23rd-30th January 2020
| Location: Island of Tobago | Weather: Hot, sunny but with occasional rain |
As is often the case when photographing wildlife in the tropics is the challenge with very contrasting light conditions. One minute you are shooting at an ISO of 100 (f8/1/500) and the next minute your ISO is above 5000 at similar settings, as you point from an open light sunny spot to a shaded area. Often in a case like this I flip to Auto ISO at least that way I would get a higher success rate, but I found that still wasn't even remotely perfect for those kind of conditions. I eventually stuck to manual and tried to anticipate light levels and when need to stop up or down as the need arose.
It is reported and documented that Tobago is one of the most densely populated islands as it pertains to avian life, and I suppose that is likely very true, but I found that other than first thing in the morning (when the light was TOUGH), the birds tended to keep to the denser forest areas, so getting usable shots was frustratingly difficult.
My trip was primarily a family vacation for myself and my wife, so even though she is 100% supportive of my mad and crazy hobby (bird photography) I limited my outings to locations fairly close to the hotel (mostly) ... you know what they say "happy wife, happy life".
For 3 days of my venture I rented a car to get to some birdier spots, and one spot I was keen to get to was the rainforest areas, Tobago is only 26mile tip to tip. (we stayed about, as the crow flies) about 15 miles from the rainforest, but as I found out to my cost the roads were extremely narrow, windy and mountainous, so after getting about half way (at least an hour) I decided that my sanity and personal safety were more important, so I returned to whence I came for the remainder of my car rental window and stayed within a few miles of the hotel. Saying that as you can see from my collection below there were still some great opportunities.
Before leaving and heading south, I did some research as to how safe the island was, and although it is generally thought to be much safer than its sister island of Trinidad, it still was very much a concern to me as to what equipment to take with me. I elected to leave the "big guns" at home (the 5D4 & EF500+1,4TC, which is my staple setup for birds) and took a 5D Mk3 and the 100-400 Mk2 instead. Not that I could afford to lose either piece, but the cost was way less than my normal setup. On one hand I'm glad I made that decision, but the 100-400 is certainly not what the 500 is. Unfortunately the minimized setup is very evident in the images below. .
For a detailed Travel review of this destination click here
20th January 2020
| Location: Between Elnira & Listowel | Weather: Cloudless Blue Sky but cold -11C |
| With a significant fall of snow in the area over the weekend, and with forecast bright sun with no wind, it seemed to me this would be a perfect combination to find and photograph. both the Snowy Owls in that area and also Snow Buntings. My thoughts were that with the deeper snow then the Owls would be forced to perch above ground on fence posts and maybe hydro poles. With little or no snow I often find Snowies sitting on the ground, so a) they are harder to find and b) difficult to photograph. My other thought related to the Snow Buntings in that, again due to the deeper snow they would be inclined to forage along the gravel back roads, making them much easier to find. On both counts I was generally correct - Snowies were on fence posts (I found six individuals) and the Buntings were along the edge of the gravel roads (saw around 500 in three separate flocks). Unfortunately although there a good number of Snowy Owls they were generally too far off for any decent images. One of the flocks of the Snow Buntings was easily 300 birds, and fortunately for me they allowed me to get fairly close, using my vehicle as a blind. On a negative note - if you are going to shoot from a warm vehicle on a icy day be aware that you may experience some image quality loss due to the temperature differences. |  Snow Buntings |
17th January 2020
| Location: Burlington | Weather: Blue skies, but chilly (-11C) |
I always find Bluebirds to be very interesting. Here we are in the middle of winter, albeit mild for the time of year, and there are a dozen or so Bluebirds hanging out at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Burlington ... shouldn't they be wintering somewhere a bit warmer and with more available food than here. However they seem to be surviving quite well ... even with a lurking Northern Shrike in the same area. Although strictly speaking these birds are omnivorous, they are mainly insectivorous by nature, and much prefer bugs, but it can't be easy for these little beauties to find bugs.
Other species in the neighbourhood were American Tree Sparrows, Blue Jays, American Goldfinches, and of course, the previously mentioned Northern Shrike. I had hoped the Shrike would have been a bit more available, but other than my first view (and it was at a significant distance) it stayed a long way off.
Other species in the neighbourhood were American Tree Sparrows, Blue Jays, American Goldfinches, and of course, the previously mentioned Northern Shrike. I had hoped the Shrike would have been a bit more available, but other than my first view (and it was at a significant distance) it stayed a long way off.
Tip of the Day: Early morning and late afternoon light is usually the best time for bird photography. The light during these times is soft. As a bonus, the birds are very active as well.
12th January 2020
| Location: Melbourne, Ontario | Weather: Dull, damp & chilly |
I have been following a few reports about the raptor photography opportunities along the back roads that border the small town of Melbourne (south west of London), and with that knowledge & information, a friend and I headed down to check it out. One of the reports was of a couple of Short-eared Owls that have been sitting on fences along the side of the road, so it was definitely a "I hope we see one" target for us. Unfortunately we never saw any owls, of any species, in the few hours we spent tracking the gravel roads in the neighbourhood.
On the plus side we did see several other raptor species including several Northern Harriers, a Rough-legged Hawk, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, a Bald Eagle and a surprising and very welcome American Kestrel. Unfortunately all of our sightings were a tad far off for decent photography (especially in the drab lighting), but still a delight to see. We also saw a significant flock of Horned Larks that were foraging, as they do, in the remnants of old cornfields.
On the plus side we did see several other raptor species including several Northern Harriers, a Rough-legged Hawk, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, a Bald Eagle and a surprising and very welcome American Kestrel. Unfortunately all of our sightings were a tad far off for decent photography (especially in the drab lighting), but still a delight to see. We also saw a significant flock of Horned Larks that were foraging, as they do, in the remnants of old cornfields.
Tip of the Day: Patience - learning to have patience in your bird photography will make you a stronger image-maker. There’s a tendency to get to a location, or to start photographing a new species, and begin immediately pressing the shutter button. You should take some time and study the behavior of your subject. Watch the movements for clues of when to shoot.
9th January 2020
| Location: Waterloo | Weather: Sun & cloud |
I was contacted by a nice gentleman from Waterloo who said that he had an interesting bird coming to his feeders on a daily basis. I was informed that this bird was hanging out with the Juncos and the Chickadees and he was kind enough to send me a cell phone image of said bird. I studied the image for quite a while, but the image quality was not too good, so I was asked if I would like to come to the house to see it for myself.
Thankfully the address was 20 mins away ... so couldn't get any better. Just as I arrived the bird was at the feeders, but left almost immediately, so even though I managed a quick "snap" through the window, it wasn't enough for a positive ID. Fortunately a half hour later the mystery bird returned and so I was able to fire off a couple of shots. I could now see that the bird was very much a Junco based bird, and after a little research I determined that it was indeed a partially Leucistic Dark-eyed Junco .... see below . My grateful thanks goes out to Bob, for his hospitality and for the opportunity to see this fantastic bird.
Thankfully the address was 20 mins away ... so couldn't get any better. Just as I arrived the bird was at the feeders, but left almost immediately, so even though I managed a quick "snap" through the window, it wasn't enough for a positive ID. Fortunately a half hour later the mystery bird returned and so I was able to fire off a couple of shots. I could now see that the bird was very much a Junco based bird, and after a little research I determined that it was indeed a partially Leucistic Dark-eyed Junco .... see below . My grateful thanks goes out to Bob, for his hospitality and for the opportunity to see this fantastic bird.
Partially Leucistic Dark-eyed Junco
8th January 2020
| Location: Burlington | Weather: Sunny, after a recent snowfall |
A trip to a local Cemetery in Burlington this morning was quite successful with an encounter with approximately 8 Eastern Bluebirds. The light was a bit harsh, but you take what you can get, when presented. The blue of the Bluebird was a tad overpowering in the bright light, but I'm pretty sure these birds will be hanging out here for several days (I'm sure), so another trip when the light is a bit more forgiving is on the cards. A good rule of thumb is that the brighter or more vivid the bird, then a duller scenario works better.
Tip of the Day: If you are shooting in full sun then try to keep the sun directly behind you to avoid contrasting shadows in your photographs.
2nd - 5th January 2020
| Location: My back yard in Kitchener | Weather: MIx of sun and cloud (-5 - +1C) |
When the weather doesn't cooperate I often set up a little shooting scenario from my Dining Room, through the patio doors, to a little setup arrangement on my deck. I collect mossy logs and some lichen covered, and other interesting branches and arrange them along the top rail of my outdoor deck. Thus setup I have my camera & 500mm lens on a tripod and with some seed etc out of shot, I take a few images when the birds visit. I rarely get anything other than the common garden bird species, but it is a lot of fun, and keeps me out of mischief (so my wife says, anyways).
