New Video!!

Since visiting Uganda, I have been to Thailand and Ecuador.
In the winter of 2011, I started my first journey to Ethiopia, which is not a popular place for wildlife filming. I spent two weeks in the Rift valley, and in the south near Kenya. Ethiopia happened to be a fantastic country for wildlife filming, especially for taking video footage of birds, which did not appear to be afraid of me. It was not unusual to get very close to bird species that are typically shy.
As it turned out, the country had been so good for wildlife filming; I immediately booked another flight after I arrived back to Germany.
The result of these two journeys is a video that I made with my friend Hans-Jürgen Künne. A trailer is currently available, and we hope to present the completed video on DVD and Blu-ray at the beginning of 2013.

The Trailer:


 

August 5th, 2010:

Two new trips are planned for this year. The first trip will be to Uganda, East Africa in September. No other country in Africa can match it’s amazing diversity of habitats. This richness is reflected in a birdlist of more than 1000 species, including 29 of the 43 Albertine Rift endemics, as well as chimpanzees and gorillas. I will be traveling with my friends, Alberto Garcia from Ibiza, Spain and Daniel Jeminez from Holland. Our transportation will be in a 4-wheel drive vehicle driven by a professioinal bird guide. Our plan is to visit 14 sites, which is a good amount to cover in 4 weeks time. Most of the sites we plan to visit are in the western part of the country. As a site guide, I use Where to Watch Birds in Uganda by Roussow et al, and my field guide is Birds of East Africa. My expectations during our 4 week trip is to see at least 600 species .

Another journey will bring me to Cambodia in December. Our focus there is the northern plains close to the border to Thailand and Laos. The northern and eastern plains of Cambodia form the largest remaining block of decidous dipterocarp forest that once spread across much of Indo-China and Thailand. The area is a last refuge for 13 globally threatened and eight near-threatened bird species, including four listed as critically endangered. The Giant Ibis(Thaumatibis gigantea) is one of them. The northern plains support one of the largest remaining population of White-shouldered Ibis(Pseudibis davisoni) and is the only known nesting area in mainland Asia. The northern plains are also an important refuge for many other threatened species: the Greater Adjudant(Leptoptilos dubius), Lesser Adjudant (Leptoptilos javanicus), White-winged  Duck(Cairina scutulata), Sarus Crane, and Green Peafowl(Pavo muticus).

I sold my Sony FX7 and now I film and take pictures with a Canion 7D.
My lenses are a Canon 400mm f/5.6 and a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS.
With the cropfactor of the Canon 7D it is like shooting with a 600mm lens.
I may buy a Canon 1.4x extender but I may lose quality with the extender.


 

October 16th, 2009:

The next destination

This winter, a journey to Ecuador is planned. Because of the limited time I can only visit two places which are commonly known for their biodiversity. Sanilodge is located in the East of Ecuador at Rio Napo in the Amazon Basin.
The Sani are an indigenous community living in the passage between Yasuni National Park and Cuyabeno Reserve. With over 550 species of birds, 13 species of primates and more than 1000 different species of butterflies the area’s biodiversity is unbelievable.
Birds to be observed at the lodge are:
Rufous Potoo, Amazonian Umbrella Bird, Agami Heron, White-Lored Antpitta, Rufous-Vented Ground-Cuckoo.

I hope to be able to see and record at least some of the species named above with the help of the brothers Guillermo and Domingo Gualinga, two fantastic bird guides who live there.
Furthermore, I want to visit Mindo which is a known place for birders located approximately 80 km west of Quito. The Foggy Mountain Forests in the immediate vicinity are home to more than 400 species of birds. Among them are some spectacular ones like the Andean-Cock-of-the-Rock, the Plate Billed Mountain Toucan, the Toucan Barbet and the Golden-Headed Quetzal, to name just a few of them.

My filming equipment includes a Sony FX7 Camcorder with Canon 1.5x doubler and a carbon fibre tripod by Velbon. I want to add a Canon7D and a Canon EF 400 mm F/5.6 before departure.