Nature Note #171: Digiscoping (A Beginner's Guide)
Before I go any further, I should clarify the title. When I say, "a beginner's guide", I'm not implying that I came upon some ancient knowledge in a dusty attic or buried chest somewhere. Instead, I'm writing this post from the point of view of a beginner who only just recently got a chance to try digiscoping. And from what I experienced this past weekend, it was marvelous.
For those not familiar with the activity, digiscoping is the combination of the words "digital" and "scope" and involves photographing or filming something through a scope or other high powered optical device that is farther away and allows for easier observation than a conventional camera could normally be able to take. This is especially useful for birders and other wildlife watchers as it gives them a chance to observe an animal from a distance and to avoid disturbing it in its natural habitat.
I started practicing this new wildlife observation trick this weekend at my girlfriend's parent's house. One of the wonderful things about sharing a love of the natural world with someone else close to you, is that it helps to know where that love developed from. Alison's mother and brother are accomplished gardeners and in recent years have had a thriving flower and vegetable garden. Amongst this diversity of plant life, there are several hummingbird feeders that are regularly visited by these jeweled nectarivores.
The setup I used involved planting my Vortex Viper HD scope about 20 feet away from one of their feeders and attaching a wonderful piece of tech called the "Novagrade". It is effectively a metal and plastic holder for your phone, that attaches itself to the eyepiece of your expensive optical device. Compressing rings grip onto the piece tightly and securely to prevent it from slipping off, while the holder allows the photographer to conduct observations hands free. It should be noted however that when photographing with the device, it is important to make sure that the camera lens is focusing through the hole of the holder. If it isn't and is instead blocked, this will defeat the purpose of taking photos or video with it.
Finally, it should be noted that because you're taking photos or video through a circular viewing port, you will have a fairly large border of black surrounding the image you are taking. This is a small price to pay however as having the opportunity to photograph a bird up close is always appreciated.
Given that I was stationed near a hummingbird feeder, I didn't have to wait long to see my subjects. Several females had been hanging around the feeders that afternoon and I snapped many photos as they peacefully drank their sugar water.
While this was my first time using a scope and the Novagrade adapter together, it certainly wasn't my first time digiscoping. Four years ago, I was working as a hunter surveyor near Norwalk, CT and was assigned with the important task of interviewing hunters about whether they were taking Long-tailed ducks and whether they would be supportive of a limit on the number of birds they could take per day. As I recall, most of them were against it, citing government interference with their right to blast a handsomely patterned waterfowl over open water. Even after explaining that the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) had recently listed them as vulnerable to becoming endangered, this made little difference to them with some waving it off as "busybody scientists" who had no idea about the abundance of long-tails out on the saltwater beyond.
When I wasn't arguing about the merits of conserving a declining species of duck, I spent most of my time staving off boredom woodcarving in my Rav4 or by birding the worn and crumbling path around Veteran's Memorial Park near the Maritime Aquarium. I started working the position only a few days after Hurricane Sandy had made landfall in New York and New Jersey. As I ambled along, the shore was littered with scattered debris from the storm surge; plastic irrigation tubes, a fridge, buckets of various sizes, and lots of broken plastic. There were also tangled metal sculptures that lined the shores, but I soon learned that these were intentional art installations. Still, I thought, they looked like something a storm would conjure up.
After having worked at camp that summer and now with this surveying position, I was used to a "starvation salary" of barely $125 a week and so my equipment wasn't terribly good. I had a crappy digital camera and old pair of Bushnell binoculars from my childhood and while the camera had served well for closeups, they were hopelessly awkward and terrible at far away shots.
It was only when I discovered that if you held the binos up at the right angle and focus, while trying not to drop either them or the camera, it would produce a fairly decent photograph. The best photo I ever took using this setup was later in the season when some long-tails actually showed up at the mouth of the Norwalk River.
A male swam a few hundred yards away downriver, surveying all within his field of view. With my camera pressed against the eyepiece of the binos, I snapped that reasonably good picture before the bird dove. It wouldn't be until years later that I took the plunge (metaphorically speaking) and got a scope with the Novagrade attachment and from there, my new journey is just beginning.
Come the fall, I will have the opportunity to scope for shorebirds and waterfowl at the many refuges and reservoirs that dot the central New York landscape. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get to spy something unexpected through those lenses and be the "it" guy for a rare bird.
One can always dream.
For those not familiar with the activity, digiscoping is the combination of the words "digital" and "scope" and involves photographing or filming something through a scope or other high powered optical device that is farther away and allows for easier observation than a conventional camera could normally be able to take. This is especially useful for birders and other wildlife watchers as it gives them a chance to observe an animal from a distance and to avoid disturbing it in its natural habitat.
I started practicing this new wildlife observation trick this weekend at my girlfriend's parent's house. One of the wonderful things about sharing a love of the natural world with someone else close to you, is that it helps to know where that love developed from. Alison's mother and brother are accomplished gardeners and in recent years have had a thriving flower and vegetable garden. Amongst this diversity of plant life, there are several hummingbird feeders that are regularly visited by these jeweled nectarivores.The setup I used involved planting my Vortex Viper HD scope about 20 feet away from one of their feeders and attaching a wonderful piece of tech called the "Novagrade". It is effectively a metal and plastic holder for your phone, that attaches itself to the eyepiece of your expensive optical device. Compressing rings grip onto the piece tightly and securely to prevent it from slipping off, while the holder allows the photographer to conduct observations hands free. It should be noted however that when photographing with the device, it is important to make sure that the camera lens is focusing through the hole of the holder. If it isn't and is instead blocked, this will defeat the purpose of taking photos or video with it.
 |
| Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) |
Given that I was stationed near a hummingbird feeder, I didn't have to wait long to see my subjects. Several females had been hanging around the feeders that afternoon and I snapped many photos as they peacefully drank their sugar water.
While this was my first time using a scope and the Novagrade adapter together, it certainly wasn't my first time digiscoping. Four years ago, I was working as a hunter surveyor near Norwalk, CT and was assigned with the important task of interviewing hunters about whether they were taking Long-tailed ducks and whether they would be supportive of a limit on the number of birds they could take per day. As I recall, most of them were against it, citing government interference with their right to blast a handsomely patterned waterfowl over open water. Even after explaining that the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) had recently listed them as vulnerable to becoming endangered, this made little difference to them with some waving it off as "busybody scientists" who had no idea about the abundance of long-tails out on the saltwater beyond.
When I wasn't arguing about the merits of conserving a declining species of duck, I spent most of my time staving off boredom woodcarving in my Rav4 or by birding the worn and crumbling path around Veteran's Memorial Park near the Maritime Aquarium. I started working the position only a few days after Hurricane Sandy had made landfall in New York and New Jersey. As I ambled along, the shore was littered with scattered debris from the storm surge; plastic irrigation tubes, a fridge, buckets of various sizes, and lots of broken plastic. There were also tangled metal sculptures that lined the shores, but I soon learned that these were intentional art installations. Still, I thought, they looked like something a storm would conjure up.
After having worked at camp that summer and now with this surveying position, I was used to a "starvation salary" of barely $125 a week and so my equipment wasn't terribly good. I had a crappy digital camera and old pair of Bushnell binoculars from my childhood and while the camera had served well for closeups, they were hopelessly awkward and terrible at far away shots.
It was only when I discovered that if you held the binos up at the right angle and focus, while trying not to drop either them or the camera, it would produce a fairly decent photograph. The best photo I ever took using this setup was later in the season when some long-tails actually showed up at the mouth of the Norwalk River.
 |
| Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) |
Come the fall, I will have the opportunity to scope for shorebirds and waterfowl at the many refuges and reservoirs that dot the central New York landscape. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get to spy something unexpected through those lenses and be the "it" guy for a rare bird.
One can always dream.
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