Ovenbird Up Close, J. N. Ding Darling NWR, Canon SX 50 HS

Ovenbird on the ground, viewed from above, at the entrance ramp to J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Visitor's Center. This is such a cool view of that head pattern of the two dark stripes on either side of the orange crown. (Photographed with Canon SX 50 HS super-zoom point and shoot camera (cost $429), AV, 1/60, ISO 2000, f5.6, + 1/3, 100% digital zoom ratio.) This was a difficult photo situation and bigger, more expensive DSLR cameras like my Canon 1D Mark IV (cost me $5,000) would have produced better photos. Even for DLSR cameras, the low light, moving bird that was mostly obscured by twigs and brush, it would be a photo challenge. I only post these photos to show what is even possible with this little camera in a tough situation. If you want a camera that shoots in low light with better quality photos, get one of the more expensive DLSR cameras from Canon or other manufacturers. It you want a fun camera with an incredible zoom power (up to 1200mm, or 4800mm with digital zoom), weights a little more than a pound and costs a lot less, then you might be interested in the SX 50 HS.

This bird was walking on the ground under bushes and tangle in a shaded area, just the kind of place a wintering Ovenbird would like. Ovenbirds winter in Florida, the southern tip of TX, and farther south.

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Can you find the Ovenbird? It was very camouflaged against the leafy, bushy understory. The lower light level made photography a challenge. 

I was amazed I got any clear photos at all. The bird was constantly moving, there were branches in the way, and the very low light levels meant I had a slow shutter speed. I bumped up the ISO to 2000 to increase shutter speed, but even then I still had shutter speeds of 1/60 or 1/50. I kept shooting, waiting for the few seconds when the bird paused and was somewhat still. This camera has image stabilization, which helped. I am constantly surprised at the photos I get with this camera.

Heres the ramp that leads to the visitor's center building and bookstore. The ovenbird was on the right side, near the top of the ramp, so we were looking down on it from above. 

What a secretive and wonderful bird and so special to know it's making a living wintering in this national wildlife refuge. Many people walked by us, not knowing the ovenbird was below. Some stopped to ask what we were looking at. When we said "Ovenbird" some people knew what we meant and were thrilled to see it. For other people, when we had to explain "It's a warbler that walks on the ground," they responded "Can it fly?" We realize there's still so much education about birds to do, and we're happy to do it.

FYI, the AOU (American Ornithologist's Union) has changed the classification of warblers and this is included in our new field guides, The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region, which will be for sale on March 26th. For example, Ovenbird is the first bird in the warbler section, followed by Worm-eating Warbler and the two waterthrushes. The genus Dendroica is gone. The Genus Setophaga, which used to include only the American Redstart, now also includes Hooded Warbler, two species from the genus Parula, and everything that used to be in the genus Dendroica. So, if you want to be current, get our new guides which you can pre-order here.

J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Stokes Photo Tour

As a fundraiser for the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, on Sanibel, FL, Don and I led a birding and photography tour through the refuge yesterday. This was a special treat for all as the refuge is closed to the public on Fridays. Ding is one of the crown jewels of the National Wildlife Refuge system, has incredible opportunities for birding and photography and is a safe haven for the birds.

Participants were first treated to a yummy breakfast buffet in the beautiful refuge headquarters.

Then we headed out in to look for some of the fabulous birds Ding has to offer, such as this Reddish Egret.

Our trams were provided by Tarpon Bay Explorers, who offer their own excellent tours. My tram was for the photography participants. My challenge was to teach photography to participants who hand many different levels of skill and kinds of cameras, some of them DSLRs, some point-and-shoots. I was helping people learn about the tools of photography like exposure compensation, Aperture Priority, ISO, etc. I also took photos myself with my Canon SX 50 HS, which is the new point and shoot super-zoom that can reach 24-1200mm in the digital range and up to 4800mm in the optical range. All the photos here were taken with that camera. 

Photographing white birds in bright light is tricky as it is easy to overexpose the photo. Participants learned about using exposure compensation settings on their camera which can help avoid this.

There were opportunities for flight photography. This Magnificent Frigatebird, 3rd-4th yr., soared overhead at a distance. I zoomed in on it and used the SX 50's "Sports Mode" to capture these photos.

This is hardly cropped, that's how close the zoom got.

Don led the tram and taught bird identification. We made frequent stops to look for birds and photo ops.

A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was hunting for crabs and fish in one of the ditches. Even though birds in Ding Darling are very used to humans and allow close approach (unlike most birds in other places), we cautiously approached this bird. The American Birding Association has an excellent written code of ethics to help birders and photographers know how to treat birds.

Since the camera I was using has a powerful telephoto lens, I was able to get eyeball shots, while staying a distance. A big benefit of telephoto lenses is that you can keep a good distance and not disturb a bird, yet photograph it. The Canon SX 50 HS is also lightweight at 1.31 pounds.

This bird hunted slowly then exploded into action, catching this unlucky crab!

At the tower pond, many shorebirds were resting on the sand bar. Willets, a common shorebird with black and white patterns on their wings, kept flying in. I like this photo where it looks like angel's wings. Drama in the midst of dullness.

White Pelicans are some of the stars at Ding. Many of these beautiful, big birds winter there then return to their western breeding areas. This one was preening. Photo shot at 195x. For more on the SX 50 HS go here. Have fun with photography and continue to learn more and experiment with your cameras.

We are thinking of all of you in New England, our home, please stay safe in the blizzard!!