{"id":255,"date":"2010-08-25T21:21:19","date_gmt":"2010-08-25T20:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/?p=255"},"modified":"2025-05-17T16:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T15:29:12","slug":"the-blackbirds-came-back-wildlife-videography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/?p=255","title":{"rendered":"The Blackbirds Came Back – Wildlife Videography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was pretty excited about the opportunity to do a little more “wildlife photography” in my back yard. The blackbird pair that I featured in the video “Learning to Fly”<\/a> came back for another brood. I saw one of them fly into the ivy that climbs one side of our house and grabbed a closer look using a ladder.  There I saw a clutch of 5 blue eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I hung a lavalier mic and a round webcam – with a $10 USB extension cord – from a nail in the eaves and waited.  Eventually a couple of the eggs hatched and the show began.  While blackbirds typically have multiple broods per season, August is quite late.  Then again it has been pretty warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only problem with my setup was that the power switch for the microphone was up high, so I needed a ladder to switch it on – which scared away the adult birds.  So I ended up doing most of the video captures without sound.  I did manage to get a pretty long piece when they were feeding – that was cool.  But in the end I managed to get a little every day, and capture how the little birds gradually start trying to get out of the nest.  Blackbirds typically spend a week or so on the ground before they can fly, and the adults (typically the male) continue to feed them until they can fly properly.  I got good shots of both adults feeding the young, as well as some nest-cleaning activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, what would I do differently?  Besides getting a better webcam, that is (some of the shots were blurry due to frame rate and auto-focus not reacting quickly enough).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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– Clear away enough leaves so that the camera gets a clear shot.  I fixed this partway through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Find a place for the camera so that you (a) get enough light but (b) don’t have a lot of backlight.  Had I chosen a better angle, there would have been better detail on the nest itself.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The trick with this kind of photo\/videography is patience.  I was lucky to have a place where the camera could be out of the elements, but hanging up there on a ladder screwing a hook into hard wood, you have to be willing to try the shot and then move the camera if it doesn’t work.  Oh well, there’s always next season.  The result?
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