Monday, April 12, 2010

White-eyed in Wonder

The campus of the University of the Philippines in Diliman had become our favorite birding area. Despite the presence of a lot of people, the place is quite birdy. And easily accessible.


Friday morning, Cynthia and I were already staking out the fruiting "bignay" tree by the Vargas Museum grounds. Our target species was the Lowland White-eye (Zosterops meyeni). We are always fascinated by these small olive-green birds with white bellies and a prominent white eye-ring (from which they got their name). They are always a challenge to photograph because not only are they small (about the size of a Yelow-rumped Warbler), they are also very active. Since these tiny dynamos love the fruit of the "bignay" we hoped that we would be given some opportunity to take their pictures.

Two hours of patience and shutter bursts ("spray and pray" as professional bird photographer Bob Steele told me once) we were able to get some pretty good shots of the Lowland White-eye:











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6 comments:

BirdingMaine said...

That's a beautiful bird! Great captures Bob!

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous little Beauty!
He seems to really be a fascinating bird (well, which one isn't).
Glad you had the patience & came home with wonderful photos!

Debra said...

You got some great shots! My favorite is the second one...I love how the branches and the leaves frame it in so nicely. :)

mick said...

Great photos of a lovely little bird. It looks like it has plenty to feast on in that tree.

Amy said...

Oh my goodness, what a jewel of a little bird! Great photos!

Johnny Nutcase said...

you got fantastic images of this little guy - impressive! he's pretty neat looking. Glad you found your new favorite birding spot :)