Sungai Sedim Outing

During the Boxing Day weekend, we are delighted to have a group of fellow Singaporean bird photographers came up north to visit Penang. This morning Tsien and I organized an outing to the Sungai Sedim Recreation Park to photograph the low-land forest birds.

Waiting for the Scarlet-rumped Trogon to appear

The Scarlet-rumped Trogon was quite cooperative this morning. A pair responded to our call by perching at a clear perch.

Canon 7D with EF 800 F5.6 IS

ISO 800 1/125 F8

Green Broadbill

Maroon Woodpecker

Rufous Woodpecker (My Photo-Lifer  of the day)

Juv Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker (My Photo-Lifer  of the day)

Hairy-becked Bulbul (My Photo-Lifer  of the day)

We finished the photography session at noon and started to unpack the gear. 

Posting for group photo

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Pheasant-Tailed Jacana

This morning at Byram I managed to get the Pheasant-tailed Jacana in a non-breeding plumage. It is my photo-lifer. It perched quite far away from my shooting location, even with Canon 800mm F5.6 IS, the size of the subject looked very small inmy Canon 7D sensor. I have to crop away 2/3 to make the subject look big.

Canon 7D, EF 800 F5.6 IS mounted on Kirk Window Mount.

ISO 800 F8 1/2000

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The Beauty of Early Morning Light

This morning the light was perfect at Byram. The warm morning light shone on the surface of the pond.

A Chinese Pond Heron perched on a dead tree at the middle of the pond. The reflection of the sun light gave a golden reflection on the subject.

"New Hair Style" of the Chinese Pond Heron

Canon 7D EF800 F5.6 IS

1/1000s f/8.0 at 800.0mm ISO400

After photographing the Heron, I saw a Common Moorhen busy cleaning her feather after taking a dip into the pond. A photo lifer for me because I had not captured any photos of this species before. I dial up the ISO of my 7D to 640 so that I can use faster shutter speed to freeze the motion of the subject.

1/1000s f/8.0 at 800.0mm ISO 640

I was using a new CF with my 7D. The 16G SanDisk Extreme Pro was working flawlessly with 7D. The file transfer rate of the new card is really smooth even though I was shooting raw format with 8 fps rate. I shoot about 4 G of raw files images of the Common Moorhen and Pond Heron.

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Black-capped Kingfisher

Black-capped Kingfishers are back to Byram ( a mangrove coastal area at Penang, Malaysia). This species of Kingfisher migrates to this area every October and stay here till March next year. Black-capped Kingfishers are very shy and tend to fly away when she spots you approaching from far away. Thus, it is very difficult to get decent close-up shot.

I was lucky to find this "fella" resting at a tree branch after she has eaten a crab. My body and gears were partially block by mangrove vegetation thus she did not notice I was nearby. I made over one hundred shots of this "fella" with the Canon 5 D mk II and EF 600 mm IS F4 lens. The subject was under the shade so I had to "bump-up" the ISO in order to avoid motion blur.  I shot with ISO 640 to 800 in the aperture priority mode.

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Oriental Pratincole

This photo series of Oriental Pratincole was taken during March and April of this year at a open scrubland at Penang, Malaysia. I have managed to captured some photos of the Oriental Pratincole with funny gestures.

Photos are captured using Canon 1 D mk III with EF 600 mm F4 IS

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Collared Kingfisher Ate a Puffer Fish

This morning I saw something very strange at my regular birding place. I saw a Collared Kingfisher consumed a Puffer fish. The Collared Kingfisher was alive after eating the highly toxic fish.

Is Collared Kingfisher has a immune system against the toxic of Puffer fish ? or not all Puffer fish are highly toxic.

The following photos are captured using Canon 5 D mk II with EF 600 mm F4 IS telephoto lens.

Thanks for viewing, your comments are welcome.

Wild Bird of the Week (week 44)

This week I am featuring Pygmy Wren-Babbler as the wild bird of the week. This tail-less bird is one of the smallest birds in Malaysia. From a distance away, it looks like an egg with legs.

Species Name: Pygmy Wren-Babbler, 小鳞胸鹪鹛, タカサゴミソサザイ

(高砂鷦鷯)

Scientific Name: Pnoepyga Pusilla 8.5 cm
Habitat: Broadleaved evergreen forest.
Altitude: Montane Bird 750 - 2565 meter
Photo captured at: Bukit Brinchang, Cameron Highland, Pahang, Malaysia
1 D mk3, EF 600 mm F4 IS 1.4 TC
1/30s f/5.6 at 840.0mm iso800

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Little Heron On The Lonely Pole

I was there at the right moment, I saw this Little Heron perched at a lonely pole. The light was perfect, the early morning sun-light shone on the water surface and created a beautiful reflection. I was lucky to captured it into my camera sensor, the beauty of natural light.

The following photos are captured using the Canon 5 D mk II with EF 600 mm F4 IS.

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Wild Bird of the Week (week 43)

This week I am featuring the Checker-throated Woodpecker as the wild-bird of the week. Broadleaf evergreen forest is its favorite habitat. It flies among tree trunks on short bursts and uses its powerful toes to stable itself to the tree trunks. It belongs to the Piciformes family and has a strong bill and neck muscles.

Species Name: Checker-throated Woodpecker, 斑喉绿啄木鸟, チャバネアオゲラ (茶羽青啄木鳥)

Scientific Name: P.mentalis 28 cm
Habitat: Broadleaved evergreen forest.
Altitude: Up to 1220 meter
Photo captured at: Sungai Sidim Recreation Park, Kedah, Malaysia
1 D mk3, EF 600 mm F4 IS 1.4 TC
1/80s f/6.3 at 840.0mm iso800

Intermediate Egret Swallowed A Fish

I was amazed to see and photograph the entire sequence of Intermediate Egret swallowing a fish. Intermediate Egret must have a strong stomach to swallow a big fish without breaking it into smaller pieces using its teeth.

       

1. Caught a fish as breakfast

2. Struggle to swallow it

Finally into the stomach

Thanks for viewing, feel free to contribute your comments or observations.