BIRDING IN PERLIS 2015 - AROUND THE HOUSE

Sometimes people say what you are looking for is right in front of your face. Last time i went away from the house to far places to look for certain species to add to my list, but little did i know that a lot of the species i am looking for would come visit my house compound at a certain time during fruiting season. Since Perlis weather is generally very warm, birds are active early in the morning up to 11.00am, and 4.00pm to sunset, while 12.00pm to 3.00pm they tend to stay in the tree canopies to hide from the intense heat. Furthermore insects are less active in the morning which make them easy meals for the birds. While in the late afternoon the birds intensify their hunting for food for insects and fruits to give to their young to last through the night until the next morning.

So, this time i changed my routine by waking up early around 6.15am, after Subuh pray, early Nasi Lemak breakfast, i would go for a walk in the compound area and back garden with my Canon 5DMK3 and Canon EF400f5.6 lens. As the birds are familiar with village folks, minimal camo is enough. Flash is only required if i need to shoot them in the shade around the afternoon.

The first bird i came across was a Yellow-bellied Fantail coming close near the fish pond.

Then a White-throated Fantail showed up. They looked similar in size and behavior, except for the yellow color in the belly. I have to apologize that i cannot show the image for this bird as the CF card that i used was corrupted.

Then a few Common Tailor birds showed up foraging through the vegetation covered pond looking for insects. These birds are very small and did not stay still even for a second and it was difficult to photograph.

There were also a few Common Ioras going through the neighbor's Durian tree canopy looking for insects.

 

The most exciting part of it all was the visit by three Striated Barbets taking refuge from the hot sun in the neighbor's garden.

A Black-naped Oriole also showed up in the other neighbor's compound which was within my EF400f5.6 lens range, barely.

There were also a few Zebra Doves resting on the electric cable and the road leading to the neighbors houses.

 

A few White-throated Kingfishers were also regular visitors looking for small fish in the ponds around the house.

But the most unexpected visitor of all is a Lesser Coucal locally known as Burung But-But due to the sound it makes " boot-boot-boot-boot". This bird is a very elusive species to photograph, most of the time from a very far distant. However, God had propably decided to give me a bonus for waking up early, as i saw it strolling near the pond looking for food. I had to hide behind my 4 x 4 so as not to spook it with my long lens. After a few shots it noticed my presence and started to fly onto a coconut tree, then to a next coconut tree until it disappeared. It did not fly for a long distant, more like hoping like a rooster from one tree to the next.

There are also other birds which happen to be regular features around the house like the Common Mynas, Tree Sparrows, Spiderhunters and Crows but i did not photograph them.

Thanks for viewing, my next post is coming soon. Happy birding.

BIRDING IN PERLIS 2015

Hi all. I have just arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Kangar, Perlis last night. My body is still aching from a more than seven hours drive through the North South Highway after spending ten days to celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr 2015 in my wife's hometown Kangar.

I have to admit it that i was more looking forward to do some bird photography in and around Perlis and targeting some species to add to my list. Eid celebration every year is a pretty standard affair over two days. Upon arriving in Kangar the weather was very hot like always. It was still the last day of Ramadhan before the Eid, so any birding activities had to be limited around the house compound which has a lot of Rambutan, Durian, Manggoes, Mangosteen, Banana, Coconut, Jackfruit trees and not to mention various flowering plants. All of these along with a fish pond in front of the house and the neighbors' farms and gardens attract a lot of birds especially early in the morning and late in the evening. I was quite surprised to discover so many species visiting our compound in the first few days.

Before leaving for Perlis i had narrowed down the sites i wanted to visit to the following:

1) Alor Sena (about 1km from the house)

2) Tasik Melati (about 3 km from the house)

3) Tasik Timah Tasoh ( about 6km from the house)

4) Chuping Plantation ( easily more than 10km from the house)

5) Bukit Ayer Recreational Forest ( 7km from the house)

6) Gua Kelam ( more than 10km from the house)

7) Wang Kelian (very far from the house)

8) Museum Negeri hill areas (more than 10km)

9) Kuala Perlis mangroves and coastal area (more than 15km)

10) Padi fields around Kangar

Some of the sites that i listed above, i had visited before but had a limited success due to the weather, limited time, wrong season, or lack of local knowledge about the species, behaviour or habitats. So i will show what i have photographed in the past ten days according to different sites. Those of you who wish to do some bird photography in Perlis maybe can use these information to make your search easier, that is what birding friends are for right? For Muslim birders and followers i think it is not too  late to wish Happy Eid Al-Fitr. I will post the photos a.s.a.p within the next couple of days after i finish selecting and cropping from more than 1300 shots i took.

Thanks for viewing

BEAUTIFUL WHITE COLLARED KINGFISHER

Place: Sepang Gold Coast, Selangor

Date: 17 May 2015

Local Name: Burung Pekaka Bakau

Yesterday i went to the Sepang Gold Coast hoping to photograph some seashore birds like the Sandpipers and Plovers. I was not sure they would be any around, just tried my luck, you would never know. The tide was low and the flat exposed for hundreds of meters toward the sea. It was a perfect condition for the shore birds to forage looking for crabs, small fish, snails and whatever they love to eat. Unfortunately, none showed up. I was frustrated.

The weather was overcast with a slight chance of rain, so the lighting was not fantastic. Not to worry because i shoot in RAW, it is very easy to adjust the exposure in Lightroom when i reach home.

Luckily, this little blue friend of mine was on the beach looking for crabs. The White-Collared Kingfishers are quite common in this area frequenting between the Casuarina trees where they perch and the beach right below them. Sometime they would perch on the concrete poles lining in the water marking the deeper areas. 

I managed to shoot some photos for your viewing below.

perching on a Casuarina tree scanning for crabs

flying fast to grab a crab

Got one!

fly back with a meal

taking time to swallow a crab

where did it go?

I swear i saw one crab just now!

Gotcha again!

My favorite perching pole

Back to where i started, enough crab for today.

Thanks for watching. Happy birding

GET RID OF THE UV FILTER TO GET SHARPER IMAGES

You know i have been wondering all this while why the images that i got from my Canon 400mm f5.6 non-IS lens not as sharp as the photos shot through the same lens by other photographers on the internet.

I have tried to eliminate one by one the variables that may affect the final image quality like using a fast speed of at least 1/500 second for stationary birds, 1/1000 second upwards for bird in flight, using AI servo, spot focus and sometimes spot with assist points. When the light is low i used flash with high speed synch mode so i can shoot faster than the standard 1/250 second on tripod. But still, i got slightly soft images when zoomed all the way on the computer screen.

I started to think that i got my self a lemon lens here, i bought it new from Canon. I did not use the 1.4X tele-converter with this lens because i will lose the auto-focus at f8.0 on my 5DMK3.

So yesterday i came across a debate of using the UV filter vs do not use UV filters, and how it may or may not degrade the image quality on the internet. Some say the UV filter usage is the remanance of the film days because the film is sensitive to the UV light, the modern image sensors in the digital cameras are not so sensitive and some has built-in low pass filter which cut out any UV light that go through the lens. Some use it for extra protection for the lens front element against dirt, moisture, fingerprint smudge and damages when they happen to drop the lens, and also for easy cleaning.

Now, i also use UV clear filters on all my lenses for protection at least because i was advised to do so by the seller when i first bought my DSLR. My most expensive one is Hoya HRT CIR-PL UV circular polariser filter which cost me RM280(USD77.00 at today's rate) which is quite expensive to me.

What i am interested in is does the 77mm UV filter i put in front of my Canon 400mm f5.6 non-IS L lens affect to a certain extent the final image quality of my shots for so long? This filter is a cheap one by i-lens and not the high quality B+W MRC filters that a lot of people recommend. Some discussion on various forums said that if you use a cheap filter it may affect the final image quality, it is better not to use them at all. 

So, i decided to do a simple test myself by shooting a few shots with the UV filter and some without the UV filter on to see if there is any difference in the final image quality. I used a very sturdy Manfrotto 055X PRO B tripod and used a 10second timer mode to eliminate any vibration during shutter release. I used the fine spot focus and f5.6 aperture for all the shots.

The results were amazing and can be observed in the example shots below that the usage of UV filter(at least the cheap ones) does affect to a certain extent the final image quality of my shots. Without the UV filter my images are sharper and more contrasty than with the UV filter on. I guess if i were to use a higher-end filter like the B+W ones, the result might be more positive as claimed by some on the internet.

Example 1:

This panel was about 200 feet away and was shot with a UV filter on

Without a UV filter on

Both of the images above were not altered at all and had only been cropped to get a more close-up look. The one without the UV filter is sharper and has better contrast overall. The screws on the right and left of the board, and the red and yellow round knob are sharper. The image with the filter on appears soft.

Example 2:

A tree trunk about 200 feet away shot with a UV filter on

Without a UV filter on

In this example the difference is so obvious. The texture of the tree trunk and the timber posts is clearer.

Example 3:

Palm leaf at 20 feet away with a UV filter on

Without a UV filter on

In this example the image without the filter is brighter and the lines are more well defined.

Example 4:

This wall light fitting was 30 feet away shot with a UV filter on

Without a UV filter on

In this example the one without a UV filter on is brighter, the fine lines on the side of the light and the light casing itself is sharper.However, in this example the difference might not be so significant.

Example 5:

This hole in the wall at about 200 feet away shot with a UV filter on

Without a UV filter on

In this example the image without the UV filter on is brighter, better white balance and sharper details and wire mesh.

In conclusion, not using the UV filter on your lens does improve the final quality of your images and may make a difference in showing the fine details of the bird feathers in your photos. Of course you might get a better difference in quality if you can invest a big sum of money and get yourself a 600mm f4 IS ll L lens which costs your arm and leg, but not everybody can afford that. Sometimes all you need is a little tweaking with your existing gears at your disposal to get the images that you can live with. For me, from now on i will be shooting without using a UV filter on unless it is really necessary, like shooting in a really dusty and wet environment which when using the UV filter can save me a lot of headache cleaning my lens later on.

One thing though if you decided to not using the UV filter and you are worried about damaging your lens, you should use a lens hood because it can absorb the impact in case the front of your lens bumped into a wall or something, and use a lens cap when you are not using your camera to prevent dust and moisture from messing up the front element of your lens.

Give it a try, until then happy birding. Thanks for reading.