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| Wren |
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| Mallard |
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| Moorhen |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Mallard |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Feral Pigeon |
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| Magpie |
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| Mallard |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Mallard |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Call Duck |
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| Dunnock |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Cormorant |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Cormorants & Herring Gulls |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Robin |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Blackbird |
Having had a
bit of a chance to play around with my new Nikon P900 bridge camera with is rather amazing 83x zoom the previous day in less than ideal conditions during a trip to Aberdeen with Doug Lucas, and also without having had even a cursory glance at the instructions for the camera, I was intrigued to find out what it could really do in better conditions. With blue skies and sunshine forecast for Easter Sunday I decided I would get up relatively early and head out with just the camera and a pair of binoculars for a wander around Dundee and test the camera out.
I set the camera to bird-watching mode and headed out into the early morning sunshine at around 0835. The streets were quiet but thankfully there seemed to be plenty of birds to see and photograph. The usual Herring Gulls were around. A Carrion Crow was up on a rooftop, and a Blue Tit rather surprisingly was flitting around on the wall of a tenement block. Feral Pigeons were on another roof nearby.
Heading for Clepington Road I managed to add Blackbird, Starling and House Sparrow to the list. Woodpigeon followed a minute or so later. Heading down Graham Street, a Greenfinch flew around in circles displaying above the road. House Sparrows were in their usual hedge and adjacent garden with one or two on the roof. Further down towards the Kingsway a Goldfinch flew over but there was no sign of Magpies, nor any gulls on the football pitches.
I crossed the Kingsway and into Caird Park and down through the golf course. Chaffinches, Dunnocks and Great and Blue Tits were feeding in the trees and below on the ground, flying back up as I got closer. A Song Thrush sang from trees beyond the Gelly Burn. A Blackbird picked around below the bushes. Heading down towards the ponds a few Woodpigeons sat up in the trees and a Carrion Crow pair overflew. A Wren sang from across the burn and I decided to take a few photos although it was against the light.
At the ponds there was no sign of the Kingfisher though the dog walkers already out and about possibly played a part in that. There were a few Mallard pairs and Moorhens still around though. I heard Bullfinches again here but failed to see them despite trying for a few minutes. I did succeed in seeing and photographing a Goldcrest halfway up a large conifer, though I forgot to dial in a bit of exposure compensation so the resultant photo was a bit blown-out in places. Still it showed the reach quite well.
A few Blue Tits were around in the rhododendrons nearby. I heard the call of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and fortunately saw it fly in and land at the very top of another conifer. It was a female and showed really well, providing another test for the camera which it passed easily. A bit more searching around the nearby area gave another Woodpigeon, a few more Blackbirds and through the trees beyond the graveyard, a Jay which didn't stay long enough for a photo. A pair of Mallards were in the trees by the graveyard, and probably the same pair flew in and landed among the overgrown area to the north of the graveyard a few minutes later.
By now I was starting to really feel the heat, having clearly put on a few too many layers for the sunshine and temperature. I decided that I may as well head for Swannie Ponds before heading back home to shed those extra layers. By the athletics stadium/golf course junction a Carrion Crow was collecting nest material by the side of the road, its beak full of moss and twigs. In the trees and hedge nearby was a pair of Blue Tits and a single Great Tit. I suspect the Blue tits had a nest site close by.
I headed uphill to the Kingsway stopping just before crossing the road to investigate the sound of Long Tailed Tits behind me. A pair of these wee birds fed in a small tree along with a Blue Tit. A few Woodpigeons were feeding on the football pitches. A Carrion Crow took the opportunity afforded by the traffic lights by the Forfar Road junction being at red to check out some roadkill, hopping back off the road again when the traffic started flowing again.
I wandered up Mains Loan hoping to see Magpies somewhere by Castle Terrace. However, I was surprised to see a pair in the trees in the old Keiller's site watching a cat prowling around below them. A Carrion Crow and a flock of Feral Pigeons shared the metal framework of an old roof. I remembered to dial in a bit of exposure compensation and it seemed to improve the results on the subsequent photos.
The heat seemed to be increasing even more so it was a bit of a struggle to force myself to take the 5 minute detour to Swannie Ponds to add a few extra species to the day list, knowing that there wouldn't be a huge amount to add. A few Jackdaws were attacking a Carrion Crow which seemed to be taking an interest in one of the chimneys on a house at the crossroads. Possibly their nest site?
As expected the ponds were rather quiet with the Black Headed Gulls having now moved on to their breeding sites, leaving mostly younger Herring Gulls and the incoming Lesser Black Backed Gulls which arrive for the summer. There also appeared to be fewer Mallards and Tufted Ducks. There was only one of the Mute Swans visible on the water, but no sign of any Moorhens. A Robin sang from a garden wall across the road. The Call Duck was once again getting a hard time from one of the other drake Mallards but had taken up a rather close position by the side of a female.
I heard the calling of geese so hurried to a position where I could see past the trees and saw a rather large skein of Pink Footed Geese heading in the general direction of the ponds. This gave me the chance to test the P900 on birds in flight. It performed reasonably well, though it seemed to have quite a long 'write time' to the card which could be a problem when something rarer than the geese was around and more photos were wanted in a short period of time. Video might be a better choice in that scenario.
I headed for home around 1020 picking up a few more Carrion Crows, Herring Gulls, Woodpigeons and Starlings on the way. At home I changed into a hoodie and t-shirt and headed back out intending to pop down to City Quay to see how the camera handled the whites of Dave the Diver in strong sunshine and to perhaps try out the video mode. Woodpigeons, Blackbirds, Herring Gulls and Carrion Crows were seen on the way down to Victoria Road. I noticed a big cruise liner in at the docks so took a general photo of the boat, then pulled back to the 24mm equivalent end of the zoom, then zoomed all the way in to the 2000mm end, being able to read the numbers on the side of the ship's lifeboats and some lettering on the aerials and antennae on the superstructure.
A Dunnock was singing from a small tree off to my left so I took a couple of photos as well as of a female House Sparrow below. On my way down to City Quay I took a few photos of a Lufthansa Airbus A380 overflying, which was also reasonable quality despite the obvious distance. A Woodpigeon in a tree across the dual carriageway opposite the Olympia was also a relatively tricky shot that the camera handled quite well. I zoomed in on a very distant Feral Pigeon also and could see enough detail to confirm the species without any trouble. Who needs a scope when you have one of these?
Into City Quay where I was pleasantly surprised to find Dave the Diver in the first area of the quay near the North Carr lightship. I headed round the quay to get the sun behind me for taking photos of the bird. With some exposure compensation the shots were well exposed even on the automatic settings used in bird-watching mode. Pretty impressive. A Cormorant which popped up nearby gave the challenge of getting some detail in the all dark plumage. Again the camera performed well.
I thought I would check out the outer quay after spending a while photographing the Red Throated Diver in a variety of poses at a variety of distances and even managed a few videos. The built-in image stabilisation performs really well too with both photos and video being possible at quite low speeds hand-held. I tried a photo of the war memorial on Dundee Law and despite the distance of around 1.3 miles (and a spot of heat haze) I found I could read most of the lettering on the side in at least one of the photos taken, although it wasn't crystal clear.
I took a few photos of the Herring Gulls and Cormorants by the dry dock then wandered along to check out the outer quay. A pair of Linnets overflew and a Pied Wagtail put in a fleeting appearance but the quay itself was devoid of birds. I headed round to the river for a closer look at the cruise liner "Magellan" which was being prepared for a tour of the Norwegian fjords.
I walked along the path in front of the flats to check out 'submarine rock'. Herring Gulls, Cormorants and a small flotilla of five Eiders were seen, with the Eiders hauling out onto the seaweed covered rocks. A Carrion Crow perched on a lamp post allowed me a series of photos as I walked past. A pair of Oystercatchers flew low over the river and into the quay area from the direction of the rocks but I hadn't seen them when I had scanned, so they may have flown right across the river.
A Black Headed Gull in summer plumage was a nice surprise as I headed up onto the Tay roadbridge to walk out a bit to get a better angle on the 'Magellan'. I took a few photos of the birds on the rocks from the bridge but there was a lot of heat distortion though the birds were identifiable despite this. I walked around halfway across and was passed by a couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies crossing the river using the safety net of the bridge if they found it tough going.
I headed back to get a few more photos of Dave in City Quay, and a few more video clips. He seemed rather agitated about something, rolling onto his back when bathing and thrashing around with his feet in the air, something I hadn't seen him do before. He also seemed to pull at his damaged wing with a bit more purpose as he preened. Hopefully whatever was causing his apparent discomfort doesn't amount to anything serious and he will continue his moult into breeding plumage. Already the thin pinstripes down the back of his neck are showing quite well.
A group Of Herring Gulls dropped in to the same area of the quay to bathe and laze around, with only one seeming to give Dave any attention whereupon Dave dived underwater and swam off a short distance away from the gulls. I photographed a distant Carrion Crow atop the flagpole on the DPL building. The battery level was looking low so I decided to head for home before it died completely. Rather than go straight home I decided to try the Howff for a few more bird photos in the sunshine, using the camera until the battery life actually did run out.
Heading up towards the bus station I photographed a pair of Lesser Black Backed Gulls on a shop roof though the angle wasn't great. There were more Herring Gulls on the shed roofs where the buses are stored. I wandered through the City Centre up Reform Street and round to the Howff graveyard. It was rather quiet with only a few birds actively singing or calling. A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly gave me the chance to try and photograph a butterfly using the zoom. This proved rather tricky, though I have since found the camera seems to perform better for close-ups at the lower end of the zoom. I'll know better next time.
A Robin, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon and Blackbirds gave me opportunities for a few photos among the old gravestones. Within a few minutes though the battery gave up the ghost. Having taken in the region of around 350 photos and a handful of videos this wasn't too bad (I usually take a lot less photos when I'm out than the 300+, so battery life isn't likely to be an issue too often - though I have ordered a second battery just in case, though Amazon deciding that Dundee isn't on the UK mainland meant that Wex got my order after two failed attempts via Amazon even though their customer service agent assured me the problem was sorted after the first attempt. Anyway I digress....).
I headed for home, contemplating heading out to Broughty Ferry with the DSLR to catch the Magellan sailing out at around 4 o'clock, but having been out since 8:30 in the sun I decided that checking out the day's results was much more interesting.
Although as much of a general hands-on test of the P900 and its capabilities as anything else I had managed to see a reasonable 36 species, though none were particularly unusual or new for my year-list.
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Throated Diver, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Overall the camera exceeded expectations overall with the clarity of the photos coupled withe the range of the zoom, versatility and the image stabilisation being major plusses. The photos themselves can handle a small amount of cropping/zooming in but lose details fairly quickly, as expected with a bridge camera. However with the 2000mm equivalent reach cropping shouldn't be necessary too often. The 'write time' was the one frustration, though I should probably try a faster card. As I don't generally 'machine gun' photos it should rarely be an issue. I was able to upload the majority of photos taken, without any processing whatsoever, to facebook.
Although the quality is less than that of a D-SLR photo cropped in to give a similar size subject it is certainly good enough for uploading the results online. It isn't perfect but it is incredibly versatile and would probably make a great holiday camera covering all bases in a light package - it feels quite light compared to a small D-SLR with kit lens and is comfortable to hold and use. The weight feels similar to a pair of binoculars when hung around the neck, so doesn't place too much strain when wandering around in the sun for hours. Despite the few limitations (expected given the inherent compromises that a bridge camera has) I'd probably rate the camera at least a 7.5/10, possibly even an 8. It will certainly see plenty of use, despite me also wielding a D-SLR when I'm out birding, and indeed has already been pressed into service, performing remarkably well in low light, even managing to shoot video of a Water Rail half an hour after sunset.
If you can afford one, and don't want the 'hassle'/weight/expense of a D-SLR set-up, but would like to record what you see when out watching wildlife then a Nikon P900 is far from the worst option you could choose.
