Applegater Fall 2017 11
BY PETER J. THIEMANN
Birding and digiscoping
BIRD EXPLORER
Peter J. Thiemann
During late summer and early fall, birds
are not very visible and an abundance of
young birds makes for tough identification.
But come autumn, birds are again on the
move preparing for the season ahead.
For better bird identification, many
birders use spotting scopes, which allow
intimate views often at great distances.
However, under the tension of a field
s i g h t i n g , o f t e n o f s h o r t d u r a t i o n ,
misidentification is very common.
Here is one solution: Record your
field sighting to be later identified on a
computer screen using a spotting scope
adapter that works with a smartphone
camera. Not only can you record your
bird sighting, but you can also share with
friends. Also, if you're on a field trip and
there is a great sighting, you can share that
view with others.
Believe me, it is much better to look
at a smartphone screen than through
the spotting scope eyepiece. Birders have
knocked the bird completely out of view
by trying to peer through the eyepiece of
my spotting scope!
I did some phone scoping recently
to capture wild wolves in Yellowstone
National Park, and I can report that it works
well under even extreme conditions—like
minus 20 degrees F and snow. Fellow wolf
watchers were really appreciative when they
were able to look at my iPhone screen.
For fast-action
w i l d l i f e s h o t s ,
use the camera
"burst" mode to capture the perfect frame,
and also make videos with spotting scopes
and smartphone adapters. Then, using
inexpensive apps, a single frame can be
captured for that perfect shot.
Happy birding phone scoping.
Peter J. iemann
peterjthiemann@yahoo.com
Using a spotting scope adapter on a smart phone, Peter Thiemann captured shots of owls and a golden eagle delivering a ground squirrel to its nest (bottom right photo).
Photos courtesy of Peter J. Thiemann flickr photo stream.
