Notable Recent Sightings

17/09 Grey Phalarope 1 juv, Red Ridge Centre, Cefn Coch, photo'd
29/05 Pink-footed Goose 1, over Welshpool, photo'd on 09/06
01/05 Red-throated Diver 1, Llyn Clywedog
07/02 Whooper Swan 44, Lake Vyrnwy
31/01 Whooper Swan 51, Haimwood, Llandrinio
17/11 Firecrest 2, Castle Caereinion
07/11 Barnacle Goose 1 among Canada Geese, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas
07/11 Hawfinch a few, Lake Vyrnwy, also Bramblings
01/11 Short-eared Owl 1, Cefn Coch Wind-farm
01/11 Great Grey Shrike Gregynog
28/10 Great Grey Shrike Lake Vyrnwy, also 1 on 30th at Eunant
25/09 Gannet 1 juv grounded near Caersws
07/09 Nightjar 1, photographed near Pontrobert
17/07 Quail RSPB Lake Vyrnwy, also heard 20/06 and 08/07
24/04 Long-eared Owl 2, RSPB Lake Vyrnwy
16/04 Purple Heron 1, Cors Dyfi
05/03 Firecrest 1, Lake Vyrnwy
05/03 Short-eared Owl 1, Lake Vyrnwy
14/01 Pink-footed Goose 1, Dolydd Hafren
03/01 Waxwing 20, Meifod; also 5 Welshpool by canal on 01/01. Last: 6 Bwlch-y-Garreg 17/03
   
See Sightings Archive for older records

Thursday, July 30, 2020

More House Martin

Couple more from yesterday - parents not coming in as frequently with a number of visits with no food, so looks like they're trying to entice the youngsters out. Won't be long so will be checking them hourly until they go

A few photo notes for those interested :-

1) Nests under the eaves are always positioned out of direct sun so unless using a flash (preferably not!) or a reflector you'll need to push the ISO - these images IS0 1600

2) Do not be tempted to stay to a low ISO, under-exposing and recovering in post-proc - noise lives in the darker/under-exposed areas and once you lighten those you'll see the golf ball grain.  Better to use a higher ISO and over-expose, dropping the highlights in post proc will kill any noise visible so you end up with a much cleaner image

3) Camera on tripod and in this case I used a radio remote to trigger the shutter - sitting at a distance out of view of the nest, watching the birds fly in, drinking a cup of tea!

4) I pre-focussed on the point I wanted then switched the lens to manual focus - that way when you trigger the shutter the focus point isn't going to move. In this instance I used a small group of focus points to give me central coverage

5) Be prepared to bin a lot of shots - the keeper rate is low, but when you get that shot in focus it makes it all worthwhile


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