Binocular for spotting owls (1 Viewer)

[PYRTLE]

wildbill85, you are correct in all aspects........particularly in playing back calls within or close to a breeding / nest site to solicit a response that in doing so it disturbs or alerts the bird in some way. And many photograhers will defend the use of flash, even at very close range. But many have an interest in these species and wish to observe without causing them too much bother. Even with that captivating image of yours, the bird is aware of you're prescence though appears at ease.

 

[wildbill85]

wildbill85, you are correct in all aspects........particularly in playing back calls within or close to a breeding / nest site to solicit a response that in doing so it disturbs or alerts the bird in some way. And many photograhers will defend the use of flash, even at very close range. But many have an interest in these species and wish to observe without causing them too much bother. Even with that captivating image of yours, the bird is aware of you're prescence though appears at ease.

It does appear to be looking at me, but I actually set my camera up and operated it remotely from inside my place. There's a large field in front of the camera that it was scanning for prey.

 

[Binastro]

Wildbill post #19.

Excellent photo.

Regards,
B.

 

[Binastro]

I think I recall that owls can see magnitude 11 stars compared to mag 6.5 or 7 for us.

An improvement of about 40 times.

But I am not sure if this is correct.

Regards,
B.

 

[PYRTLE]

It does appear to be looking at me, but I actually set my camera up and operated it remotely from inside my place. There's a large field in front of the camera that it was scanning for prey.

That is mighty cool if I may say so.

 

[Maljunulo]

I think I recall that owls can see magnitude 11 stars compared to mag 6.5 or 7 for us.

An improvement of about 40 times.

But I am not sure if this is correct.

Regards,
B.

I tried searching “Can owls see the 11th magnitude?” “Owl limiting magnitude” and “Owls and faint stars.“

No luck.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I think people justify using a light or baiting owls by convincing themselves that it doesn't cause much distress or harm. They get filters to block out certain light to make it feel a little more appropriate. They are good folks, with good intentions, but unaware of the consequences that these disturbances can cause. I photograph them professionally and have learned first hand what impact these methods have. I've watched a family of owls leave a territory they occupied for a year because of flash lights and fake calls. Bottom line, if you find yourself in the woods at night flashing animals that depend on the cover of night to survive and feed their families, then you probably forgot why you're out there in nature in the first place. Remember you are passionate about birds and wildlife and nature and care deeply for it. If they're being disturbed in any way shape or form it's just not worth your time and definitely not the birds. I look at it like this, if I wanted to see owls not acting naturally and in a disturbed state, I'd just go to the zoo.

Here's a recent shot at the equivalent of about 50x magnification. It was during a new moon and pitch black outside.

When you say a 'family', you mean adults and young? Many birds will disperse periodically, naturally, especially post breeding, you cannot, neccessarily blame this solely on flashlight use and a year is hardly a long time. Most 'birders' (probably none) 'will not trail an owl around all night so disturbance will be at a minimum however, disturbance near a known nest is to be avoided.

People tend to forget that outside of top, predators, very few animals have the luxury of relaxation and most will survive in a permanent state of hyper vigilance. Unless birds are being constantly harangued, the occasional, brief interuption is very, unlikely to cause the abandonment of a territory and during the course of an entire night, it's very unlikely to have an impact on the ability or inclination to feed........IMHO.

 

[jgraider]

Here's one I took through an Athlon Ares 15-45x spotting scope at approximately 700 yards. I found them through my 8x42 SLC's

 

[wildbill85]

When you say a 'family', you mean adults and young? Many birds will disperse periodically, naturally, especially post breeding, you cannot, neccessarily blame this solely on flashlight use and a year is hardly a long time. Most 'birders' (probably none) 'will not trail an owl around all night so disturbance will be at a minimum however, disturbance near a known nest is to be avoided.

People tend to forget that outside of top, predators, very few animals have the luxury of relaxation and most will survive in a permanent state of hyper vigilance. Unless birds are being constantly harangued, the occasional, brief interuption is very, unlikely to cause the abandonment of a territory and during the course of an entire night, it's very unlikely to have an impact on the ability or inclination to feed........IMHO.

A male and female is a recent example. I was the first to find them and had their patterns memorized for months, including perches and roosting locations and potential nesting sites. Word got out there was a Great Horned owl pair in the reserve and then I witnessed someone using a call to lure them in for a picture. They initially just moved deeper into the forest away from the trail for about 3 weeks. People continued deceiving them so it was too risky for them to stay. Of course the owl's didn't know it was a fake call - they left to avoid conflict with fake great horned owls that were "intruding" in their established territory. People stalking them with flash lights and disrupting their natural behaviors obviously contributed as well. And that's the big issue, all these little things add up to life altering decisions for them. One person see someone use a flash light and now the next person decides to go out and try that tactic too. If I can't view and photograph a bird in its natural state, then I might as well be at the zoo.

 

[Andy Adcock]

A male and female is a recent example. I was the first to find them and had their patterns memorized for months, including perches and roosting locations and potential nesting sites. Word got out there was a Great Horned owl pair in the reserve and then I witnessed someone using a call to lure them in for a picture. They initially just moved deeper into the forest away from the trail for about 3 weeks. People continued deceiving them so it was too risky for them to stay. Of course the owl's didn't know it was a fake call - they left to avoid conflict with fake great horned owls that were "intruding" in their established territory. People stalking them with flash lights and disrupting their natural behaviors obviously contributed as well. And that's the big issue, all these little things add up to life altering decisions for them. One person see someone use a flash light and now the next person decides to go out and try that tactic too. If I can't view and photograph a bird in its natural state, then I might as well be at the zoo.

How did you achieve this without sustained observations?

 

[Binastro]

Wildbill,

Does the autofocus light on the camera disturb the owls?
Or do you use manual focus?
Maybe the A1 uses infra red?

Is the shutter on silent?

What is the shutter speed?

The Minolta Z6 uses an infra red focus light or perhaps sound?
I can't remember about the A7S.

Even people in the street notice my Canon compact autofocus light in broad daylight.

Regards,
B.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

I used the Swarovski EL 8x32 with flash light for years with clients. Sometimes with spotting scope.

Barn Owl, Mantanani Scops Owl (digiscoped with smartphone), Buffy Fish Owl, Brown Boobook, Barred Eagle Owl and Brown Wood Owl taken in Sabah

 

[wildbill85]

Binastro,
I used manual focus. There's no light at all. It's a silent shutter and was set at 2.5 seconds and 3200 ISO then adjust more in post processing.

 

[Trinovid]

One place where owls can be seen fairly regularly without having to light them up is Alaska. No real nighttime in the interior during summer leaves them pretty visible during the longish dusk hours, and their calls are audible pretty much all the time.

 

[GrampaTom]

I used the Swarovski EL 8x32 with flash light for years with clients. Sometimes with spotting scope.

Barn Owl, Mantanani Scops Owl (digiscoped with smartphone), Buffy Fish Owl, Brown Boobook, Barred Eagle Owl and Brown Wood Owl taken in Sabah

Gorgeous birds. Gorgeous pictures. Wow!

Were all of these digiscoped?

Thank you

 

[tenex]

Night vision (thermal) seems like the way to go.

What kind of detail can you see, or is it just a question of detecting that a bird is there?

I've had lovely views of local Screech and Great Horned Owls around dusk with SLC 10x56, good enough to see that one had caught a field mouse. Full moonlight (or nearly so) would be enough. I tried a little flashlight just once when I didn't have a bin, and neither the owl nor I enjoyed it. If you want a better view, spot them in daylight.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Gorgeous birds. Gorgeous pictures. Wow!

Were all of these digiscoped?

Thank you

Thanks GrampaTom. Only the Mantanani Scops Owl was digiscoped. The rest were taken with 300mm 2.8 lens

 

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What kind of detail can you see, or is it just a question of detecting that a bird is there?

I've had lovely views of local Screech and Great Horned Owls around dusk with SLC 10x56, good enough to see that one had caught a field mouse. Full moonlight (or nearly so) would be enough. I tried a little flashlight just once when I didn't have a bin, and neither the owl nor I enjoyed it. If you want a better view, spot them in daylight.

I tried one, and really you could just barely detect that a bird was there. I never found them that useful for birding because a bird can hide behind branches and the feathers on a bird insulate their body heat, so they are more difficult to see.

Also, even trees will hold heat, so they can even hide the thermal signature of the bird. I had a $3100 FLIR Scout II 640 also, so it was a pretty good thermal monocular.

I think they are best for hog hunting because a hog is out in the field, and they can't hide, and they are a lot bigger than most birds.

Welcome to Infrared Birding

A number of years ago, I wondered whether infrared technology could be useful for birding, e.g., for finding roosting owls. To my dismay,...

infrared-birding.blogspot.com

Scout II Thermal Monocular | Teledyne FLIR

Offering clear thermal imaging in a compact monocular, Scout II quickly detects humans, animals, and objects in low visibility environments—day or night. Generating images based on heat, rather than visible light, thermal imaging gives users increased situational awareness in complete darkness...

www.flir.com

From the thermal image you can see that, yes, the Eastern Screech Owl known to roost in that tree was present that day.

 

[edwincjones]

For me a fujinon 25x150 worked, but the owl has to come to me.

edj

 

[Maljunulo]

And not get too close.