Great Bittern at Candaba wetlands! Photo Gallery by romy ocon at pbase.com

Great Bittern at Candaba wetlands!

I've been looking for this bird since I started birding over 5 years ago, and this afternoon (November 25th) the avian gods smiled at me at Candaba wetlands.
I observed and photographed the Great Bittern for almost 30 minutes (4:53 pm -5:21 pm), and it behaved exactly as described in the Kennedy Guide - "When threatened
will often assume a freeze posture with bill pointing toward the sky blending into foliage." I used my vehicle (parked atop an earth dike) as a blind.

Each time some people passed by, the bird will keep very still. Sometimes, it slowly "shrank down" to a smaller form. Whenever I removed my eye from the
viewfinder to check shot settings, I had trouble finding the bird again even through 700 mm lens magnification - it's that well camouflaged. From the
Kennedy Guide, total length of this bird is 740 mm, while the wingspan is 1220 mm. It's a rare migrant, recorded once each in Laguna de Bay (1905),
Candaba (1989) and Iwahig, Palawan (1979). These are possibly among the first photos of the Great Bittern taken in-habitat in the Philippines.

Great_Bittern-IMG_9554-1500x1000.jpg Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris, rare migrant) ID Code - GB-IMG_9554 Available Sizes - 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Wetlands, prefers fresh water reed beds and marshes Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 1250, 1/200 sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 45.7 meters distance	IMG_9652-1200x800.jpg Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris, rare migrant) Habitat - Wetlands, prefers fresh water reed beds and marshes Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 1600, 1/125 sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 45.7 meters distance	IMG_9544-1500x1000.jpg Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris, rare migrant) Habitat - Wetlands, prefers fresh water reed beds and marshes Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 640, 1/160sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 32.4 meters distance	White-breasted_Waterhen-IMG_9333-1500x1000.jpg White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus, resident) ID Code - WBWH-IMG_9333 Available Sizes - 24"x36", 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Wetter areas - grasslands, marshes and mangroves Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 400, 1/1600 sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 10.1 meters distance	White-breasted_Waterhen-IMG_9352-1500x1000.jpg White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus, resident) ID Code - WBWH-IMG_9352 Available Sizes - 24"x36", 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Wetter areas - grasslands, marshes and mangroves Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1250 sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 11.0 meters distance
White-breasted_Waterhen-IMG_9341-1200x800.jpg White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus, resident) ID Code - WBWH-IMG_9341 Available Sizes - 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Wetter areas - grasslands, marshes and mangroves Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1250 sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 11.0 meters distance	White-breasted_Waterhen-MG_9359-1500x1000.jpg White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus, resident) ID Code - WBWH-IMG_9359 Available Sizes - 24"x36", 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Wetter areas - grasslands, marshes and mangroves Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1250 sec, bean bag, manual exposure in available light, 12.1 meters distance	IMG_9392-1500x1000.jpg Little Egret(Egretta garzetta, migrant) ID Code - LE-IMG_9392 Available Sizes - 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Coastal marsh and tidal flats to ricefields Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/2000 sec, 475B/3421 support, manual exposure in available light, 32.4 meters distance	Intermediate_Egret -IMG_9402-1500x1000.jpg Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia, migrant) ID Code - IE-IMG_9402 Available Sizes - 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Fresh water marshes, ricefields and tidal flats Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/2000 sec, 475B/3421 support, manual exposure in available light, 45.7 meters distance	IMG_9379-1500x1000.jpg Chinese or Javan Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus or Ardeola speciosa, migrant) ID Code - IE-IMG_9379 Available Sizes - 20"x30", 16"x24", 12"x18" and 8"x12" Habitat - Ricefields and marshes Shooting Info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, November 25, 2009, 5D2 + 500 f4 IS + stacked Canon 2x/1.4x TCs, 1400 mm, f/16, ISO 320, 1/250 sec, 475B/3421 support, manual exposure in available light

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