirallus "Gallirallus philippensis" Pampanga philippensis "Philippine birds" Philippines Rail
Caption- Abstract The Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis) is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae. This species comprises several subspecies found throughout much of Australasia and the south-west Pacific region, including the Philippines (where it is known as Tikling), New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand (where it is known as the Banded Rail or Moho-pereru in Māori),[2] and numerous smaller islands, covering a range of latitudes from the tropics to the Subantarctic.

It is a largely terrestrial bird the size of a small domestic chicken, with mainly brown upperparts, finely banded black and white underparts, a white eyebrow, chestnut band running from the bill round the nape, with a buff band on the breast. It utilises a range of moist or wetland habitats with low, dense vegetation for cover. It is usually quite shy but may become very tame and bold in some circumstances, such as in island resorts within the Great Barrier Reef region.[3]

The Buff-banded Rail is an omnivorous scavenger which feeds on a range of terrestrial invertebrates and small vertebrates, seeds, fallen fruit and other vegetable matter, as well as carrion and refuse. Its nest is usually situated in dense grassy or reedy vegetation close to water, with a clutch size of 3-4. Although some island populations may be threatened, or even exterminated, by introduced predators, the species as a whole appears to be safe and its conservation status is considered to be of Least Concern.

Philippine Birds

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff-banded_Rail

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candaba,_Pampanga

Settings: 1/500 f/5.6 800mm ISO 160
 
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