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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 25 12:34 pm Post subject:

wildlife is a different set of parameters depending on the subject, most are quite different to "normal" snapping parameters

the lens needs a big hole to harvest plenty of light

macro, general 35 to 105 and long lenses have different uses

lock off micro adjustment and video head tripod and freehold handle etc for a long lens are among the useful kit

remote wire button or better a wireless button

if you have a decent camera adding decent lenses etc helps a lot with getting a decent picture whatever the subject and conditions

patience, reaction snapping and cheating by "steering" the subject where you need it all have a role
sometimes all at once

a slightly odd observation, many snappers seem to work on the hide from the critter principle, quite often i have found not hiding and being obvious better(otters, birds mice etc)
sneaking and hiding is disturbing to humans and beasts, they will know you are there
settling in full sight, making yourself comfortable, cooking breakfast on a small fire and giving them a cheery greeting indicates a lack of malice towards them even with a pair of mutts and a less than sneaky human companion:wink:

humans are much easier to sneak than most beasts

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 25 8:46 am Post subject:
I am sure you are right Dpack. I don't have much experience of photographing animals. I certainly know that staying still, or moving slowly in plain sight disturbs them minimally. It is sudden movement that upsets them. We have had wood mice wander round our feet and husband almost had a pair of hares run into him when their mind was on other things.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 25 11:15 am Post subject:

blend in but do your stuff , you are just another critter doing critter stuff
try to sneak them makes them nervous

it gets better once you start to cooperate, dik is a good tutor

good sneaking can work for up close, but is best done with long lens, remote or detect "button" and no smelly(or otherwise detectable)human nearby

this applies to "hunting" in the same ways as it does to taking a snap

re "unplanned" the best camera is the one available in the required time frame, a cheap modern phone gets a better image in the conditions than top mid range hobby cameras from 20 yrs ago

there is crossover between this and ttdntas

if you must take snaps from indoors via a closed window, take a mo to get the poi on the subject rather than the glass(or the muck on the glass , window frame , curtain etc)
i know that seems obvious, it isn't to point and press cameras

ps clean the windows(and use optically better panes as replacements if needed) helps

antique glass is well wonky, no amount of focus through or post snap tweaking can eliminate it
from here the top pane (original 1897) makes the phone wires look like a worrying ECG, the lower sash pane that i put in using modern glass makes the wires look like drafted lines on a schematic

double glaze panels are difficult, 90 degrees on is the best bet, angled gets messy

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 25 12:41 pm Post subject:
hello wren

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Tue Feb 11, 25 8:55 am Post subject:

Husband tried to take a picture of a blackbird years ago, but it kept thwarting him by continuing to get closer and closer.

Going back to deer; son was in the New Forest last weekend and saw a white fallow stag. He and his wife were volunteering at Foxlease, the ex-Guide site which is now run by a trust. It hasn't been used for a bit, so the wildlife has been taking over. He was mainly trying to see what was under the rampant heap of brambles in one of their yards as they need fencing doing, and some of the bits of wood seemed to be fence posts.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 25 6:18 pm Post subject:

Had a close encounter yesterday with what I think was a peregrine falcon. I was at the bottom of the garden doing some work when I heard the sort of thump you get from something hitting plastic, and then a bird swooped very fast across the garden, turned and flew off. There were some smaller birds flocking and moving in a rather agitated way, and think they may have been pigeons and that the peregrine had got one, but dropped it next door where it hit a plastic sail thing they have in the garden.

Today we saw two hares as we were leaving the woods. One stayed still with ears erect and sitting up and the other was shooting across the track we were on.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 25 12:59 pm Post subject:
that does seem rather like peregrine/lunch behaviour

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 25 8:38 am Post subject:
Yes, know we have at least one in the area, but it moves around a bit and hadn't seen any signs of it for a while. Looks as if it has taken over the pylon near our house again.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 25 1:19 pm Post subject:
a circle of feathers with a beak nearby is partially diagnostic a few eat like that but grin bits look slightly different to others i have seen zig zag cruise and sweep at extreme speed is diagnostic for a dot in the sky stripy trousers a couple of meters away is definitive the local ones seem to visit with intent every few months and pass by more often

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 25 1:32 pm Post subject:

i have a pair of small brown jobbers, he sings, he dances, they both have insect eating beaks and speckled waistcoats

umm the singing and dancing is ace, a mirror adds to the fun

as far as i can tell he recons he can dance in two places(ballet school) and she likes a performance with presentation

the bluetits can get through or over the anti cat mesh, daws/pigeys fine and sparrows are all ok, maybe 10 in the very local "young pioneer" sparrow colony

there are a few wrens

grin has passed by and may have been on the bathroom windowsill a while back

the makeover has not destroyed most of the "old"wildlife, most of the useful weeds are doing fine

the sammisons are doing well, the improved mouse castle is rather nice,
they do more digging than the cornish or viet cong
they have plenty of food to store and a robust 3D house
hopefully the little sammisons will be plentiful and able to colonize many more mouse castles as the hoard spreads

apart from the frozen couple of weeks leopard slugs have been active, other invertebrates are available

assorted "food plants" not for me ones are starting to act as though is is almost spring

etc, perhaps the theme is did we have winter?

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Sat Mar 08, 25 9:11 am Post subject:

Wonder if your lbjs are young robins. They have speckled breasts to start with, but don't think they mate at that stage, and it sounds as if they are thinking of setting up home.

Glad the rest of the wildlife is doing well, and that the Sammisons like their new accomodation.

Had a couple of long tailed tits round the bedroom window yesterday. They usually just pass through in the garden, but pretty sure they nest in the woods. Had a couple of robins exploring possible nest sites in our 'yard' the other day too. Need to get weldmesh over the holes in the charcoal kiln doors as the bluetits like them for nesting and we had one out of commission for quite a while last year until the young fledged.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46404
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Mar 08, 25 11:31 am Post subject:
the lbjs are not young robins i might be a bit shabby at lbj id but dik is not, and he would not tolerate intruders

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8992
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sat Mar 08, 25 4:41 pm Post subject:
All the LBJ's here are getting territorial and Twitterpated I hope that someone nests in the des Res we put up in the between sheds lean-to...but they'll probably prefer an old watering can like last year

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 25 8:45 am Post subject:
Be interested to find out what they are Dpack. Lbjs can be rather hard to identify. Love the word twitterpated Gz. Robins and wrens do seem to pick odd places. Bluetits can be quite funny in their choices too. We have had them nest in the charcoal kiln, the log stand, the top of a post ram and a fore end loader. We had a wren nesting under the mudguard of one of the kilns one year too.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16147

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 25 8:20 am Post subject:
Not exactly wildlife, but the prunus are in flower here now and are making a lovely show. There is a tree down in the village that is covered in blossom. The cultivated ones that are pale pink with dark red leaves later are flowering, but these are white flowers which I think are either Mirabelle or cherry plum.

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