The Pied-billed Grebe has the widest distribution in the Americas of any grebe, breeding from northern Canada through the West Indies and Central America to southern South America1. I photographed these grebes recently at Lema Ranch, one of the better birding hot spots in Northern California. The Pied-billed Grebe is an aggressive bird, threatening, chasing, […]
Great Kalaw Rising
I first saw the Great Rufous Hornbill in Quezon National Forest Park in Pagbilao, Quezon in 2009 in a birding trip sponsored and organized by TeaM Energy Foundation and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. It was still dark when I saw them, so I was not able to even get documentary shots. By […]
Forster’s Tern on Lake Monroe
A couple weeks ago I was at the marina on Lake Monroe looking for (and not finding) a Royal Tern that had been seen there earlier. So I occupied my time photographing other terns. I shared photos of Caspian Terns in another post, but there was also Forster’s Terns patrolling the marina area. Most of […]
Lord of the Forest
Under the golden rays of a rising sun in its kingdom at Mt. Apo Natural Park stands the Lord of the Forest, Haring Ibon, the King of Birds, in all its splendour and majesty! Photographing the most majestic eagle in the world at the golden hour is one of the greatest moments a wild bird […]
Rare Birds of North America – book review
Rare Birds of North America, written by renowned birders Steve N. G. Howell, Ian Lewington, and Will Russell, is a technical tour de force. Its technical expertise is exact and passionate. Reading Rare Birds of North America will simply make you a better birder and better naturalist. Birding books generally fall into two categories—books that […]
Mindanao Wrinkled Hornbill
I had always wondered what “Writhed” means whenever the name of this species came up in the past. I thought it was a name of an English discoverer, but lately I have known that the names means “Wrinkled.” I was also surprise to find out that this bird is also called Mindanao Wrinkled Hornbill in […]
Ibong Adarna
I have often wondered what the mythical bird “Ibong Adarna” was in the erstwhile kingdom of Berbania where it was described to be a magical bird that could turn humans into stone, that could change its colours as it sings, and that it could cure an ailing king. I haven’t seen this bird yet and […]