Eastern Screech Owl.

I was lucky to be able to photograph an Eastern Screech Owl in the middle of the city a few weeks ago.  It is in a public park and pretty close to the street actually.  So it is a ten minute visit and the pictures are done and off I go!  He was tolerant because of all the kids sledding by him in the park.  So human disturbance is not so much of an issue.

Bird/Nature Photography or Staged Photography??

Weather on my days off has not been good recently.  Sunny during the week….rainy on the weekends.  So it has slowed the digiscoping down a bit.  In this down time I wanted to focus on something that is a discussion point among my birding and photography friends.  what is nature photography?

When I bought my first camera I had some crazy ideas apparently regarding what nature photography is.  I mean, I had looked at all these images and imagined what the photographer had done to get the image.  I assumed he has spent many hours studying his subject and was bale to put himself in position for a good shot should it have arose.  I had many frustrations but started to learn my way around with the big 600mm and all that gear.  I was much younger then….at least 15 years ago.

As I met more and more bird/nature photographers.  What I started learning were the 'tricks' of the trade.  Those being:

1.  Placing a perch by feeders to get those clean backgrounds.
2.  Using a call to lure the birds in to get the picture they wanted and the background they wanted.
3.  Going to and owl rehabilitation place, paying $ to photograph tame/captive birds and passing them off as wild.
4.  Going to a caged enclosure and taking photos of wolves, bears, fox, etc. and passing them off as wild.
5.  The ever famous use of bait to lure in owls/raptors/shrike for flight shots and pretty perches.
6.  Paying someone to find the bird then photographing it without any knowledge of the subject.

What I had to ask myself was……is THAT bird or nature photography?  To me….no.  And I have done the top two.  I had to look at myself in the mirror and ask myself if bird photography is worth that?  Is it worth sacrificing my morals, integrity, and the welfare of my subject just for a photograph?  No it is not!  That is why I took up digiscoping.

And the most alarming things that is happening is the paying of a 'pro' to take you to a location, 'show' you how to take pictures, and then you have a group of people with all the same pictures and no originality.   That is where photography has gone as the 'pros' cannot make barely a dime on stock due to the saturation of good photographers with the same images as the pro basically.  So they have you pay to shoot with them (or rather to be their friend for a few days so you can say you shot with xxxxx photographer) with a little bit of instruction going on because often, the 'pro' is right next to you shooting.  You have done nothing more than overpay for something you could have done on your own and also developed your own artistic style rather than copying another's.  In the age of having to have everything right now….this is where bird and nature photography has come.  It is sad and pathetic in my book.

I would like to ask a question.  Do you see anything wrong with the above listed items?  Are they something you would do with no guilt?

All I have to say is digiscoping has really advanced to the point where the big glass is not really needed except for occasions such as super slow shutters, owls at night.  That type of photography.  And my back thanks me every day!  It has brought the joy back to the process of taking an image.

Wigeons in Pamela Park.

In the pond behind our house we will often feed the ducks cracked corn.  It is a very small pond but we have about 70 mallards and 30 wood ducks on it.  Yesterday we were lucky to have a pair of American Wigeons on the pond.  These are new park birds for us.  It is a little strange seeing such a duck on a tiny pond surrounded by woods but there they are.  Last year we had Green Winged Teal as well.  As I walked Pamela Park I heard two Soras on the lake which was awfully late for them.  They were on the south entrance by where I found the Winter Wren Friday.

Still have White Throated Sparrows around.  It was a really slow year for Fox Sparrow compared to last year.  And a couple Ruby Crowned Kinglets yesterday.

The below photos are of the male and female Wigeon.  I used my Swarovski ATX95 and Sony RX100II attached via DCBII.  I have not really tried the V1 lately and it is tough to do when you compare the files with the RX100II.  If I ever need more reach I will use it most likely.  But the ATOS connector sucks a lot of light away while the DCB/w RX100 does not.

Next post will be on bird photography musings from my days of doing that as a hobby.

Little time for birding…..

With work being what it is (budget time) I have a limited time to bird.  And often it is just in the back yard or park out back.  In Pamela Park yesterday I was fortunate to find a Winter Wren which is the first one I have been able to find there.  Really nothing else of note other than the usual Hermit Thrushes, Juncos, White Throated Sparrows, and one Harris Sparrow (which is also a first for the park).  Woodpeckers a plenty as well!  Below are pictures from out back that I digiscoped in the past week.

I was able to bird Grey Cloud Dunes last weekend for a couple hours and the sparrows were numerous.  Le Contes was the highlight of the birding there as well as a lone Snow Goose flyover.  This Song Sparrow was the only sparrow to cooperate.

Lastly, we went to Lake Harriet yesterday evening to attempt to find the Lesser Black Backed Gull.  After some scanning and waiting for the gulls to file in we were able to spot it.  You need a scope and I needed 50x to really ID it.  Just scan and have some patience because it blends in quite well with all the Ring Billed Gulls when facing you.  The bright yellow bill will help when facing you but the profile shot sure made it easy.  I did not attempt to digiscope due to the very low light as well as the zoom.  It would have been a very poor picture but useful for ID purposes.

As it look like rain all week here I may have post some photography ramblings.  Especially since winter is on the way, there are already Northern Hawk Owl and Great Grey Owl sightings up north, and I am sure the mouse inventory at the pet stores will be on the decline…..if you get my drift.

Getting Used To The V1

I have gotten the necessary adapter and connectors for the V1 on the Swarovski ATX95.  Suffice it to say, after a little playing around, that is a lot of reach!  I am still learning the camera a bit and I do like the use of a viewfinder.  But the viewfinder is not what I would call top notch on the V1.  It does not really help with focus like the focus assist on the Sony RX100II does.  So.....I am going to buy the viewfinder for the hotshoe on the RX100II and see how it works out.  The difference in focal length between the two is substantial and it is sometimes a hindrance n tight quarters having so much.  And so far the RX100 has a better image to my eye.  Still need some decent sunlight to really put the Vi through it's paces.  But here are some starter shots.

This juvenile Sharp Shinned was over a football field away when I took this picture.  I had to crop for composition and you can see the noise in the shadows which is what you will get with a micro 4/3 most of the time when underexposed and cropped.

This was an adult Coopers Hawk that I just took a picture of.  It is very gloomy and the shutter speed was 1/15th.  So there is a little blur.  Hoping for some light net time it stops by.  I will also need the RX100II for it as I had to back up into the side yard to get a half a shot of the hawk.

You can see the V1 does well in the light.  From my preliminary shots the RX100II is better in darker/cloudy conditions in regards to noise than the V1.  They each have their use and I will use both for different situations.  And I will probably upgrade to the GX7 perhaps as it has an electronic shutter and a viewfinder that is better than the V1.  As well as focus assist.

More dragonflies....

Below are a couple from the park out back.  The first is a Common Green Darner which are pretty numerous now.  And a favorite food for migrating birds and raptors actually.  The second is an Autumn Meadowhawk.  If you look at the 'red' fall dragonflies you will see there is a variety among them.  Be it White Faced, Autumn, Cherry Faced, etc.  So you have to look close to tell the difference.  The big decider between Cherry Faced and Autumn are the leg colors (thanks to Ed Lam for this helpful hint!) and the black pattern on the abdomen.  I took some more of the Lance Tipped Darners that are cruising the soccer pitch but that would be getting a little redundant.  I am looking forward to getting out and taking pictures of birds when the chance arrives on Sunday!

I will try to show a couple pictures of my digiscoping system and their benefits.  I am using one right now but I am getting a connector to try the Nikon V1 out this weekend.  Once I have that together and try it I will write up my personal feelings on the subject.

Also, finally getting my soft stay on case for the Swarovski ATX95.  Seems Swarovski has been struggling getting these to market after some quality issues so I should receive it today from Eagle Optics.  So the photos of the system will have experience with all the contraptions involved.

Sabines Gull in Minnesota

Friday my email inbox had the listserv email of a Sabines Gull at Purgatory Creek in Eden Prairie.  This is a great place to get your Hennepin Co. shorebirds if the conditions are right.  The birder who reported it is excellent so I knew it was the real deal and wanted to get one for Minnesota.  It is only a 15 minute drive from my home office so a lunch break had a birding trip in store!

The bird was on the flat as described and there were some very fun and helpful birders there.  There was also a beautiful non-breeding Hudsonian Godwit as well as Long Billed Dowicher, Black Bellied Plover, and a selection of Sandpipers as well.  American Pipits were also on the flat and found by another diligent birder.

Please note that this digiscoped picture is zoomed all the way to 70X and the conditions were cloudy and rainy.  If you had a DSLR with a 600mm and teleconverter the photo would not have been any better with the distance the gull was from us.  But you can still see it is a juvi.

When on my trip to Washington State this summer were were able to see Sabines in breeding plumage and they are easily the most beautiful gull there is.  The pelagic was with Westport Seabirds and I highly recommend them.  The spotters were very helpful and experienced.  We had a rough trip out due to a really low tide that day but the birding once we got out was fantastic.  If you ever go on a pelagic please join in on spotting and ID'ing!  Don't just sit there and wait for the announcements.  Participate and learn from the experience.  Only 4-6 of the 22 of us, at most,  were participating in the spotting which was disappointing.  But I digress.

I birded the park out back and Old Cedar as well this week but the results were disappointing.  Warblers have been very light all fall and the leaves are still very green making it difficult when they are not calling.  I can say the fall has been underwhelming migration-wise.  The positive is that we had a new yard bird this week and it was a Merlin!  And sparrows are starting to trickle through now.

Lastly, on Saturday, upon arriving home from a going away party for a friend i heard immature GHO's calling in the park out back.  There were three owls all together and we have not heard this many.  Usually one is all.  I hope this does not hurt the chances of the red phase Eastern Screech Owl coming back to its winter roost.  And one landed on the roof of the neighbor's house.  It was a fun end to the evening!

At Grey Cloud I was able to get this photo of a Field Sparrow Saturday.  Again, not much going on here migration wise either.

Fall Migration?

Work has been very busy lately and birding time is at  premium.  I went out and birded the back this morning and the best I could get was a Magnolia and Black and White Warbler.  One of each.  Here in Minnesota the migration for warblers has been very slow.  But I was able to find my FOY White Throated Sparrow out back.  This means it is getting cold up north unfortunately.  But I love their song so there is a positive.

I also traveled for work this week and brought my Swarovski ATX95 along for some digiscoping.  This part of Iowa I always thought would be pretty good for birding but I have always struck out.  I think I should have brought my fly rod instead for some trout fishing!  But I was able to get this American Goldfinch in the middle of a molt on some thistle in evening light.

Also in the park out back I was able to get a few shots of a Lance Tipped Darner.  There are only a couple left cruising the soccer pitch....down from a dozen or so earlier this week.  Must be the cold weather.  But it is nice to see them here as I did not have them in the park out back last year at all.  Lance Tipped are best ID's by the shape of the cerci and the thoratic stripes....as well as habitat.

Last weekend I made the 2.5 hour trip up north to Park Point in Duluth.  I was hoping to see a Jaeger or something unique.  But upon arrival I knew that would not be the case as the lake was like glass.  It was actually a beautiful day in the mid 80s but not so good for birding.  Warblers other than Palm were few and far between.  But there were a few shorebirds so I put the ATX95 through its first paces with birds.  I got some decent shots of Semi Palmated Plover, Black Bellied Plover, and Sanderlings.  You only have early morning on the weekends to make hay on a nice day as the beach fills up quickly with beach combers and the like.  As well as the plethora of people who seem to think that the leash law does not apply to them when they arrive on the beach.  And their dog chases the shorebirds.  Would be nice to see this nipped in the bud at some point but I am not holding my breath.

The birding has been slow around here so far this fall.  At least in the park out back.  Probably due to the consistent southerly winds and mild temperatures accompanying them.  So in the slow periods I take to photographing dragonflies.  Along with the Meadowhawks that are so prevalent in the fall I try to find some Darners.  I was able to locate both sexes of Lance Tipped Darners last night and below is a picture of a female Lance Tipped.  Beautiful green coloring compared to the male's blue.

Also, there was a hatch last week of Common Green Darners in the park out back.  They are often a food source for migrating kestrels and merlins.  The CGDs that hatch at this time of year also will migrate south.  They are one of a handful of dragonflies that do migrate.

These White Faced Meadowhawks are extremely common in the late summer/early fall.  And they were dinner last night for the Eastern Phoebes that were chasing them around.  At one point a Lance tipped Darner chased the Phoebe away; showing their fearless nature.

As these dragonflies are small, there is some zoom on the camera required to get a proper shot on the digiscoping system.  With the superior glass of the Swarovski ATX95 it did not seem to be a problem at all.

Welcome!

I am just getting started in digiscoping (coming from the DSLR side of things) and will give my perspective on the process, differences, benefits form each option, as well as the occasional commentary on ethics in nature and bird photography.  I will also provide inputs on the birding and birding trips I take as well.  I also enjoy taking odonata (dragonfly and damselflies)photos and they will be included as well.  So enjoy and feel free to ask questions!

Below is my first attempt at photographing birds using a digiscoping system.  I think the results rival my old DSLR system!