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Book Review: North American Owls by Dr. James R. Duncan

Jul26

Re-posted with permission from the Bird Boy blog. Originally posted July 19, 2015. See the Bird Boy blog at this link. It is based in Canmore, so Calgary-area birders may want to subscribe to it.

North American Owls – A good book?

“Owls are fascinating to us because they are simultaneously foreign and familiar.” So states Dr. James R. Duncan on page 6 of his book The Complete Book of North American Owls. He goes on to explain the biology and unusual features of North American Owls. Further into the book, he has a complete profile of every known species of Owl in North America. The result is an all round excellent guide which is essential to any Owling expedition, whether diurnal or nocturnal.

IMG_6126

The introduction is informative, but manages to convey its large amount of information in an interesting way. Mainly on the biology and ‘special adaptations’ of owls, this document starts off with captivating sentences that show the relationships between owls and humans. On page 6, he states it well and plainly. “When owls and humans meet, it is sometimes hard to know which is more fascinated, startled, and sometimes even frightened.” Once he has the reader in his grasp, he progresses to the more scientific parts. He explains the intricate mysteries of owls and their amazing arsenal of survival skills. This entirety is built upon the excellent images that are not simply pictures of owls, but relevant and comprehension-aiding parts of the book.IMG_6136

 

This brings me to my next point: photography.
The photos are all clear, and have the proper photo credits. The more common species have multiple photos, at least one of both adult and immature, while the lesser known species may have only one or two. The photo choices and placement fits and does not get in the way, but helps with understanding the species. I did, however, notice one slight error: the front page photos from the Northern Pygmy Owl and the Mountain Pygmy Owl had been swapped! Apart from this, everything was exceptional for all the pictures.

Most owl species in the book have 1 to 4 pages of detailed descriptions and photos. On each owl’s front page, the Owl’s common and Latin names are top of the sheet, precise range maps and a general physical summarization lie beside the text. In the writing itself, the primary information is the song, range, food, and nesting. Behaviour and nesting habits are also mentioned. I found that the author tried to insert some interesting little pieces of info that may not help with identification, but are interesting nonetheless, including quotes such as this: “It [the Northern Hawk Owl] roosts within forested stands at night, and has been seen flying for such cover from open areas when Great-horned Owls emerge at dusk to start hunting.” (page 128).

The book is well organised, a 25cm tall, 19cm wide, 2cm thick volume, the font is easy to read and a reasonable size. It is not so much a field guide as a home guide, in my opinion, meaning that I would keep it at home and read it there rather than take it into the field (although if you’re going owling, take it when you can, it would be very useful).

To conclude, the pictures are good, the writing is very informative, and you can tell that the author has made an effort to keep it interesting. All in all, Dr. James R. Duncan has succeeded in making one of the best and most influential owl guides that I have ever read.

 

 

Review: Swarovski ATX-85 Angled Spotting Scope – Yes, it’s that good.

Aug19

Posted by Dan Arndt

Earlier this year I was asked by the amazing people at Swarovski if I would be interested in testing out some of their optics, and writing a review of my experiences. To put a fine point on it, I could not have been happier to say yes, and in retrospect, I’d have to say it was an opportunity of a lifetime. I’m going to go over my general points with some photo assistance, and hopefully convince some of you to take a second look at Swarovski Optik gear.

Swarovski Scope Setup

Swarovski ATX-85 + Swarovski TLS APO Digiscoping Adapter + Pentax K-30

As you can see in the above photo, this setup is entirely manual focus. To be honest, I was incredibly skeptical that I would be able to get clear, sharp photos of fast-moving birds. I had recently picked up a new tripod with a pan/tilt head, which I would recommend for any digiscoper to start with, and also a remove infrared shutter release, which works both in front of and behind my Pentax K-30, which was also indispensable.

The trick behind manually focusing while digiscoping… take a lot of shots, and practice, practice, practice. I’ve read blogs and forums focused on digiscoping, and the general rule of thumb seems to be 1 good photo for every 100 photos taken. Maybe it’s the prior experience I’ve had with digiscoping, or just the quality of the equipment, but I found I was able to use nearly 1/3 of all the images I took. It was a lot harder choosing which photos not to use rather than the ones that I would keep!

Northern Shoveler at Weed Lake

Northern Shoveler at Weed Lake – April 14, 2013
Swarovski ATX-85 + Pentax K-30 @30x magnification
1/800 sec., f/13, ISO 400

Black Tern at Eagle Lake May 18, 2013 Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@40X magnification

Black Tern at Eagle Lake – May 18, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@40X magnification
1/250sec., f/16, ISO 1600

Killdeer at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary - April 16, 2013 Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX85@30X magnification 1/250sec., f/10, ISO 1600

Killdeer at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary – April 16, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX85@30X magnification
1/250sec., f/13, ISO 1600

Mountain Bluebird at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary - April 16, 2013 Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@40X magnification 1/320 sec., f/16, ISO 1600

Mountain Bluebird at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary – April 16, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@40X magnification
1/320 sec., f/16, ISO 1600

 

Where the Swarovski ATX-85 Angled Spotting Scope and TLS APO Digiscoping adapter really excel though, is with birds that are a little more sedentary. While getting action shots is pretty easy when the light is excellent, the stability of shooting on a tripod with a remote shutter allows for much lower than usual shutter speeds, allowing lower ISO compensation, or allowing even greater magnification. With the zoom ring located mid-way down the eyepiece, rather than just below it, and the focal ring located on the body of the scope itself, it allows for very fine adjustments to focal length and zoom without the adapter getting in the way, and without jostling the tripod off the target bird.

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch at Bearspaw Dam - April 13, 2013 Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@60x magnfiication 1/320sec., f/22, ISO 3200

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch at Bearspaw Dam – April 13, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@60x magnfiication
1/320sec., f/22, ISO 3200

This Gray-crowned Rosy Finch was well inside an area marked with numerous No Trespassing, Private Property, and No Admittance signs, so I set up the scope, tripod, and camera rig midway up a hill about 150 meters away. The equivalent focal length of this scope at this magnification level is around 3000mm, once the 1.5x cropped sensor, 35mm equivalent adapter, and 60x magnification is factored in. To put this into some perspective, this bird is 140-160mm in length (about the size of a House Sparrow), and was taking up about 1/8 of the image in the display. To get an equivalent photo with my Pentax K-5 and Sigma 150-500, I would have had to be about 20 meters away from the bird, well within the clearly marked private property! The above photo was additionally cropped 50%. That speaks volumes to the sharpness of the glass and coatings that Swarovski uses in their spotting scopes.

Great Gray Owl on Grand Valley Road - April 20, 2013 Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@60x magnification 1/320sec., f/22, ISO 400

Great Gray Owl on Grand Valley Road – April 20, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@60x magnification
1/320sec., f/22, ISO 400

If that last image didn’t convince you, maybe this one will. Again, this photo was taken at over 100 meters distance, with blowing snow, wind gusts, and terrible visibility. Once again, Swarovski comes through in a pinch. While this may not be an award-winning photo, it goes to show just how incredible the equipment actually is.

Now, there are some of you out there who aren’t really all up on this digiscoping thing yet, and just want a nice, clear scope, with great optics that’s easy to use. As I mentioned before, the lenses and coating on this scope are the top of the line. Even on very warm days, the heat distortion above 40x magnification was somewhat dispersed by the optics, making identification of distant birds seem like nothing at all. I like the angled scope too because it can be tilted at any angle to allow others to view, without changing the position of the scope. You can simply release the tripod ring, rotate the scope in place, and lock it back in at the appropriate eye level for the new viewer.

It also doesn’t really change anything if you’ve already got some accessories that you usually use to scope with, be they car window mounts, bean bags, or your current scope tripod, this scope will work with just about anything under the sun. If you’re interested in this scope, or any of Swarovski Optiks other amazing optics, check out their website at http://ca.swarovskioptik.com/nature, for their birding equipment, or http://ca.swarovskioptik.com/hunting for their hunting gear.

 

The review, in a nutshell: 

Pros:

The scope itself is light, easy to clean, and best of all, totally waterproof.

It’s super easy to learn to use, and even with an entry-level tripod and camera can capture superb images.

The quality of the glass, coatings, and even transportability of the equipment is top-notch and very user friendly.

 

Cons:

The price point is obviously out of the range of many birders and photographers, simply because it’s the very top end of the line, but it’s worth every penny.

I did have a bit of trouble with the DRX Adapter sleeve not locking down properly, and coming loose off of the scope during transport. The reason this is an issue is that without a solid connection, vignetting of the images (black space where the eyepiece is blocking the adapter lens) becomes very apparent, especially at higher magnifications. It seems that a simple locking ring between the eyepiece itself and the adapter sleeve would be an easy fix.

DRX Adapter Sleeve

Swarovski DRX Adapter sleeve for TLS-APO Adapter

And last but not least, the only major con that I can readily point out is that using this scope on a nearly daily basis for 3 months has completely ruined me for using my current digiscoping rig, let alone simply using my current scope for its intended purpose of simply spotting birds! Are there any generous benefactors who’d like to gift me one of these amazing scopes? 😉

I’ve added a few more photos below of some of the better shots I was able to get while I had the scope, and if you want to see even more, here’s a link to the photo album I set up on Flickr to show off all the photos I took while I had the scope this spring!

Swarovski - Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal at Weed Lake – April 14, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@30X magnification
1/640sec., f/13, ISO 400

Swarovski - Red-necked Grebe portrait

Red-necked Grebe at Frank Lake – April 27, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@20X magnification
1/400sec., f/10, ISO 800

Swarovski - Red-necked Grebe detail

Red-necked Grebe at Frank Lake – April 27, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@20X magnification
1/160sec., f/10, ISO 800

Swarovski - Curlew

Long-billed Curlew at Glenmore Trail and Highway 24 Sloughs – May 18, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@50X magnification
1/250sec., f/20, ISO 1600

Swarovski - Franklin's Gull

Franklin’s Gull at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary – May 10, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@30X magnification
1/320sec., f/13, ISO 800

Swarovski - Common Loon

Common Loon at Carburn Park – April 28, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@40X magnification
1/160sec., f/16, ISO 800

Swarovski - Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup at Weed Lake – April 14, 2013
Pentax K-30 + Swarovski ATX-85@30X magnification
1/640sec., f/13, ISO 400

Thanks for reading, and good birding!