Friday, April 12, 2013

Dancers In The Dark

White-faced Ibis flying over at Sweetwater, Tucson
There is no denying the specific bird calls that happen while out in the field.  As a photographer, I try to get the best shots that I can with the species seen for the day.  A relatively new issue for me happened when I went to a location to find Elf Owls and Whip-Poor-Wills.  The shadows of night are mysterious and wondrous but provide little in the way of photography.  I would love to snap shots of these nocturnal birds, but I won't.  I'm afraid the flash on my camera will do harm. 
Arizona Woodpecker at Box Canyon
On a recent outing in Madera Canyon, I searched for the Whiskered Screech Owl.  While waiting for this bird to appear from the nest, I heard the unmistakable sound of the Elf Owl.  Two other night birders were with me.  My eyesight isn't so good but my ears are spot on to the sound and it helped me locate the bird from within several feet of its location.  For the next step, my new birder friends helped me locate,with my terrible eyes, the tiniest owl in the world!  It looked like a knot on the Sycamore tree along the creek.  I had my camera.  I had the flash ready to go and my human OCD nature really wanted to snap that shot.  But I couldn't.  I wouldn't.  I watched the bird with my new friends and we were extremely happy.  Then the little nub flew off the branch into oblivion.
Cedar Waxwings in Box Canyon
Sometimes birders will talk.  I am guilty of this as well, but I try to limit the chat so that I can use my ears to hone in on the bird.  On this night while sitting in the breezy grassy field, the unmistakable sound of the Mexican Whip-poor-will echoed through the canyon.  Another excellent bird.  I studied the calls before doing my nocturnal birding.  Common Poorwills, Nighthawks, etc etc.....
Sandhill Cranes near Willcox
And yet sadly, I can only write about the experiences instead of sharing pics with you.  So I chose the theme of silhouettes for this post to visually show you what I see at these times of twilight.  On a recent outing, Kathie and I stayed out near Sweetwater past sunset.  It was there that the Great Horned Owl "hoo hoo'd" on top of a tree.  The tip swayed with the bird as the wind moved it from side to side. The owl appeared too heavy to stay aloft the Aleppo Pine's tip.....and yet there it remained.  The other owl silently flew near us.  A Lesser Nighthawk also shot out in front of my car.  I have really enjoyed these night time birding adventures.  When I'm with other people, I feel comfortable.  When I'm alone, I get a little creeped out. 
Snow Geese in Bosque Del Apache, New Mexico
My biggest challenge is to find a way to get better pics of these birds without compromising their well-being.  I don't use flash in bat caves and I won't use flash at night.  So then how will I get pics of these elusive night birds??  Any advice?:)
Our adventures are going to be taking us to some really extreme places.  My other half, Pat, is a little skeptical.  It's definitely not the forests of the north nor the lush Sonoran desert but it's new territory for Las Aventuras.  Stay tuned for more fun.....
Lesser Nighthawk

18 comments:

  1. The silouette shots are just beautiful as are the sunsets. I think you might want to find these night birds in a protected environment where a flash may not be harmful and leave the ones in the wild as shadows.

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  2. great sunset shots w the flocks flying!

    i'm guilty of using flash w/ my barred owls. they don't seem to be stunned by it, but who knows...

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  3. Great shots today Chris. The sunset is beautiful!

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  4. You'll have to capture those night images in your mind. Have fun.

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  5. I understand where you are coming from, to flash or not to flash. So far, I'm with you...but I AM tempted. ;)

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  6. W dzień rób zdjęcia ptakom, a w nocy śpij i nie myśl o ptakach :). Przedostatnie zdjęcie jest cudowne. Pozdrawiam.
    The birds take pictures day and at night sleep and do not think about birds :). The penultimate photo is wonderful. Yours.

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  7. I can understand your angst, being so conscious of the environment and the welfare of wild life. You'll have to sacrifice and be comfortable with your conscience or sneak in a shot for the sake of art and knowledge ;) - a devil's advocate!

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  8. A lovely post Chris. Great birds, and your sunsets are stunning!

    As someone that is interested in owls, I did a bit of research on the issue of using flash. It seems that the sight of owls is not harmed by flash. However, there is a very brief period (a second or so) after the flash for which the owl's sight is temporarily impaired, and you should not 'flash' an owl if a predator is around. On the very few occasions that I have used flash with an owl, there has been no visible reaction from the owl at all. I can't comment on the use of flash with other birds as I've not done the research, and I've not tried it either!

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  9. Some lovely silhouettes here Chris, I especially like the one of the Woodpecker and Snow Geese.

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  10. Chris, lovely silhouette shots. And the sunset shot is stunning. I have turned my ISO up to 3200 for a setting that is dark, sometimes it works. I do not use flash on birds in the dark. Love the nighthawk, awesome bird. Happy birding!

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  11. Chris, I don't use flash on night birds either because it just doesn't feel right to me, I would hate to harm a bird or put them in danger of a predator. So I am no help at all.

    But the magic of the night birds and sounds is enough for me.

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  12. very cool!
    especially 5th one...))

    Have a great week!

    xoxo, Juliana | PJ’ Happies :) | PJ’ Ecoproject

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  13. Sounds like you need an infared camera. I took a BBC team out for night filming a few times when I lived in Zambia and the footage they got of leopards with infared was spectacular and all without disturbing the animals. I wonder if there is an affordable commercial equivalent?

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  14. You are really nailing this bird photography...maybe that's your vocation someday? I need to try more of that - I'll never forget the way bats one night went right over the road driving just a few blocks from my house.

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  15. The silhouette and scenic photographs are really quite beautiful, Chris! While there were no photographs of the Elf Owls or Mexican Whip-poor-wills, your lovely descriptions set the scene. I too can't find it in me to use a flash at night. Quite the dilemma ...

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  16. These are beautiful! I thought this post was going to be about bats at first. I agree with David that your photography is really fabulous! :o)

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  17. Wonderful photos and narrative Chris!

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  18. A delightful and interesting post! I got so far behind with you! Between my break and then being so upset all last week over current events, I haven't been on here much. I wish I could give you some advice on night shooting, but alas, the night photography we used to do (we were private investigators in those years...don't ask! :-) ) was with standard film cameras. I even took a night photo class back then, though my hubby was more of the photographer than I was. I know there are myriad adjustments that can be made to get those shots...with film! The digital world is a mystery to me! I loved your silhouette shots and the sunsets.

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