I am down in the western suburbs of Chicago giving talks on two successive nights to local birding organizations. I certainly never expected to see a lifer and capture a nice photograph during my visit, but such was the case while walking a footbridge across the Fox River this morning. Amazingly the weather was 70F and sunny. Back home the first winter storm of the season is raging. I had been complaining about the slow pace of the late migration. The storm at home should change that situation.
Regardless, this morning’s Ruddy Duck
And a Ring-Necked Duck from back in Duluth which I saw on Sunday.
Any attendees looking for the outline of my presentation along with all its links, browse here.
I am very wary of using a drone for bird photography. I agree that the drone would be considered a predator, which equals stress for the bird. In addition, drones do not have anywhere near the same optical zoom as a terra firma based camera. Thus, a drone would have to get much, much, much closer to achieve a decent photograph. When the day comes that a drone could stand off at a distance of 100 yards or more, I might change my opinion.
Probably animal photography sacrilegious, but I spoke with commercial photographer and avid droner Tom Connors (tom@tomconnors.com) about using drones to photograph birds. He actually said a drone approaching a bird is likely to be perceived as a predator at best. However, I believe he is open to exploring using a drone with telephoto to maneuver around difficult terrain to achieve desired composition.