My name is Phoebe Lanzone, I am 7 years old and this is my first blog post. I wanted to share with other kids my experiences with birds and nature and hope that you will enjoy what I post. I wrote something short about myself on my profile.
Digiscoping is a fun way to see birds in a new way. It is very exciting to take pictures and videos and then get to see them when I get home. Usually I notice more things in the photos and pictures when I get home than I noticed in the field. But it’s a really good way for me to learn my birds. Shorebirds are hard for me now, but I can identify some and I am getting better. I wanted to show some pictures and video I took and try to give others my age some advice for digiscoping.
My dad took a picture of me learning to digiscope. I found that it was hard to keep the birds in the field when trying to focus and press the shutter. I was practicing a lot though and got better! I was using a Leica Televid 82 scope and a Leica D-Lux5 camera.
Here is one of my first videos trying to digisope with my dad’s new scope and camera. It took some practice to learn to keep it in the field and in focus!
I am still learning to digiscope, but some things I have noticed is it seems more difficult to keep birds in the scope than when I am just looking through it normally. Trying to press the shutter and keep the birds in the field and also in focus all at the same time is very hard for me. But that’s ok, I am still learning! Here is one of a Pectroral Sandpiper
My advice for other kids is it’s a little hard at first, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier. On my last video of the Pectoral Sandpiper I figured out that I needed to move the scope much slower so it did not jump, once I did that I could keep the birds in the frame a little better. One thing to remember is try to keep the bird in the center, it’s easier to stay with it when it moves. While I was watching shorebirds, an immature Bald Eagle came flying over low, I tried to digiscope it but it was flying too fast for me. By the time I got the scope lined up it was already flying away. Someday I will get good enough to get a great digiscope movie of one flying over! Here are a few pictures I was able to take. In general it’s much easier to take pictures than it is video.
One of the better digiscoped pictures I was able to take tonight. This one is a Lesser Yellowlegs. Taken with a Leica Televid 82 and Leica D-Lux 5 camera
I loved looking at the Killdeer after I took these photos. Sometimes because they are so common I didn’t stop to look at how pretty they are with their rufous rumps and red eyes. Digiscoped with Leica Televid 82 and D-Lux 5 camera.
Sometimes when taking pictures of a group of birds its very difficult to make sure they are all in focus. Here I was trying for the Least Sandpiper and the Pectoral Sandpiper walked in the way. Oh well, I think it is a very cool picture anyway! Digiscoped with a Leica Televid 82 and D-Lux 5 camera.