Lockdown Day 20 (11.4.20)

Not being one to give up entirely on my photography during the lockdown I decided I would spend a bit of time in the garden and see just what variety of birds visit my back garden.

So first up:

  the local Magpies dropped in for a wash and a brush up

Canon 5DSR 1/2000th @ f7.1 iso800 400mm 

Although they were nesting in a tree close by I havent seen any fledglings this year !

Then I spotted a Dunnock on top of the fence

Canon 5DSR 1/200th @ f8 iso200 400mm  

Unlike the Magpies the Dunnocks have succesfully fledged !!

Canon 5DSR 1/2000th @ f7.1 iso800 400mm 

I cropped this one too show the eyes being covered by the see-through, nictitating membrane, anyone who watched Game Of Thrones will think this is one of the whitewalkers !

Covid 19 Lockdown !!!

Well as of 23 Feb 2020 Coronavirus has put the mockers on me getting out and about, that is me grounded for the duration.

Stodmarsh NNR morning 20.1.2020

This mornings trip proved to be a success, spent some quality time in the David Feast hide.

Although the Canon 5DSR does not perform well in low light / hi iso conditions I am looking forward to using it this year, to me it suffers with unacceptable amounts of noise above iso800 if conditions are a bit grim I use the trusty Canon 5dmk4 which is far more capable at higher iso's.

Firstly a Cormorant having a drying session.

Canon 5DSR 1/500th F9 iso400 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

I was hoping that a Kingfisher would make an appearance but whilst waiting a little Jenny Wren dropped down right in front of the hide.

 Canon 5DSR 1/500th F7.1 iso400 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Finally the Kinfisher turned up !! such a fantastic little bird.

Canon 5DSR 1/320th F9+1/3 iso250 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Canon 5DSR 1/320th F9+1/3 iso250 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Canon 5DSR 1/500th F9+1/3 iso400 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Canon 5DSR 1/500th F8 iso640 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

As allways these pictures can be viewed at a higher resolution on my flikr feed here:

Layzesod's flikr feed 

Hopefully this year will carry on like this and get better as we move into the spring migration period.

First Trip Out Of This Year 10.1.2020

Mother nature at her best promised a lovely sunny morning but failed to deliver !
I spent a couple of hours in the David Feast hide hoping for a glimpse of the Bittern that had been reported recently, but to no avail and to be honest the light was so bad it wouldnt have been a good time to get some shots, even the Kingfisher was a no show.
Bitter north westerly was blowing straight in the front of the hide.

Stodmarsh NNR

Stodmarsh NNR is one of my favourite haunts, its about 20 to 30 mins drive depending on which end of the reserve I go.
The variety of habitats varies a lot at the Stodmarsh end there is woodland, reedbeds and some really good walks between the various hides.
With this variety in habitat you can target particular species set yourself a goal for the day to spot and photograph that species.
If your lucky you will get what you want, within reason  you will always find something of interest and in some cases rarities do turn up in the most unexpected places.

There is a flikr page dedicated to Stodmarsh NNR you can find it here :

Stodmarsh NNR Flikr Feed 

Its worth checking the page to see what has been spotted recently.

From the Stodmarsh end you have the most variable habitat there is wooded areas where you find Tree creepers, Woodpeckers, within minutes you can be in reed beds where you could see Bittern, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harrier.

The nearest hide would be the Reed Bed Hide it is disabled friendly and maybe 600m walk from the car park.
There are also toilet facilities in the car park.

Looking North across the open waters you might be lucky and get a Kingfisher land on the perch in front of the hide, there is normally plenty of other activity, just sit quite and wait for the magic to happen.

A walk through the wooded tracks can take you out along the Lampen Wall towards the Tower Hide, which is a good place to spot Bitterns, (although I have never seen one from there myself ).

Tower Hide as the name suggests has 2 flights of stairs to negotiate to gain access, looking west across one of the main lake areas and east across reed beds.

Or you can head off towards the Marsh Hide which is situated more or less in the middle of the reserve and is accessible from both  Stodmarsh and Grove car parks via a fairly long walk, on route if you keep your eyes open you can see Little Owl, Barn Owl, Bearded Tits, Reed Bunting, Hobby to name but a few.

It is a great place to go to lose a few hours out in the fresh air just too see what rocks up.

5DSR @ Stodmarsh NNR 22.10.19

Took the 5DSR out for a trip to Stodmarsh NNR, reports of Kingfishers showing well at the David Feast Hide so that was where I headed for.
Arrived early to early really as no sunlight gets onto the Kingfisher perch in front of the hide until about 10am this time of year as the perch is shaded by the trees and bushes on the south side of the hide.
But its always nice to sit quietly and sup on a nice hot cup of coffee whilst waiting for things to happen.
Which in due course it did this female Kingfisher came along sat on the perch dived and popped back up onto the perch with her catch, a nice juicy bug.

Canon 5DSR 1/100 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3 

A Little Grebe was also feeding in front of the hide

Canon 5DSR 1/800 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

The Kingfisher came and went I caught her looking at the hide for this second shot I was able to increase my aperture to f11 to improve the Depth Of Field over the previous shot

Canon 5DSR 1/80 F11 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

Then the highlight of the day for me came as I was walking back to the car from the hide I had heard some bearded Tits pinging when I was in the hide but they were too distant as I walked up the track I could hear pinging but it was a lot closer, so I slowed my pace and tried to locate exactly where they were.

They were off to my left which meant that the light would be behind me, spot on there was not much wind either another plus, then I saw movement in the reeds up ahead, I slowed even more making as little movement as possible, this is what I managed to capture there was a small flock maybe 10-15 birds.

Canon 5DSR 1/800 F5.6 iso 400 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

 Canon 5DSR 1/640 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

 

 Canon 5DSR 1/100 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

Cracking little birds beautiful colours a great end to the mornings trip.

All the above shots can be seen in greater detail on my flikr feed here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/

Canon 7dmk2 to Canon 5DSR Upgrade

I wanted a second back up camera incase my main camera was up the creek for any reason and plumped for a Canoon 7dmk2.
I got it mainly for the crop factor effect (1.6) giving me extra reach etc, but to be honest I never really hit it off with the 7d2.
Its one of those things, I loved the frame rate thought it would be a good camera to take on holiday, but try as I might I just didnt get on with it.

I have seen people using this body and they get beautiful pin sharp shots, but me nah maybe one keeper here and there so I stopped using it.
Then I saw an add for a Canon 5DSR and thought at that price its a no brainer, so I chopped the 7d2 in (whoever buys that will get a great camera) put a bit of cash too it and bought a 5DSR.

I know 2 guys who use this body and get incredible results from its massive 50Mp sensor.

My first trip out with it yielded a couple of reasonable shots:

 The detail on the shot of this Mute Swan is right on the money 

5DSR 1/800 f11 iso400 700mm -67ev

To see it in all its glory https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/48756632946/in/dateposted/

and zoom in its worth it to see all the droplets of water and the feather detail.

Next up is a Grey Heron coming in to land, nothing special but it was quite a distance away and the level of detail after a heavy crop is pretty good.

5DSR 1/1600 f11 iso640 700mm

Finally everyones favourite 

5DSR 1/125 f11 iso640 700mm

All the above shots can be found on my flikr feed here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/with/48756632946/

I am looking forward to getting out with this new camera in the near future to give it a work out.

Raptor Cliffs

I am fortunate to live in East Kent where we have amazing variations in habitat from marshlands to cliff's the only thing we don't have in abundance is woodland.

I went for a walk along my local beach which is bordered by chalk cliff, no more than a hundred metre's into my walk there up on the cliff on a branch of a tree hanging out over the cliff a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird on the planet.

 Canon 7D Mk2 1/2000 +1ev f5.6 iso 400 500mm 

The effective focal length being 800mm when the 7dmk2 crop factor is added into the equation.

Sat there quite unperturbed by my presence, it then decided to go off on a hunt and disappeared into the blue yonder.

Canon 7D Mk2 1/1250 +1.67ev f5.6 iso 400 500mm

In no time at all it returned clutching a Starling it landed up on a small ledge and proceeded to eat its unfortunate catch.

Canon 7D Mk2 1/640  f5.6 iso 400 500mm

After sitting there for a few minutes something spooked the Peregrine, it took of and landed a little further up the cliff in a more sheltered position and again settled down to eat.

Canon 7D Mk2 1/2500  f4.0 iso 400 500mm

If you look closely in the above you can see the feathers that have just been plucked from the kill.

Its sad that a Starling had to die in order for this Peregrine to live but that is nature, and I am sure the Starlings end was a quick one.

A couple of days later I went back the Peregrine was still about but I was on the hunt for a different bird of prey, on my walk along the base of the cliff's I happened to look up as you do and spotted this beauty perched on the top of a dead tree.

Canon 5D Mk4 1/400  f7.1 iso 100 700mm

A juvenile Cuckoo, I quickly fired off some shots, this was a first for me, I have seen Cuckoos before but this is the first one I have managed a half decent shot of. 

I continued my walk for maybe another kilometre and found what I was looking for !!

Canon 5D Mk4 1/1600  +.67ev f5.6 iso 400 700mm

 Kestrel patrolling along the cliff catching the up draft effortlessly winging its way along the cliff

 Canon 5D Mk4 1/1600  +.67ev f5.6 iso 250 700mm

 Canon 5D Mk4 1/1600  +.67ev f5.6 iso 250 700mm

Canon 5D Mk4 1/320  f7.1 iso 100 700mm

After hovering on the look out for a meal it came back empty handed and perched in a small bush on top of the cliff. 

Oare Marshes 26.2.19

Was a beautiful calm morning I arrived around 0700 just after sunrise, the tide had turned and was on the way out.
I had come to hopefully get some Bearded Tit pictures, as these are one of the many birds on my to get list.
I have seen them before but never managed to get what I term to be a good shot let the hunt begin.

I took my usual route from the car park up onto the seawall and headed off into the sun towards the hide, very quiet not a lot going on at all.

 

500mm 1/1600th @ f4.5 +1ev iso 400

Greylag Goose heading out to find some grazing.

I walked up along the creek wall towards the sluice gate absolutely nothing of note, I initially headed up the creek but saw nothing of interest except this beauty, not my normal subject but such a majestic beast.

500mm 1/320th @ f7 -1/3ev iso 100 

I then sat and had a coffee and then wandered back towards the road where I came across a couple of Blue Tits feeding on Bull rushes the light was spot on.

 

 500mm 1/250th @ f7.1 iso 100

 

500mm 1/320th @ f7.1 iso 100

 

 Not the tits I was after but a nice find, I reversed my route and started to head back towards the car park and spotted a Reed Bunting doing exactly what their name suggests feeding on the reeds.

500mm 1/200th @ f7.1 iso 100

 500mm 1/200th -1/3ev @ f7.1 iso 100

 

500mm 1/160th @ f8 iso 125

 

All in all a very quiet morning but a very pleasant morning to be out on a wander.

 

 

Sharper Shots

Not being an expert photographer I still manage to get a lot of shots that simply do not cut the mustard ie they are not as sharp as I want them to be.
Now I know photographing wild birds is somewhat of a black art so you need all the help you can get.
In my search for perfection I came across a video on youtube called "The Ultimate Aperture Priority Hack !!!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTTGI6ZEsZM 

The guy from Beyond Photography goes on to explain how to set your camera so that when in AV mode your shutter speed wont go below what you set it at, thinking this will be a big help I followed his instructions to set up a Canon camera to do this, it didn't work I couldn't figure out why, I tried it on 7dmk2 and 5dmk4 same result.

I then spoke to a pal of mine who said that the setting he was adjusting was only used for when you are using auto iso and that you need to set the minimum shutter speed in the custom settings tab in the menu.
So I tried that and hey ho spot on this setting works a treat, now if the camera cannot achieve the minimum shutter speed it just will not shoot at all which will mean an increase to the number of keepers with a bit of luck.

Two lessons learnt, not all on youtube is spot on and don't be afraid to ask even if it makes you look a bit of a numpty.

Snow Bunting Hunt

There are usually Snow Bunting present along the seashore between Birchington and Reculver, I had seen people posting pictures and decided I would go along one morning and see if I could see these pretty little visitors from the arctic.

I set out early so that I would be arriving before sunrise and on the long walk to the location of the last reported sighting approx 2.5 miles.

I had almost given up when out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement, trust me for such a colourful bird the blend in so well with their surroundings they are hard to spot if they do not move.
I froze and sat down and slowly inched closer it was a solitary female.

I couldn't quite get her to go out into the early sun completely.

Canon 5dmk4 700mm @ F7.1 1/400th ISO500

This was the best I could do partly in shadow, I spent a few minutes with her before she flew off down the beach, mission accomplished, five mile round trip for one picture.

Gimbal Head Update Number 2 !

I purchased the Nest NT530h mk2 back in 2017 (see previous blog entry). I was out early on the coldest day of the year and whilst the horizontal movement which I have already repacked was fine the vertical movement all but seized up due to the cold.

So I thought it was time to repack the vertical movement, this was only possible by drilling a small hole in the cover plate with the Nest logo on.

Then it was a hex head bolt and the locking knob then un screws off of the main shaft.

At the back there is a bearing race and washers this was all taken off and dunked in white spirit.

To remove the main shaft you just need to pull it and out it pops, I was surprised that this was not sitting on a bearing race, it simply relies on the machining being of a tight tolerance and a red friction washer.

Once again it was all cleaned off with white spirit, both the shaft and inside of the pivot, then dried and a good splodge of  high melting point lithium grease was applied to all surfaces and the bearing race.

Main shaft was put back in and rotated to ensure the grease was nice and evenly spread around, then the washer and bearing race followed by the knob.

Finally the hex bolt was refitted with a bit of semi permanent Loctite.

It now runs smooth as silk and should do so in all weathers, yes you do stand the chance of having you kit do a sudden nose dive if you are not careful but at least I will now be able to follow erratically moving targets a lot smoother than before.

New Lens Day Woo Hoo !!

The day has finally come my new Canon 500mm mk2 lens is due to be delivered today, I am meeting up with the previous owner to do the deal !

Upon inspection it is in near mint condition, complete with flight case and all the bits and bobs that go with it.
Like a buffoon I forgot to bring an Arca Swiss plate with me so all the shots I took with it are hand held, and I must say I am very impressed with the results.
We met up at Bossenden Woods coldest day of the year so far but hey ho!

These were all shot using Canon 5dmk4 and the Canon 500mm f4 L IS MK2

Coal Tit 1/250th @ f7.1 ISO 640

 Robin 1/125th @ f7.1 ISO 400

 Nuthatch 1/400th @ f7.1 ISO 640

 Nuthatch 1/320th @ f7.1 ISO 400

Blue Tit 1/320th @ f7.1 ISO 400

Nuthatch 1/320th @ f7.1 ISO 400

Nuthatch 1/500th @ f7.1 ISO 400

All the above shots had varying amounts of exposure compensation applied so as to retain the detail in the white bits on the birds.

I am over the moon with this purchase its an outstanding lens one that I thought was out of reach for me, I look forward to getting it on a tripod to see what it can do.

New Long Lens

OK so after lots and lots of looking and soul searching I came up with a shortlist, and it was a very shortlist.
Two possibilities:

Sigma 500mm F4 DG OS HSM Sport or Canon EF 500mm F4 L IS ii USM

Both very similar in weight and appearance, both come highly recommended, I have read tons of reviews about both lenses and they are so closely matched to each other there is hardly anything to choose between them.

Even on image quality its a close run thing with the Canon just edging out the Sigma according to the reviews.

Where there is a significant difference of course is in the all important cost, Canon currently selling for £8199 with a best ever price of £6139 and the Sigma currently on the market for £4690 and a best ever price of £4068.

I could not find a secondhand Sigma on the market, secondhand Canon's are currently around the £5500 mark obviously depending on condition.

I had therefore decided to plump for the Sigma as it comes with a 3year manufacturers warranty and being brand new I was thinking it would out last me as I am not getting any younger.

With the choice made I sat back and was watching prices daily, waiting for the Sigma to drop as at the time it was £4999 which is a little steep for me.

During this time I happened to mention to a fellow togger what I was doing when he informed me he would be getting a Canon 600 mk3 in the not too distant future and his 500 mk2 would be up for grabs as he would no longer need it.

I said that even secondhand it would probably be out of reach for me he then told me he would want £4000 for it !!

I said you are stitching yourself up you could easily get £5000, but he is happy with £4000.
So whats not to like I snatched his hand off and have agreed to purchase his Canon EF 500mm F4 L IS mk2 as soon as he gets his 600mm mkiii.

This is the best scenario for me being all Canon again as I only use Canon DPP for editing and all the Lens parameter's will be available.

Just have to wait for his new lens to arrive ! can't wait !

Restharrow Scrape

Restharrow Scrape is a good place for birding you never know what your going to find on the scrape itself, but also the surrounding area has some great habitat for a wide variety of species.

Early misty morning looking out across Restharrow Dunes

7dmk2 @1/2000th iso100 F5.6 100mm

Whilst talking to a couple of visiting birders I saw one glance up, I followed his gaze and got this lovely shot of a hunting Kestrel

5dmk4 @ 1/2000th iso1600 F6.3 400mm

 I also dialled in +1.33ev to account for the bright background.

A short walk up the Ancient Highway towards the Chequers Inn I got these shots of Stonechats

5dmk4 @ 1/3200th iso400 F5.6 400mm

5dmk4 @ 1/1250th iso400 F7.1 400mm

Turned out to be a bit of a Stonechat fest, I did see Goldfinches, Robins, Linnets Great Tits, Blue Tits but they were to distant for good pictures all in all an enjoyable few hours.