Tag Archives: digiscoping

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.

Birding With Mac

Being a grandfather who got into birding late in life, it’s a treat to see at least two of my grandchildren become fledgling birders.  Our oldest, Mac, was up from Massachusetts with his mom for Thanksgiving.  He caught the birding bug during a a birder camp this summer at North Branch Nature Center.  He and Jen have done a few outings at home and this afternoon, Mac and I went out for a short trip.

One of the things I’m learning about youth birding is that attention spans are different with kids — in fact the leaders at camp this summer interspersed many games with the kids which were as popular as the birding.  Short outings, especially if the birding is spotty, work well.

We went up to Berlin Pond.  During the drive, I was looking for birds in the trees while Mac played some game on his iPhone.  I decided to chill out – we’d bird when we got there.

I had been there doing a little scouting this morning but many of the waterfowl had headed out this afternoon.  Even so, it was great.  We could see Hooded Mergansers as we parked the truck and we watched them through binoculars and the scope.  What’s not to like about a Hoodie?  I brought out the camera and fitted it on the scope and took a few shots.

What’s not to like about a Hoodie?

Mac was intrigued — he’d never seen digiscoping before.  I had him get on a group on American Black Ducks and set the camera on for him.  He fired off a few shots and loved it.  His shot is better than mine — what can I say?

American Black Duck digiscoped by grandson Mac Mansfield-Parisi

We trudged down to where I had hoped to see some geese but aside from a Bufflehead, it was rather empty.  He didn’t care, the Hoodies had made the day.  A small flight of Canada Geese came right over us as we walked back to the truck to sort of complete the outing.  Half an hour or so, six species, but a great outing.  Mac lives right near Parker River Wildlife Refuge and I look forward to many future outings with him.

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Thursday Digiscoping

I went out with my larger camera and in spite of temperatures in the low 40’s and cloud cover, found some active birds to practice on.  I had forgotten my remote control so I shot in bursts to try to cut down on camera shake.  I fiddled with ISO settings, ending up with 2000 to get any decent shutter speed.  Here are a few birds I found:

A Ringed-necked Duck on Berlin Pond. Vortex Razor HD, 20-60 eyepiece at 20x, Canon EOS 60D, 50 mm lens, & Vortex DCA adapter.

I found a great spot for sparrows at Wrightsville Dam and in spite of the dog’s help, running to and fro, I grabbed a few images.  Sparrows have left our property and I was surprised to see so many species frolicking and singing away.  They won’t be around much longer.

We have recently started to see American Tree Sparrows migrate here and should have them around all winter.

This is the first Fox Sparrow I’ve seen this year. They are likely on their way through to a little warmer climes.

Hoodies Are Here

A visit this morning to nearby Berlin Pond revealed a few Hooded Mergansers, one of my favorite birds, and a raft of Black Scoters out in the middle of the pond.  Hoodies are fun the watch — the males look so dressed up and important, especially with their crest up.  The females often look like they’ve had a bad hair day with the rusty crest fluffed up.  I’m still figuring out which camera to use digiscoping but here’s some shots I took of them:

Hooded Mergansers on Berlin Pond – 10-31-12 Vortex Razor HD, 20-60 eyepiece at 20x, Canon SD4000, Vortex DCA & PS100 adapters.

Male Hoodies with their crest up look pretty spiffy.

A poor digiscoped shot through the trees of a raft of Black Scoters. I originally called these American Coots but the yellow beaks made me change my call.

I’m going to experiment again with my Canon 60D for digiscoping and see if that results in sharper images.  We’ll see if that helps with clarity — although I think that it just takes more practice and better camera settings to match conditions.  Nice challenge for this Fall.

Digiscoping at Plum Island

I try to make it over to Parker River NWR every time we visit this area and today I grabbed a few hours to check things out and practice some digiscoping.  There were few tourists and birders and lots of ducks.  Most of the ducks were feeding heavily so I gave up after taking way too many “duck butt” shots.  I saw Gadwalls, Mallards, Teals, Pintails, Wigeons, Ruddy Ducks, Black Ducks, and a probably a few more.  Four Mute Swans were in the Salt Pannes –here’s a shot of one preening.

Mute Swan preening

We always check Mute Swans hoping for a Tundra…. some day.

Some of the highlights of the day were the hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants (with probably a Great or two in there) heading southward.  I enjoyed watching two Northern Harriers hunting, using the northwest wind to hover and swoop.  They are perhaps my favorite hawk.

Lots of sparrows still hanging out — Swamp, White-crowned, Savannah, Song, and several others too vague for me to identify.  I need a sparrow guru with me on Plum Island.  One Song Sparrow posed for some digiscoping:

On the way out, about a dozen Yellowlegs were resting.  Here is one that was up and about and looking good.

In addition to good weather and good birds, it was nice to be at Parker River between hunting seasons.  The adjacent waters are hunted heavily and it’s nice to have some peace and quiet — for us and for the ducks and geese.

Southern Birds

Mary and I drove three hours southeast to northern Massachusetts yesterday and it is like we became southerners.  Not only have we changed stick season’s chilly rain and fog for mid-seventies and pretty foliage, I’m hearing and seeing birds that I thought I had seen the last of until spring.  Seven Eastern Bluebirds this morning!

I have a walk from Jen’s house that I take nearly every morning I’m visiting — it’s a little over a mile down a busy road lined with oaks and often, very birdy.  I got out yesterday morning early before the homeowners got their leaf blowers going, and before the traffic picked up.  In spite of fog and a little drizzle, what a mix of bird noises greeted me.

We get a lot of Tufted Titmice here and I love their feistiness and constant chipping and singing.  They are sparse in our Vermont woods but dozens were out and about, and a couple were pretty brassy, watching me at about eye level.   I heard, and saw the whole woodpecker gang, missing only a Pileated.  The other real noisy bird was a crew of White-breasted Nuthatches joined by a couple of Red-breasted cousins.  Here’s the list from the hour-long walk:

Cooper’s Hawk  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker  3
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  13
Tufted Titmouse  6
Red-breasted Nuthatch  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  6
Eastern Bluebird  6
American Robin  6
European Starling  12
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Dark-eyed Junco  6
Northern Cardinal  4

Later, Mary and I drove over to Cherry Hill Reservoir after doing some errands.  There were lots of ducks on the water but the light was horrible.  We did see a cooperative Northern Mockingbird who posed on a fence rail for quite some time, but flew off just as I got my digiscoping rig set up.  We also saw a duck species I hadn’t seen since 2010 in Texas — Ruddy Duck.  I took some photos through the scope but the light is not helpful other than for identification.

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Ducks are one of the “stiff-tailed” ducks.

We are going to be here for several more days so I hope to get out to Plum Island and up the Cape Ann to see what migration may be bringing in. Check back here for results.

A Solitary Sandpiper

We don’t have a lot of shorebird habitat hotspots in central Vermont so we make do with puddles in cornfields, small mudflats along the rivers and ponds, and other spots where water gathers.  We go over to Lake Champlain or down into Addison County for real shorebird birding.

However, this time of year when stuff is starting to move, we’ll sometimes spot a long-billed migrant in the county.  One spot I like is just down the road from a gathering spot we all love — The Red Hen Bakery — consisting of a little pull off busy Route 2 right beside the Winooski River.  There are often ducks there and today, a sole little wading bird.

I had the dog with me in the front seat and she wanted to join the action as I scanned the river and set up my scope.  I took a few so-so digiscoped shots (the sun was not a big help) and looking over the shots, realized that it was a Solitary Sandpiper.  No big deal per se but the first one for me this year and a nice looking bird.  And by itself — oh yeah, solitary.

Backyard Digiscoping

I’ve fiddled with digiscoping for the last year, reading a lot of forums, shooting a lot of poor shots — both with my point and shoot and with my SLR.  Because of camera shake and problems with picking up images on my SD4000, I’ve decided to work with my Canon 60D and 50mm lens.  I also decided to practice, practice at home on the birds in my yard and patch and work on settings, technique, and just picking up birds in the scope.

So, for that last few days, I’ve lugged my heavy camera, scope, and tripod around our woods trails on my many walks with the dogs and started practicing.  Of course, the dog is a wonderful help.  Every time I try for a Common Yellowthroat or Song Sparrow in the brush, she sees me looking and decides to take a look for herself.  So, a certain amount of “you idiot” or worse accompanies my digiscoping.

Here are some shots I’ve taken in the last couple of days:

Here’s a young Common Yellowthroat hiding in the bushes.  They constantly move and are a real challenge for me to digiscope.

 

Two molting Goldfinches at the thistle feeder.  They seem to be really hitting the food these days.

 

We are getting a lot of hummers to the feeder.  They like to rest in the old crabapple tree.

 

We have quite a crop of song sparrows enjoying the bugs around our yard.  No singing but very active.