30th October 2019
| Location: Riverside Park, Cambridge | Weather: Dull, with light drizzle |
The weather wasn't looking very promising, but at least it was dry (or it was when I left the house), but it was definitely the weather to stay fairly close to home. Riverside Park is an excellent spot for many kinds of birds, with a varied habitat from river, woodland & swamp, and very much a recommended spot to visit. This morning, when I first arrived along my favorite spot along the boardwalk, there wasn't too much around, but I came prepared with a bag of mixed seed. I often think that getting birds coming to a spot will often generate other birds to hang around the same area, and as usual there was some mixed activity. A few birds came down to the seed (Cardinals, Chickadees etc) and a few other birds hung out on the periphery of the feeding action
Tip of the Day: For the best images it is always best to get your images perfectly exposed in the camera. Yes, we have Lightroom, Photoshop, etc and these programs can "fix" any problem, but the best finished result is always from a perfectly exposed image from the camera
29th October 2019
| Location: At home in Kitchener | Weather: Sun & cloud |
Looking out of my patio doors, this morning, to the trees out back, I was surprised to see a Turkey Vulture or maybe not so surprised - A couple of days ago my wife called me while I was on a photo shoot, saying that there was a Turkey Vulture sitting on the upper rail of our deck. I told her that No ... it was more likely a Turkey (which I have seen in our yard on a few occasions in the past), so it was thus recorded. I have had therefore had to eat a little humble pie because of the doubt I had for my wife's visual skills LOL
Anyways this little cutie spent a couple of hours hanging out and gave me a a few photo opportunities. .........
Anyways this little cutie spent a couple of hours hanging out and gave me a a few photo opportunities. .........
Tip of the Day: If you are watching a bird up in a tree or whatever, and the bird poops - this is what they often do immediately before they leave, so if you need to take that shot .... do it quick, because in about 2 seconds - they are gone.
25th - 28th October 2019
| Location: Hamilton/Burlington area | Weather: Sun & Cloud |
Although birds and other wildlife are my main focus, I also like to photograph some of the other elements of nature, including landscapes, so over the last few days we have checked out a few of the most excellent waterfalls that the Hamilton area has to offer.
20th October 2019
| Locaton: Thornapple Loop | Weather: Not a breath of wind, and a mix of sun & cloud |
My first day out after returning from my UK trip - I wasn't expecting too much as it's that time of year, but it was surprisingly good. As I left the house I had no idea where I was going, but I headed east on the 401 and as I neared Highway 6, I decided to head down to the Dundas area, and Thornapple Loop ... one of my fav spots, and I'm really glad I did - birds were active along my chosen trail for the day.
Almost immediately I'm seeing Kinglets. but only Ruby-crowned, and then as I watched some shrubbery movement, that I assumed was another Kinglet - out popped a Blue-headed Vireo ... my bird of the day. The other good bird of the morning was the Hermit Thrushes, of which there were several. Several of them gave me a show as they zipped back and forward between shrubbery outcrops, and I was able to get a few shots off when one of them would occasionally land in the open.
Almost immediately I'm seeing Kinglets. but only Ruby-crowned, and then as I watched some shrubbery movement, that I assumed was another Kinglet - out popped a Blue-headed Vireo ... my bird of the day. The other good bird of the morning was the Hermit Thrushes, of which there were several. Several of them gave me a show as they zipped back and forward between shrubbery outcrops, and I was able to get a few shots off when one of them would occasionally land in the open.
Tip of the Day: I always strive for a lower ISO, which generally gives better detail and a less grainy image. To achieve this I like to add some sort of camera support while setting my shutter speed at a lower level (thus lowering the ISO) than I can hand hold the camera. The best camera support is usually a tripod, but even looking around for a fence post or a convenient low branch, to rest your camera/lens on, can do the trick
7th - 17th October 2019
| Location: SW Scotland | Weather: Mixed sun, cloud & rain |
I'm originally from a small town in the SW corner of Scotland, and so periodically I head back there to visit relatives - mainly my mother & younger sister, but while in the area I play a little "hookey" and head out birding. The area along the Solway coast can be quite good for many species of birds, and so I was quite excited to get out and about. Unfortunately my time was limited so I could only manage a few hours in any given day. My home town of Dumfries is very close to the salt marshes around Caerlaverock and so this was a favorite spot during my visit.
Usually I only take along a 100-400, but this time I lugged along a 500mm and a 1.4 TC, so I was able to get a little more reach and to some extent, a little more detail in the pics.
I was generally quite happy with the species seen and for the most part photographed, but boy, I could have used a tripod - a monopod just doesn't give the same amount of stability and freedom of movement. Some of the species were Robin, Wren, Blackbird, .Red Kite, Buzzard, Redwing, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Blackcap, Barnacle Goose, Grey-lag Goose, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Ring-necked Dove, Moorhen, Curlew, Stonechat, Tufted Duck, Tree Creeper, Dunnock, Magpie, Widgeon, Gray Wagtail, Song Thrush, Rock Pipit ... and many others.
Usually I only take along a 100-400, but this time I lugged along a 500mm and a 1.4 TC, so I was able to get a little more reach and to some extent, a little more detail in the pics.
I was generally quite happy with the species seen and for the most part photographed, but boy, I could have used a tripod - a monopod just doesn't give the same amount of stability and freedom of movement. Some of the species were Robin, Wren, Blackbird, .Red Kite, Buzzard, Redwing, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Blackcap, Barnacle Goose, Grey-lag Goose, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Ring-necked Dove, Moorhen, Curlew, Stonechat, Tufted Duck, Tree Creeper, Dunnock, Magpie, Widgeon, Gray Wagtail, Song Thrush, Rock Pipit ... and many others.
Tip of the Day: Travel - the best money you will often spend on photography is travel. Whether it's to far off destinations or simply an overnight stay in Algonquin, your photo subject opportunities will be expanded many fold.
6th October 2019
| Location: Thornapple Loop | Weather: Raining to start, but dried up by 8:15 am |
This spot is often quite productive, but this morning it was deathly quiet. We spent 2.5 hours along this one section and other than a couple of Hermit Thrushes and for some reason a few Woodpecker species (Flicker, Red-bellied & Downy), there was no movement of any migrants (Warblers, Vireos, Kinglets etc).
Tip of the Day: Avoid wearing bright clothing. Birds are generally quite nervous when around humans, so although you are very, very seldom invisible to them, it's important to keep your colours subtle. Bright colours to a bird can often mean danger.
4th October 2019
| Location: Thornapple Loop | Weather: A cloudy start then sun & cloud, but cool |
As I'm driving down Highway 6 towards my target spot for the morning it's drizzling rain on my windshield and the temperature gauge on my dash is showing 9C. It's times like this I wonder what I'm doing out of bed before 6:00am and heading to lonely spot in the open to photograph a few birds (if I'm REALLY lucky).
As it turned out the rain stopped when I got there and within minutes of arriving at my favorite spot along this trail, I'm photographing one of my target birds for the day - the beautiful Blue-headed Vireo. By 8:30 it's warmed up (a bit), the light has improved and I was having fun. Over the next couple of hours I was fortunate to witness a couple of waves of migrating songbirds pass by my spot. I saw & photographed most of the following, although some of the shots ended up in the recycle bin (which is pretty normal for most outings) ... Blue-headed, Philadelphia & red-eyed Vireos. Black-throated Green, Northern Parula,Yellow-rumped & Palm Warblers. A few Hermit Thrushes, and a single Swainson's Thrush also showed up, and of course the inevitable, for this time of year, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets. Most certainly was it worth getting out of bed for :)
As it turned out the rain stopped when I got there and within minutes of arriving at my favorite spot along this trail, I'm photographing one of my target birds for the day - the beautiful Blue-headed Vireo. By 8:30 it's warmed up (a bit), the light has improved and I was having fun. Over the next couple of hours I was fortunate to witness a couple of waves of migrating songbirds pass by my spot. I saw & photographed most of the following, although some of the shots ended up in the recycle bin (which is pretty normal for most outings) ... Blue-headed, Philadelphia & red-eyed Vireos. Black-throated Green, Northern Parula,Yellow-rumped & Palm Warblers. A few Hermit Thrushes, and a single Swainson's Thrush also showed up, and of course the inevitable, for this time of year, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets. Most certainly was it worth getting out of bed for :)
Tip of the Day: In tough light it's important to try to get your ISO as low as you can without compromising image quality. In this situation, and even when I am hand holding my camera and lens, I look for something to rest my camera on while taking a shot (if I can). Tree branches, handrails along the path, a big rock .. anything that will allow you to keep the camera steadier, to use a slower shutter speed and ultimately a lower ISO.
