Ornithologist Tools

Note the dog.  Gilbert walks me twice a day.

I take along my Nikon Monarch M511. 8x42 5.5. Water proof binoculars and

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 with its Nikon 125W Optical Zoom ED VR

          4.3-539 mm 1:2.8-8.     4K

The two books are the Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds Western Region

And the Birds of Interior BC and the Rockies by Richard Cannings. 

In theory, I find the bird with the binoculars, then take the pictures with the coolpix p1000.  The birds like to moon me and flit by often beyond the speed of photographer or camera.  I try to identify the birds with the books or call my nephew Graeme. He also was the one who recommended the Nikon Coolpix and as he does astronomy photography he knows about camera telescopic lens. 

This is the best set up I’ve had in years. Since I was 12 ,I’ve taken bird pictures with a wide variety of cameras and equipment. 

I have had some really blessed shots which were published internationally.  Ross Gull, Snow geese lifting as examples. That was using a Canon with zoom or a Nikon with a 500 lens plus that required a tripod to stabilize it. The beauty of the Coolpix is that it’s light enough to and small enough to be hand held. 

This arrangement was for small birds and I’m just loving the telephoto on the Coolpix.  I have big  10x50 binoculars for hunting and boating but the 8x42 is truly the classic birdwatcher binoculars. These Nikon Monarch’s  was blessed to get with reward points.  The are bright and lightweight so perfect.  

Covid 19 and the Lockdown with 2 dog walks a day certainly served to restore my old love of bird photography.  My Scottish uncle was the Audubon photographer for seagulls and my brother Ron loved raptor photography, having his photos hanging in wildlife museums in Italy.

All together this is the best set up, with the dog as encouragement, to get me out and off the couch. We had a marvellous walk this morning and saw a hummingbird faster than the speed of binoculars or camera. What a rush!