Barbetbrood successfully raised - Nature Photographic Society

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»Photographing
Arizona’s Landscape
By Frederick Lee
Barbet brood successfully raised
by Graeme GUY; photographer: Pok Zin
»Predatory Nature of
Jumping Spiders
By Tan Chuan-Yean
Category: Bird
Lineated Barbets don’t come to
mind readily when thinking of bird
species in Singapore. Go to a
reference book and it will
generally list them as birds of
Indo-China with scarce reference
to them being in Singapore. On
the other hand personal reports
have them thriving here. Most
birders and photographers are
likely more aware of the smaller,
more handsome Coppersmith
Barbet that repeatedly chonks
from the treetops. The Lineated
Barbet with the green wings and
back and vertically striped buff
and brown front has large eyes
surrounded by a yellow hood.
With this species it is easy to see
the connection between dinosaurs and birds. Their call is quite strident and loud and not to be
mistaken with other calls.
Pok Zin noticed activity around a nest hole rather high up in a semi-dead tree. The hole was 40-50ft
above ground level and you needed to start with 700mm worth of lens to catch any of the action. On
the plus side you had ample time to see the incoming parent and the early morning sun was right at
your back. You needed a nice blue sky in the background to get the best shots.
»Barbet brood
successfully raised
By Graeme GUY;
photographer: Pok Zin
»Birds in My Backyard
— Punggol 21
By James WONG
»The Joys of Bird
Photography
By FONG Chee Wai
»Black Shouldered
Kites, Episode 3.
By Hilary HOE
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Rathambore Parks
By Graeme GUY
»REVERSE LENS – Back
to the Old Way!
By Edsel ROMERO
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Giant Flying Squirrel
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(NPS field trip, 16th
October, 2004)
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Bulbul......The Local
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Review
By Aaron LEUNG
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supreme architects
and builders
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Photography — Field
Guide
By Edsel ROMERO
Lineated Barbet at nest hole
Coppersmith Barbet at nest hole
»Singapore's Fabulous
Kites, Part 2
By V. Quek, G. Guy, D.
Ho
»Singapore's Fabulous
Kites, Part 1
By V. Quek, G. Guy, D.
Ho
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Waterholes and Down
the Roads
By Graeme GUY
»Total Solar Eclipse 4th December 2002
By David BROADHEAD
»Nikkor AFS VR 70200f2.8G ED-IF
Review - Updated!
By Dennis HO
Long-tailed Parakeet pair
White-throated Kingfisher
Pok Zin, Chee Wai and I spent regular times on the nest to try and capture the key moments. To anyone that
has doubts about photographing nests we were actually so far away the birds would have hardly noticed us.
There were other species of birds the barbet pair were more concerned with. Gangs of glossy starlings
frequently loitered on the top branches of the tree and appeared to have interests in other holes. One of the
barbets would fly amongst them to disperse them if they got to close to the active nest. Long tailed parakeets
would occasionally visit the tree and check out likely nesting sites and a Coppersmith Barbet spent a good
amount of time chiseling out a higher nest hole. Blue-tailed bee-eaters, masters of flight, would occasionally
alight on a branch and beat a captured insect before consuming it. White-throated and Collared Kingfishers
came and went as did several species of woodpeckers. At one point a Banded Woodpecker came too close
to the nest hole and was chased off by one of the adult Barbets. Coucals drifted in and out of the bush and
one day an unidentified raptor burst from the undergrowth in hot pursuit of a Jungle Fowl and Coucal. The
tables seemingly turned the next day when the raptor was pursued by a scolding Racquet-tailed Drongo.
There were the omnipresence of yellow-vented bulbul pairs and occasionally Straw-headed bulbuls sang
lustily on the nearby bush-tops. 3 Hornbills were seen briefly on a nearby tree until a fragile branch broke
under their combined weight and all flew off. The Barbets also saw off a female Koel who fancied their nest
http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/ASP/Article.asp?DBAPublishDate=3/1/2006
»Keoladeo Ghana
National Park, India
By David BEHRENS
»The Ospreys of
Rottnest Island - Part
2 of 2
By Graeme GUY
»The Ospreys of
Rottnest Island - Part
1 of 2
By Graeme GUY
»Macro Photography Not Just About Getting
Close
By YEO Wee Han
»Africa's Best
By John MILBANK
»Flash as Main Light
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11/2/08 6:49 AM
under their combined weight and all flew off. The Barbets also saw off a female Koel who fancied their nest
By Arthur MORRIS
to drop one of her own eggs.
»D-60 Review
By Aaron LEUNG
»Africa for Beginners
By John MILBANK
»A Whale of a Time
By Tony WU
»Singapore Botanic
Gardens
By Alex YAP
»Taking Scenics in
Nepal
By Dennis HO
»Photographing
Butterflies at Sentosa
Butterfly Park
By GAN Cheong Weei
»A Year Of Australian
Wildlife Photography
By Jim THOMSON
F.R.P.S. F.A.P.S.
»Ding Darling Wildlife
Refuge
By Graeme GUY
Oriental Pied Hornbills
Banded Woodpecker
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
»Nikon 80-400 VR — a
versatile lens for
nature photography
By FONG Chee Wai
»Backyard of discovery
By John MILBANK
»Underwater
Photography
By POH Liong Kiat
»Shooting Herons
By FONG Chee Wai
»D-30 Dreams
By Graeme GUY
Coppersmith Barbet
»Finding Reptiles and
Amphibians - a few
tips
By Nick BAKER
Female Koel
»Butterfly Shooting
By KHEW Sin Khoon
---
It was difficult to assess when the
chicks hatched but it was on a
Tuesday in January when the
parents seem to start the conveyer
belt feeding. Barbets are fruit eaters
and the majority of the incoming
food was berries. Occasionally a
large insect, to provide instant
protein was delivered. Both parents,
who look similar, took turns in
removing beaks full of excrement.
The parents flew in from all
directions and sometimes would fly
straight to the hole. On most
occasions they preferred perching on
a lower branch before flying up to
the hole. Around two weeks after
the possible hatching the chicks’
beaks could be seen at the nest
entrance. As they grew older they
would, one at a time, peer further
Straw-headed
and further out of the nest.
»Mandai Orchid
Gardens
By Alex YAP
»Tripod & Head for
Nature Photography
By Alan YEO
Bulbul
Phillipine Glossy Starlings
Around 17 days after hatching one of the chicks just flew straight from the hole into the treetops nearby. It
returned a bit later to the parents pre-feeding perch and this seemed to confuse the parent flying in with
food…..one berry for the chick on the perch and the rest delivered into the nest. The next day the remaining
chick or chicks had also left the nest. The parents feeding behaviour appeared to change subtly before the
chicks fledged. They would often fly up to the nest hole without food…..the chick seemed to peck frustratingly
at the feet of the adult.
The nest action was best shot at high speed, to catch the parents coming in with food and the chick waiting
with anticipation. Good light was essential and the ISO was cranked up to 800. I used the EOS 1D Mark2
with the 500mm lens and the 1.4x converter (images were too soft with the 2x converter). Speeds of 1/3200
at f10 proved to be the best. I focused on the hole and machine-gunned when the parent approached. You
had to do your best to get on the same plane as the incoming bird but this was nullified somewhat by a
branch that came into play behind the nest or a pesky tree on the ground that was planted in the wrong
place. You just had to hope then the wings would be in the right place or the focus was good. It was a
numbers game and possibly 6-10 good shots came from 1200 contenders. Most of the images shown are
cropped considerably.
This was a fun place to shoot as there was so much action all around and it was a learning process. The
company of other like-minded photographers was also welcome.
http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/ASP/Article.asp?DBAPublishDate=3/1/2006
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Adult Lineated Barbet on pre-feeding
perch
11/2/08 6:49 AM
Delivering the berries
Adults face to face
Arriving at the nest hole
Chasing off a passing Banded Woodpecker
Poised to launch from the nest
The Barbet rocket is launched
http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/ASP/Article.asp?DBAPublishDate=3/1/2006
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11/2/08 6:49 AM
A chick appears at the nest hole
More incoming food
Face to face with the hungry offspring
Ready for the next feeding
The conveyer belt continues
http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/ASP/Article.asp?DBAPublishDate=3/1/2006
Page 4 of 5
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Another delivery of berries
11/2/08 6:49 AM
Effluent is constantly removed from the The refuse rocket launches
nest
The chicks get very inquistive prior to
leaving the nest
Leaning from the nest prior to launching
onthe maiden flight
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