Have You Seen a Brown Shrike?

One of the birds that I have been taking pictures of is the brown shrike. From afar, it looks like a yellow-vented bulbul, but upon close inspection, it doesn't have yellow feathers on the underside of its tail. It also has dark feathers around its eyes. Unlike the tree sparrows, glossy starlings, bulbuls, and sunbirds, the brown shrike isn't noisy. I haven't yet heard it calling other birds of its kind. I usually find it sitting quietly on twigs perhaps enjoying the warm breeze or watching people passing by the nearby street.

Do you know how a sunbird sounds like?

Female Sunbird

We don't have hummingbirds here in the Philippines, but we do have sunbirds, small yellow birds which give out high-pitched calls. One particular type of sunbird that roams around the neighborhood is the olive-backed sunbird, characterized by its golden brown back, yellow belly, and dark metallic blue throat region (for males).

During two instances I caught this cute bird hunting for small spiders. It snatches spiders from their webs. But I learned that it also likes nectar, although I have yet to see one feeding on a flower nectar.

The same sunbird caught a small spider.

In my almost one year of observing birds around my place, I have recognized their sounds. The call of the sunbird is particularly high-pitched. You can quickly recognize it. Take a look at the video below.

My Sister's Eyes

I have two sisters, who I can call cam whores. They love to have someone, usually me, take photos of them. A few days ago, the older one, in fact the oldest among us, asked me to take snaps of her as she was making poses in the porch. As I got sick of seeing her usual poses, I decided to zoom in the camera to her face, turned the image black and white, and then cropped it a bit. Here's the result:

Pan-STARRS: A Frustration

It's sad that I no longer have a chance to view Pan-STARRS as it is disappearing from view from where I live. The best dates for viewing the tiny comet was sometime around March 10. It's moving to the northern skies and disappearing from the horizon of places in the tropics. Not having been able to see it in person or photograph it is a frustration.

One of the reasons why I didn't get a chance to see it is the lack of information on its location. From the first week of March, I have been checking the western horizon for signs of it. Reports on the web say it's too faint to be seen by untrained eyes. Others recommend binoculars. I don't have binoculars.

Much of the location information on the web was for people living in higher latitudes (North America and Europe). Skies look a little different if you're near the equator. Being an amateur stargazer, it was difficult for me to compare U.S.-oriented sky charts to what I see from where I live. General Santos City is about 6 degrees north of the equator.

Another reason is the unpredictable weather. During the supposedly best viewing days, weather wasn't good. To add to the difficulty, the western horizon seemed to be often hazy and cloudy.

Anyway, I have called off my search for the elusive comet. I'm looking forward to seeing its brighter sister, which is reported to grace earthlings sometime in November this year. I hope Comet ISON becomes a true spectacle, and not a mere speck.

While attempting to take photos of the western horizon, I caught a few snaps of a few stars. Four of them are in the photo below. Do you recognize that constellation of stars? It's Aries.

Have You Seen the Lunar X?

Nothing is so special about the Lunar X. You probably won't see it by just looking at the moon tonight. You can see it through a telescope, but only during certain phases of the moon. The Lunar X is a sort of an optical feature formed when the sun shines on the craters of the moon from a very low angle. The lit parts of the craters and the shadows form an X as you can see in the photo below.

Click on the picture to see the X.

Identifying Objects in the Night Sky

I’ve been having a serious fondness in taking night sky photographs lately. Of course, my photos can’t keep up with those of the pros. But why should I compare when I just want to have fun?

Last time I posted night sky photos. Recently, I tried identifying constellations in those photos. Since I was unfamiliar with the names and shapes of the constellations, I looked at night sky maps online.

Sketching constellations and naming stars in the photos were fun. I felt like a kid again. My passion for astronomy came back.

Six constellations appear in the photo above. Imagine how the ancient people saw the skies. They must have seen these patterns. After I finished sketching these patterns, I was simply in awe. The ancients would have seen a charioteer (Auriga), twins (Gemini), a small dog (Canis Minor), a unicorn (Monoceros), and a hunter (Orion) who appears to be chasing a bull (Taurus). 

During these months Jupiter appears to be the brightest object in the sky after the moon, and it appears near Aldebaran, a red giant in the constellation Taurus, and Pleiades, a star cluster also known as the Seven Sisters. 

This next photo was taken shortly after 9pm (facing northeast) while power was still out. 

Canis Major is also known as the dog, and it appears to trail behind the hunter (Orion). The following photos were taken at different times and different angles. 

Facing the south around 8:30pm on February 13, 2013, gave me this view. Look at the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, and the second brightest star, Canopus. Note that Sirius is part of Canis Major. 

Taking pictures of the night sky isn’t just for people with expensive gear. Check your point-and-shoot 

camera if it has a long exposure mode. I’m using a point-and-shoot camera that has a manual mode, which allows me to adjust the shutter speed and ISO to get shots I want. The letdown is image noise, but even that doesn’t keep me from trying.

My next goal is to capture the band of the Milky Way, which is impossible to see or photograph from the city. I need to go somewhere where skies are darker and stars glow brighter.

Night Sky Views from Gensan

The good thing about Gensan is its geographical location. It's 6 degrees north of the equator, so it gets good views of much of the heavens. The major constellations also pass overhead. Recently, I've had an obsession with the night skies. With the continuing power outages, which sometimes happen at night, there's nothing much to do except go out and take pictures--in my case. Clear skies at night give me the opportunity to take snapshots of the stars. Here are some of the pictures I have taken so far.

Photo taken on November 16, 2012 at 10:22PM 

Two brightest stars in the night sky, Sirius and Canopus 

Can you identify the objects in this photo?

The dog chases the hunter.

The bright object is Jupiter, and below it is the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.

In the next post, I shall include these photos again but with names and sketches of the constellations.

Crescent Moon Seen from Gensan

I have yet to see or photograph a young moon, so for now I'll just have to enjoy looking at slim waxing crescent moons. Early waxing crescent moons are tough to photograph because they're not as bright as gibbous moons. Focusing is also a little tricky. Sometimes I manage to get decent handheld shots. I only use the tripod when I want to expose the earthshine. It's a good thing our house faces the west. Hence, it's easy to go outside to catch the crescent moon.

2/12/2013 6:24pm

2/12/2013 6:31pm

2/13/2013 6:07pm

2/14/2013 6:13pm

Darkness Continues in Gensan

Citizens in Gensan are wondering how long they still have to endure the power crisis. Scheduled outages are still up and they seem to be getting worse by the day, with unscheduled power interruptions. Power shortage continues. I don't know if it's a problem our local government and power distributors could have prevented 5 or 10 years ago. Clearly, they neglected the issue, and so here we are reaping the inconvenient results.

During one of those dark nights, we have no choice but to light an oil lamp.

C

Capturing the Moon's Earthshine

What I love about crescent moons is the so called earthshine, which is a faintly visible illumination of the dark side of the moon. It's called earthshine because it's the Earth's reflected light cast on the night side of the moon. In the past three days, I observed the waxing crescent moon and took photos of it.

waxing crescent moon 2/12/2013 6:32pm 

waxing crescent moon with earthshine 2/14.2013 6:39pm

The Earth Shadow and the Belt of Venus

When the sun sets, people usually just look at and appreciate the setting sun without looking at the opposite side of the sky to see another phenomenon. When sunset skies are almost cloudless, you should be able to see the Earth's shadow opposite the sunset. It's best to spot this right after the sun has slipped down the horizon.

So, if you look at the eastern part of the sky, you'll see a dark bluish gray narrow band hanging above the eastern horizon. When you spot that, you're actually seeing the shadow of the Earth cast upon the atmosphere. It's a narrow band that quickly disappears as the twilight gives way to the darkness of the night.

Hanging above the Earth shadow (or Earth's shadow) is the so-called Belt of Venus, which you can identify by its orangey or pinkish hue. I don't know why they call it that way. The Earth shadow fades into the Belt of Venus, which in turn fades into the blue sky.

Beautiful Sunsets in Gensan

You're lucky if you can spot a gorgeous sunset, which can be elusive, because weather conditions don't always permit a nice, colorful sunset. I urge you to go out today and catch the sunset and appreciate the beauty it brings. You shall see some of the sunset photos I took. Keep in mind you don't need an expensive DSLR camera to capture the sunset. Use the camera you have or your smartphone's camera feature. Just point it and shoot. Then share your photos. Let your friends know you've captured one of nature's gifts.

Sarangani Bay Offers Splendid Views for Locals and Tourists

Sarangani Bay is one of the most notable bays in the country chiefly because it's one of the sources Sashimi-grade Tuna, which is carried to General Santos City Fishport. The 216,000-hectare bay has a huge role in boosting the fishing industry and tourism in Sarangani Province and Gensan. Fishing vessels, like the ones you see in the photos, sail across the waters of the bay, creating the perfect subjects for snapshooters like me.

I won't talk about the details of the fishing and tuna industry in Gensan because I know little about that. Instead, I'll show you some photos of the bay. Sarangani Bay adds spectacle to the adjacent communities. Beaches in Glan, Gensan, and Maasim all share a piece of the bay. Spectacular views of the bay can be seen from Sarangani Highlands and Mount Sabrina Resort.

I could not imagine life in Gensan or life in Sarangani Province without this splendor.