Category Archives: Photography

This Year’s Harbor Seal Fix

We are in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, arriving here before the Nor’Easter, and settling in for a snowy day or two.  We are just inside the snow line and will likely get 3-6 inches of heavy wet snow.

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This morning, I took Penny out in the truck to do some pre-storm birding. It was raw with a wind out of the north but we had several hours before the cold rain started. We stopped at nearby Lake Attitash and saw some Mute Swans and Buffleheads before retreating back to the truck.

Salisbury Beach State Reservation is one of my favorite birding spots since unlike Parker River NWR,  I can bring the dog along. Today, I even got a new life bird — Northern Gannet #411 — a bird I have missed a number of times. Four were actively feeding far out to sea this morning, plunging into the icy water for food.  Fun to watch.

Other highlights of the morning for me were Horned Larks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Eiders, Northern Mockingbirds, and Great Black-backed Gulls.  Then I headed over to the spot where each year, we see the Harbor Seals.  As I noted last year:

Named common seal throughout Europe, this seal frequently observed around Long Island lives along the shores of eastern Canada, New England and in the winter, as far south as the Carolinas in a variety of habitats. Their scientific name loosely means “sea calf” or “sea dog.” This latter nickname is well suited as these seals closely resemble a dog when their head is viewed at the surface of the water.

HSeals2W HSealsW

HSeals3W

These photos were shot through my spotting scope with the iPhone 5.  Hope to get back and see them again with Mary before we leave the area.  Happy Thanksgiving folks.

PhoneSkoping

I have pretty much transitioned to using my iPhone 5 for digiscoping using an attachment called a PhoneSkope. As I mentioned in a previous post, I always have my iPhone in my pocket and it’s a handy way to shoot through the scope. The quality gets better with each iteration of the phone, and an iPhone 6 may be on the not too distant horizon.

Each PhoneSkope is tailored for your camera and your scope. The cost is about $80 for case and adapter.

Each PhoneSkope is tailored for your camera and your scope. The cost is about $80 for case and adapter.

The setup is simple. You just put your phone or tablet into the case and attach it to the optic adapter by twisting and locking it in place. You then slide the optic adapter onto the end of your scope eye piece. It’s about a one-minute deal – I keep the case and adapter on the phone while I’m birding. (You can still use all functions of the phone.)

Here's what you see - and you can either photo or video, and change the scope setting to get in closer.

Here’s what you see – and you can either photo or video, and change the scope setting to get in closer.

There are lots of blog posts on using the iPhone (and other smart phones) so my suggestion is just to get out and shoot. It’s easy and even if there is some vignetting, you can reduce that through a finger swipe on the screen. The images are pretty good sized and  can be perfect for web work.

Here's what I lug around although I usually take the phone off the rig and zero in on the bird with the scope.

Here’s what I lug around although I usually take the phone off the rig and zero in on the bird with the scope.

Here are a couple of Mallards I got with the iPhone the other day -- nothing special but a nice easy shot as they cruised along.

Here are a couple of Mallards I got with the iPhone the other day — nothing special but a nice easy shot as they cruised along.

I know there are other adapters that folks use and like. PhoneSkope has worked well for me and I see that they have created them for the new iPhones and other tablets. Consider giving it a try – you’re likely carrying a pretty good camera in your pocket.

More iPhone Practice

I went up to Lamoille County yesterday to see if any waterfowl had shown up. Nothing new but a nice assortment of birds, many of which I couldn’t catch in the scope. Best birds were a Sharp-shinned Hawk right overhead and several handsome White-Crowned Sparrows. The lighting was not great but I did some more shooting with the scope and iPhone. (I’m not going to put every practice session up – this is it except for special birds or great shots.)

A Great Blue Heron hunting while a Mallard cruises by in poor early light.

A Great Blue Heron hunting while a Mallard cruises by in poor early light.

A White-Crowned Sparrow moving through the shrubbery.

A White-Crowned Sparrow feeding on the shrubbery.

There were dozens of sparrows moving here and there. Can you find the three in this bush?

There were dozens of sparrows moving here and there. Can you find the three in this bush?

When we returned home, I set up in the back yard for a while to get some feeder birds.

This Blue Jay, one of the eight or ten who hang out here, is giving me and my scope the hairy eyeball.

This Blue Jay, one of the eight or ten who hang out here, is giving me and my scope the hairy eyeball.

What's not to love about White-breasted Nuthatches?

What’s not to love about White-breasted Nuthatches?

And through it all, the Viszla was in stealth mode, watching the parade of birds as well as a foraging chipmunk. If her nose looks a little browner than usual, it’s the result of some major Fall excavation projects she has underway.

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Digiscoping Practice Session

I have been dabbling with digiscoping — shooting photos through my telescope — for a number of years.  I’ve used several good SLR cameras, a good digital point-and-shoot, and most recently, my iPhone. Once I bought the Canon SX-50 I gave up trying to digiscope since that camera works so well for me. I sold my good camera and the adapters that were needed to connect it to the scope.

As I watch the improvement in iPhone cameras, I’ve started to revisit that option of photography since I’m really looking for help with bird identification and for shots to illustrate this blog. I’m a birder, not a bird photographer.

As I plan our upcoming trip, I realize that I’ll be looking at a lot of waterfowl and shorebirds and be lugging my scope everywhere.  The Canon SX-50 is good but one more piece of gear to carry and I always have my iPhone in my pocket — so why not use it? I have an adapter from PhoneSkope for my iPhone 5 so yesterday, I took the rig out and did some practice shooting.

A couple of Killdeer were foraging along the Winooski River.

A couple of Killdeer were foraging along the Winooski River.

I spent a little time at Wrightsville Reservoir where an American Crow ignored me as I got out of the truck and let the dog run.

CrowW

There were a number of sparrows moving in and out of the brush, providing a pretty good challenge to getting them in the scope and shooting before they flitted on. There’s quite a crop of White-throated Sparrows this year.

WTSP2WThere were about eight or ten Northern Flickers feeding and flying off as we moved along. They must be gathering for their winter trip down south, although a few may stick around. They were less than cooperative but here are two shots:

Flickr2W Flickr1W

Penny, who is camera-shy, could not figure out what I was doing as she watched from afar.

Penny, who is camera-shy, could not figure out what I was doing as she watched from afar. Not the image of the left ear – the wind was moving it up and down and the iPhone camera speed did not stop it.

Later, we went for a walk in our woods where I grabbed this shot of one of her “friends” who sat, seemingly out of sight, but not for the telescope.

RedSW

So, it was a good outing and even though some of the photos are unclear and I missed many shots due to “always moving” birds (a winter wren taunted me as it bounced further and further into the underbrush), I am going to keep practicing.  Many birders across the country are quite adept and the newer 5S and iPhone 6 cameras have even more capability. I’ll still use my SX-50 for a lot of shooting but if I’m going to lug the scope, the iPhone is likely the way to go. Stay tuned.

 

Birds of Goose Island

Birding at Goose Island State Park is always a treat although right now, we have a slight dearth of species since some of the winter birds (Eastern Phoebe for example) have left and the migrants and nesters are yet to arrive. Still, it’s normal to get 30 or more species on woods bird walks and over 50 on the shore walk. Then, just up the road are still the Whooping Cranes that spend each winter in a farmer’s field.

We got here a day or so ago and got the campsite that we like and I’ve logged 54 birds so far in rather laid-back birding. Here are some photos that I took to give a sense of the variety here:

This Great Blue Heron is developing breeding plumage. A Little Blue Heron We have seen several Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, perched and in action. Always a treat. A Tri-colored Heron A Great Egret checking out the Tri-colored Heron

 

This Forster's Tern was working hard for lunch.

We are expecting a cold front tomorrow (72 down to 63!) and hope it produces a little warbler fallout action. We are here another week and I hope to hit 100 birds in the county by then – it’s fun to sort out the shorebirds once again.

County Bird #150

I started this year all cranked to do a County Big Year and got off to good start the first quarter.  Then a pinched nerve in my back took a couple of months to deal with and I missed a lot of the spring warbler season.  Then, this Fall, I tore up my knee and missed much of the Fall warbler season.  So, although I picked up some of the warblers, I scaled back my expectations and goals.

Recently, realizing that I’ll be out-of-state three or four weeks, I decided to get serious and get out there — and have added birds every week.  Yesterday was a banner day — four additions and one the day before.

Thursday’s bird was “incidental” to say the least.  I had been driving the back roads looking for Horned Larks, reported the day before, with no luck.  Driving home, I stopped at a local mini-mart for the paper and as I got out of the truck, I heard this loud bird song.  It seemed to echo and I thought it was a recording or something but followed it, to see a small bird high up in a bare maple, singing away.  “I know that call,” I thought as I raced back to the truck for my binoculars.  It had departed as I tromped into the store with bins around neck and a camera hanging from the shoulder.  All the way home, I was trying to sort it out — then went on to other stuff, thinking I’d work on it that evening.  Before long, I saw an eBird alert for a Carolina Wren at the same place, same time, by a friend who had seen it, but not me — and unknowingly, mentored me electronically.

Friday was more intentional.  The day before, my birder friend Patti saw three birds that I needed and we exchanged emails about location.  I packed up the dog early and off we went to Berlin Pond to check things out.  Right away, I saw the Pied-billed Grebe that she had reported and fiddled around with trying to digiscope it.  They spend a lot of time underwater and this one was out quite a ways, so the result below is simply for the record.

Pied-billed Grebe. Vortex Razor HD, 20-60 eyepiece at 20x, Canon SD4000, Vortex DCA & PS100 adapters.

Pied-billed Grebe. Vortex Razor HD, 20-60 eyepiece at 20x, Canon SD4000, Vortex DCA & PS100 adapters.

The pond has few spots for viewing but with the leaves gone, you can work around the branches and tree trunks and see the western shoreline.  There were over a hundred Mallards and mixed in, three American Coots, a Bufflehead (county year bird), and a Common Goldeneye (county year bird.)  It’s tough to park with your blinkers on and count Mallards through a scope through a forest — but worthwhile today.  It was too distant for photographs, especially given the branches.

I finished up, was heading homeward, and glanced out the one open spot on the road and saw some white — and thought it was just another hoodie.  I pulled over, got out the scope, and saw a bird moving fast, with lots of white, and one that I didn’t know.  Three Mallards caught up with it and the little flotilla paddled northward into an area where the bank was lined with trees.

Three Mallards and a Long-tailed Duck cruising northward.

Three Mallards and a Long-tailed Duck cruising northward.

I didn’t know for sure until I got home and checked my books that it was a Long-tailed Duck.  I’ve only seen one before and we don’t get a lot of them in Central Vermont.  It was a good bird to hit the #150 mark.  Now, to find those darn larks.

Here is a frenetic video of the LTDU moving back southward.  Poor quality but good evidence.

Young ‘Uns

Seeing the influx of juvenile Purple Finches discovering our bird feeder each morning, I get another sign that birds are nesting, chicks are fledging, and juveniles are chowing down.  Here are a few photos I took of momma birds doing their thing:

Canada Geese and a couple of youngsters at Berlin Pond. Others on the pond had larger groups of kids -- makes one wonder what happened to the rest of this hatch.

Canada Geese and a couple of youngsters at Berlin Pond. Others on the pond had larger groups of kids — makes one wonder what happened to the rest of this hatch.

A female Mallard at Ricker Pond with quite a group of chicks.

A female Mallard at Ricker Pond with quite a group of chicks.

 

The state has an active loon program that places nesting sites (and warning signs for paddlers/boaters) on many ponds. Here is a floating platform at Ricker Pond being used. (Photo taken at very long range from opposite shore.)

The state has an active loon program that places nesting sites (and warning signs for paddlers/boaters) on many ponds. Here is a floating platform at Ricker Pond being used. (Photo taken at very long range from opposite shore.)

 

Wren’Streamer

My brother Barry and his wife, Mica DeAngelis, have restored two vintage Airstreams and have travelled to the South and Southwest for Habitat For Humanity builds and general travel.  They have always been watchers of birds but recently have sort of caught the birding bug.  Barry got a new camera a few months ago and has been testing it out here and there — and captured this wonderful shot of a House Wren in their backyard.

Barry and Mica originally thought that this birdhouse was a gag gift but Momma wren has called it home for the last two years. photo by Barry K. Mansfield, Burlington, VT

Barry and Mica originally thought that this birdhouse was a gag gift but Momma wren has called it home for the last two years. photo by Barry K. Mansfield, Burlington, VT

Wren’Streamer

My brother Barry and his wife, Mica DeAngelis, have restored two vintage Airstreams and have travelled to the South and Southwest for Habitat For Humanity builds and general travel.  They have always been watchers of birds but recently have sort of caught the birding bug.  Barry got a new camera a few months ago and has been testing it out here and there — and captured this wonderful shot of a House Wren in their backyard.

Barry and Mica originally thought that this birdhouse was a gag gift but Momma wren has called it home for the last two years.  photo by Barry K. Mansfield, Burlington, VT

Urban Birding in Annapolis

We are down in Maryland for a short trip to see our son Robb and his family before they leave for San Diego.  The temps are about 20 degrees warmer than Vermont, the forsythia is blooming as are the cherry blossoms, and there are all sorts of birds singing their hearts out.  What’s not to like?

I had just unloaded our luggage and went out to the back door where two Fish Crows welcomed me (FOY) as well as a House Finch and several Cardinals.  It was a foretaste of the local birding — a good sign.

I’ve taken a couple of long walks with the camera to get some exercise and some camera practice.  Here are a few shots with the SX-50 from those outings:

Northern Mockingbirds, while pretty rare in our county, are all over the place -- showing off their repertoire of songs and calls -- delightful to listen to and to observe.

Northern Mockingbirds, while pretty rare in our county, are all over the place — showing off their repertoire of songs and calls — delightful to listen to and to observe.

Perhaps the most common song is from the Song Sparrow. They are everywhere and delightful.

Perhaps the most common song is from the Song Sparrow. They are everywhere and delightful.

Just as common are House Sparrows which seem to monopolize the area bird houses. Since they are relatively sparse up my way, they are fun to watch.

Just as common are House Sparrows which seem to monopolize the area bird houses. Since they are relatively sparse up my way, they are fun to watch.

Northern Cardinals are also everywhere, singing away. A morning walk is just filled with Cardinal music.

Northern Cardinals are also everywhere, singing away. A morning walk is just filled with Cardinal music.

Annapolis harbor was filled with boats and Mallards which are well fed by visitors. The charter sailboat was readying for a brisk Saturday morning excursion.

Annapolis harbor was filled with boats and Mallards which are well fed by visitors. The charter sailboat was readying for a brisk Saturday morning excursion.

It was nice to see some Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead -- and hope we'll be getting them in VT in a few weeks.

It was nice to see some Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead — and hope we’ll be getting them in VT in a few weeks.

This Turkey Vulture with his buddies, was working the open Dumpster after the Navy/Maryland lacrosse game. Good pickin's!

This Turkey Vulture with his buddies, was working the open Dumpster after the Navy/Maryland lacrosse game. Good pickin’s!

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