Jersey Digiscoping and More

Nikon D850 captures

2018-04-06T06:40:00.001-04:00

Has it been a year already ??

On a quick note I just rented the Nikon D850 here are a few early Pine Warbler shots from various locations.

2017-06-14T13:24:00.006-04:00

Hello everyone been absent off the old Blogger for a while .
I have been doing alot of DSLR shooting with the Nikon D500 along with the Nikon D7200.
The choice of lens has been the Nikon 200-500mm 5.6 along with the Nikon 300mmf4pf in which
is a real sharp!
I Recently was out with both lenses getting in on some Warbler action both in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The variety was great ,,I cleaned up were I did not get some of these with the Scope.

Mourning Warblers were really sought after and my friend Gary showed me a great breeding area.

Canada Warblers were abundant at Colton Point .

Black Throated Blue were in the same area with Mountain laurel predominate.

BlackBurnian Warbler

Chestnut sided Warbler

Jerseydigiscoping and more

2017-02-11T16:24:00.004-05:00

We updated the blog ,,, I will be adding DSLR captures to the catolog,,
I recently purchased the Nikon wildlife kit which includes the the Nikon D500 with the Nikkor 200-500 5.6 lens.
This combo is very sharp with a close focus of 7.2 feet.
I will still be Digscoping when it is an appropriate time, but I like this Nikon Kit do to being more of mobile unit and during Warbler Migration at Garret Mountain when the subjects need a great auto focus .
Here are Some Northern Harrier captures I took with the Kit.

Swarovski TLS-APO 23mm images

2016-11-05T05:28:00.002-04:00

I have been using the Swarovski TLS-APO 23mm for a few months with the Olympus OMD-EM1 .
Here are a few images I compiled.

Panasonic DMC-G85

2016-11-05T04:49:00.002-04:00

I recently picked up the Panasonic Lumix G85 along with the Panasonic 12-32 f3.5 for auto focus ability's
Panasonic improvements with this model include no low pass filter along with a new electro Magnetic shutter system to improve shutter shock that is predominant on other Lumix models
Here are some samples.

This is the first Zoom lens that I used with a Lumix model ,compared to the Panasonic 20 mm F1.7 the depth of field is wider were it is easy for more of the subject to be in focus.

More information in detail with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g85-g80

Molting Time

2016-07-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Almost ready for finding some Shorebirds but I want to squeeze every bit out of the Neo-Tropic species I can get before the southward flight .
Every July the family and I travel to central Connecticut for a big Birthday Bash so in between the Food and setting up and breaking down I hit a local area Wolcott Park were there are a few species I can Digiscope.
What was noticed was the Molting has started in the few species I have observed in the extreme was this Warbling Vireo.

When I first seen this guy I was thinking Red Start? The facial feather ragged look was confusing.

Scarlet Tanager I think have a few weeks before that feature takes affect yet I can see some Olive Yellow creeping in the belly area.

Appalacian Trail Specialties

2016-07-03T09:21:00.001-04:00

After the Boreal Breeders slow done activity and before the major Shorebird influx takes hold,,the Walkill Grasslands produce some local favorites although the Farmer adjacent to the area destroyed some prime Grasshopper Sparrow territory ! I seen this coming within the past few years little by little .

Grasshopper Sparrow.

There was a nice number of Prairie Warblers in the area which tend to have an extended breeding season.

The First time I seen a Scarlet Tanager breeding in this area ,,normally I find them deep within in the woods so the lighting was prime for the capture.

Last minute Chestnut Sided and Prarie Warblers

2016-07-01T09:59:00.000-04:00

Last of the Breeders

2016-06-17T12:41:00.000-04:00

With the end of June near I am trying to cram as much Digiscoping in as I can .
July and August is limited to shorebirds but I end up taking July and part of August off to spend it with my family.
About the last week of June the breeding Warbler pretty much are silent tending to the young .

Hooded Warbler.

Blackburnian Warbler

Black Throated Green Warbler

Its a bitter sweet moment when the season comes to an end ,we anticipate the Spring migration all winter and it just goes too too fast.

Spring Summary

2016-05-30T14:49:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since I last posted,,sorry about that between revamping my set-up along with Neil and I going to the biggest week of American Birding which weather wise turned out to be a bust.

Recovery we decided to cut our week in Ohio short and take the 9 hour trek to kick it up Jersey Digiscoping style!

We started at Old Mine Road in Warren and Sussex county that host a decent amount of breeding Warblers.

Least Flycatchers were abundant around a really nice ravine habitat ..

Northern Parula"s really shined on that day ....

Worm eating Warblers always have a habit of being in sub lighting .
Actually I used the Olympus OMD-EM1 with the 300mm F4 lens a terrific combo for run and gunning shootin.

Blue Winged Warblers were a showstopper near the cuts

Chestnut Sided Warblers sure due benefit clear cuts as of history of this species , before any forest fragmenting it was a uncommon find.

A bonus for me when Digiscoping Chestnut Sided Warblers one must have encroached a Golden Winged Warblers territory Viola!!!

Other Species included ::

Black Billed Cuckoo.

Magnolia Warbler.

Black & White Warbler.

Indigo Bunting,,

Blackburnian Warbler .

Some Woodys

2016-04-28T20:22:00.001-04:00

When I arrived Saturday, at Garret Mountain ,,we did not have to travel far to enjoy the chorus of the harbinger of spring the Wood Thrush.

Soon others Thrush species will arrive such as Veery,Swainsons and the sought after Gray Cheeked /Bicknells..

Pine Warblers

2016-04-24T08:40:00.000-04:00

Had a decent day with some good light ,,,,a minor nuance though metering difficulty on some of the Yellows of Pine Warblers...

I was quite upset considering I had only about 3 keepers out of about 1000 shots ..

Blue Day Gray Day

2016-04-01T08:37:00.001-04:00

Our annual Easter Pilgrimage to Connecticut featured some Eastern Bluebirds on territory,,although I searching for some Pine Warblers ,,it was a a little early for there arrival due to unfavorable winds.

Sunlight was at a minimum so we had to deal with higher ISO along with low shutter speeds.

Eastern Bluebird Male.

March Warm up

2016-03-12T11:17:00.004-05:00

This Winter has not been stellar in the low temp range with an average of 5 to 20 agrees above average it certainly makes the winter blues seem a little more easing.

I finally got out with my scope starting Friday with some Merlin action.

Getting a Merlin was very exiting considering it was my first shot at Digiscoping one.

Robins came in numbers too with a few close ups available.

Fox Sparrow is a nemesis for me and they always seem to elude but I did get a decent one.

Olympus OMD-EM1

2016-01-23T09:31:00.000-05:00

I recently exchanged my Panasonic GH4 for for the Olympus OMD-EM1.

Since Video is not my forte it was a wise decision ,,
The Olympus OMD-EM1 has no low pass filter so out of Cam shots are pretty sharp image wise quality.
Although this camera is a bit dated released Aug 2013 it is not much behind the Gh4 released in early 2014.
Another part of my Camera arsenal is the Panasonic GX8 which cut down my parting pain with the GH4..

I did a test with some yard Birds with the Olympus with cloudy conditions and it did pretty good,although I still have to work on the settings which are totally different from the Panasonic models.

#Hackensack River Eagles,,

2016-01-16T06:29:00.001-05:00

Now that New Jerseys Bald Eagle population is doing very well ,,,we don't have to travel very far to capitalize on some sightings.
Johnson Park which sits on the banks of the tidal section of the Hackensack River is a reliable spot for an adult pair and occasional juveniles..
Being that these Eagles were about 70 to 100 feet distance they came out decent.

I manged to get some captures from my car tripod set-up with a few branch obstacles.

Happy New Year 2016

2016-01-02T10:20:00.001-05:00

I managed to get in some Digiscoping at the Barnegat Jetty before the true chill of January settles in ..

Although do to low lighting and brisk winds I managed to muscle it out with no Hangover from the festivity's.

Harlequin Ducks were the main Showcase although they were plenty of Dunlin,and Purple Sandpipers around.

Early Fall Wanderings

2015-09-15T14:43:00.001-04:00

September has been slow with persistent heat waves.
Finally some cold fronts arrived,,

House Wren .

I went to State Line HawkWatch ,Bald Eagles were plentiful.

Along with some Black Vultures .

Late June Roundup

2015-06-19T07:03:00.000-04:00

Activity seems to be slowing down with all the different species tending to there fledglings.
Pretty much late June through July brings on a lull time for Digiscoping with Heat and Humidity..
My options in August will lean towards the Marshes and the Coast for Shorebird migration so squeezing out every last drop of the highlands with the breeders will be my objective if weather and conditions permit thorough out June...

Grasshopper Sparrow.

Prairie Warbler .

Blackburnian Warbler

Black & White Warbler

Some Breeders

2015-05-30T15:20:00.000-04:00

I have the great convenience of living only 30 minutes from the southern breeding range of some neo-tropic warblers .
The last two weeks have been a blast with a number of breeders..
Black &White Warbler..

Hooded Warbler.

Indigo Bunting.

Blackburnian Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Jersey Digiscoping new location

2014-03-26T19:31:00.003-04:00

We have moved Jersey Digiscoping to a new location.

www.jerseydigiscoping.com

The finished product is still in the Beta mode,,but soon it will be complete

A Photo gallery will be added to the new website too.

I am really excited about the Image quality that will be offered no altering the resolution as was done with the previous ...

I will still have this Blog spot open for Affiliates which my viewers can capitalize on great savings!

Thanks"s to everybody for support and looking forward to your input and questions at the new location.

Kevin Bolton

Testing Different Cameras

2014-03-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

The wind was quite bad so I decided to hit the Local Audubon for some Song Sparrow action with the Panasonic GH3 /Nikon 1/V1

Slow Birding game plan change

2014-03-15T06:59:00.000-04:00

March should be a Real turn around month but ,considering the lingering cold weather and wind ,it is a real Challenge for Digiscoping.

With the lack of Passerines ,,I decided to get some flight Shots of Hawks and Harriers with the Swarovski STX-95/Panasonic GH3 combo.

The Red Tailed Haws were easier since Hovering provided some enough time for manual focus ,but the Harriers were a considerable challenge .

After my outing at the Meadowlands ,,I went to a local patch searching for Winter Wrens but only managed to pick off a Northern Cardinal .

PA-i5 adapter for iPhone

2014-03-12T08:53:00.003-04:00

The Phone Scoping revolution always interested me ,,but never seemed to motivate me to merge into that field until the present.
Swarovski optic designed the PA-i5adapter for the Iphone 5s ,, so you can create wonderful Phone Scoping images with the ATX/STX series Scopes along with the CL Companion Binoculars.

I will demonstrate with the PA-i5 adapter in the field on March 22nd for my Digiscoping the Meadowland s segment at Mill Creek Marsh just shoot me an Email if interested .

More information on this product.. http://www.eagleoptics.com/digital-camera-adapters/swarovski/swarovski-pa-i5-phone-adapter-kit-for-atx-stx

Digiscoping the Meadowlands an open Tutorial.

2014-02-13T10:11:00.001-05:00

Shake off those Wintertime Blues ,,,with an open Digiscoping Tutorial .

Date: March 22th 2014

Location: Mill Creek Marsh Secaucus N.J

Time: 8am till 11am

A limit of 5 guest sign up ,just bring a SD Memory card to record your images.

I will be doing hands on lesson with Point and Shoot camera along with some Iphone 5 Phonescoping.

Some of the species that will be covered Tree Swallows ,,,Greater Yellowlegs ,,among others that will be fairly stationary and easy to track.

Looking forward to a great time.

Contact: kevinbolton56@yahoo.com