PDA

View Full Version : Winter bird feeder project


Anders Östberg
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 04:40
(Please feel free to skip this if you've seen it on another site already :o).

Just thought I'd share a little project building a bird feeder for the coming winter.
The feeder hangs high in a tree, about 15 feet from the wall of the house.
A little cableway with a pulley system lets me refill the food easily from my kitchen window.

http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/birdfeeder/JH5Q4426_setup.jpg

Still to do is to make a plexiglass window with a hole for the lens, and some kind of gasket to insulate a bit from cold draft, or possibly a replacement window with just one pane of glass. I don't know if there could be a problem with condensation from having the lens partly outside, partly inside once it gets really cold. (Any thoughts on this would be appreciated).)

Already the first few hours a good number of common birds found the feeder - Great Tit, Blue Tit and Wood Nuthatch. It's a bit early to start feeding the birds so I don't know what interest to expect from them, but it looks promising and I hope more species will show up later on. A Squirrel has also been sniffing around, I hope he stays away. :)

The weather has not quite cooperated yet so the shutter speed and aperture have been right on the limit of useable. You'd think it should be easy to get good pictures this close but the birds jump around like crazy and lots of shots don't come out good because of the slow shutter. Still, I like some of the the results so far and look forward to photographing more birds from the comfort of my kitchen window. :p

Here's a few initial shots:

Great Tit:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2429_Talgoxe800.jpg

Wood Nuthatch:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2405_N%F6tv%E4cka800.jpg

Another Great Tit:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2396_Talgoxe800.jpg

A Blue Tit:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2410_Bl%E5mes800.jpg

Just today two Eurasian Jays showed up too but they were too suspicious to stick around until I got the camera out the window.

mojo_uk
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 04:58
Great shots Anders. I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite image but for me the Nuthatch just wins.

What lens are you using for these photos?

Anders Östberg
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 05:04
Thanks Mark!

I would have liked the head of the Nuthatch to be slightly sharper but this is so far the best I've managed to get with this quick little bird. They hardly ever sit still unless on the feeder itself, and I don't really want that type of picture. Given the poor light (ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/80s) I'm pleased.

Lens used was a Canon 500/4 on a 20D.

Wayne Wood
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 05:32
all awesome shots very sharp

Bill Hicks
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 05:33
Nice cozy set-up to shot birds :D Really can't find anything to complain about here... I think these images are super! Thanks for posting.

Peace!

foxbat
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 06:47
I like the great tit and blue tit shots. They must have landed close to you for you to get such good shots.

busbyea
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 07:59
Sharp, Clean, Colourful............ = BEAUTIFUL !

jimtfoto
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 10:03
Superb shots of these little guys ... and a very sweet set-up!

cheers,
jim

Kevin
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 10:33
Super, super sharp captures. I like them all.

Dimitri_V
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 12:23
(Please feel free to skip this if you've seen it on another site already :o).

Just thought I'd share a little project building a bird feeder for the coming winter.
The feeder hangs high in a tree, about 15 feet from the wall of the house.
A little cableway with a pulley system lets me refill the food easily from my kitchen window.

http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/birdfeeder/JH5Q4426_setup.jpg

Still to do is to make a plexiglass window with a hole for the lens, and some kind of gasket to insulate a bit from cold draft, or possibly a replacement window with just one pane of glass. I don't know if there could be a problem with condensation from having the lens partly outside, partly inside once it gets really cold. (Any thoughts on this would be appreciated).)

Already the first few hours a good number of common birds found the feeder - Great Tit, Blue Tit and Wood Nuthatch. It's a bit early to start feeding the birds so I don't know what interest to expect from them, but it looks promising and I hope more species will show up later on. A Squirrel has also been sniffing around, I hope he stays away. :)

The weather has not quite cooperated yet so the shutter speed and aperture have been right on the limit of useable. You'd think it should be easy to get good pictures this close but the birds jump around like crazy and lots of shots don't come out good because of the slow shutter. Still, I like some of the the results so far and look forward to photographing more birds from the comfort of my kitchen window. :p

Here's a few initial shots:

Great Tit:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2429_Talgoxe800.jpg

Wood Nuthatch:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2405_N%F6tv%E4cka800.jpg

Another Great Tit:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2396_Talgoxe800.jpg

A Blue Tit:
http://www.andersostberg.com/fotogalleri/albums/Birdfeeder/IMG_2410_Bl%E5mes800.jpg

Just today two Eurasian Jays showed up too but they were too suspicious to stick around until I got the camera out the window.

Good shots Anders.

Mitcon
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 13:32
All wonderful shots Anders, good detail and very sharp indeed. I really love the (dare I say it lol)Tits:o

dancad
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 17:22
Wonderful shots, and great setup.

Gary Fairhead
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 17:34
Very nice detail and colors. Looking forward to more shots from this project.

LazyPhotographer
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 22:06
Fantastic images!

Nidz
9th of November 2005 (Wed), 22:11
Nice setup. I like seeing how people have rigged up setups and I like seeing how it was all done.

dancinec
5th of March 2006 (Sun), 08:27
Wow, I can only dream of this project and excellent job of captures. Well done.