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Philippines...
The Philippines
is a lovely country, perhaps more famous for its azure tropical
seas teaming with colourful fish and whale sharks. But at
its heart lies mountainous tracts of primary rainforest, home to
many endemic species of bird, frog and mammal. I
made a month long trip here in 2004 to work alongside scientists
and local staff on Negros Island. Many ventures into the
forest with a guide got me close to a few animals, mainly birds, but working
alone was my favourite method for photography. Hours
in hides got me close to several of the local bird species, and
on one occasion too close - far too close to a pit viper whose
seat I was inadvertently sharing for a few hours - until I
noticed it! My closest shave with an air
rescue for a long time!
Temple
pit viper Tropidolaemus
wagleri
Here's
the Pit Viper I nearly sat on!
Primary
rainforest
Visayan
warty pig
Sus
cebifrons
Classic
bushmeat, now endangered.
Mountain
white eye
Zosterops
montanus
A
common small bird photographed
whilst on a Biodiversity Survey. "Holding
a Thread whilst Hanging to a Thread."
Pink
bellied imperial pigeon
Ducula
poliocephala A
very shy Philippine bird often found in dense cover.
Tarictic
hornbill Penelopides
panini A
very endangered hornbill endemic to the Philippines.
Photographed on Negros Island.
Luzon
bleeding heart
Gallicolumba
luzonica An
incredibly rare and endangered bird patrols the Rainforest floor
of Luzon Island. A religious emblem in a largely catholic
country.
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