Digiscoping Hummers in Flight! - 29 Aug 2009

Robin and I stopped by the Clark residence this afternoon to give Jo my pics from earlier this week. We had a few minutes, so I wanted to try to digiscope some of her many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. It was a bit breezy, but sunny, and the birds were active around her deck. We counted at least 8 birds in the first few minutes of being there.

My attempt was to use the Nikon SB-800 with Better Beamer attached to the Coolpix P6000 and try to capture one of the birds in flight, or at least perching on one of the feeders. But the flash wouldn't fire when attached to the Coolpix P6000. So I was forced to use Aperture-priority and ISO 200 and try to use ambient light.

I was able to grab several images of the birds as they fed at the ports of the hanging nectar feeder, and managed a couple of sharp images as they hovered just inches away. Shutter speeds were on the order of 1/400 to 1/800 sec. so I was successful in getting some sharp images from about 18 feet away (the approximate mininum focusing distance of the scope). Pre-focusing on the nearest port of the feeder seemed to work, an d I kept my finger on the shutter (half-depressed) waiting for the birds to come into feed.

Time was pressing, or I would've stayed and gotten the flash to work w/ the Coolpix P6000. Still, in the few minutes we were there we enjoyed watching the antics of theses birds as they chased each other, the bees, and whatever else got in their way!

3154 O'Hara Road, Carleton, MI, Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 29, 2009 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Yard
1 species

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  8

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S165992059

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