eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Hi,

There comes a time in every person's life when fate isn't just unkind, but mocking to boot. Such was my luck yesterday... I set the NovaBird motion-activated camera out for a total of six hours. Now normally, the initial setup is a pretty simple process:

• Attach the camera to the tripod.
• Set up the rig about 15" away from the feeder.
• Make sure the camera has a blank SD RAM chip in it.
• Hook up the battery unit.
• Power up the NovaBird.
• Cross your fingers and wait.

However, yesterday was a difficult shoot in that the camera had to be mounted 7 or 8 feet in the air. (The picture below speaks volumes... The green box attached to the end of the board is the camera.)



Anyway, I got everything set up, occupied my time elsewise for 6 hours, and then started to break down the system. As it turned out, I got a few decent oriole shots including the one below showing the creature with a mouth full of jelly. (Yum!) But...



But... The instant I started to break down the NovaBird rig, a rubythroat swooped in on the oriole feeder and then the camera itself. What a perfect photographic opportunity not four feet away, and there wasn't a durned thing I could do about it! Grrr!!!

Well, I'll have you know that Mr. and Mrs. CapeCodAlan took umbrage! Today, the Nova went out at 5:30 AM, and stayed on patrol for the next 12 hours, dedicated to the hummingbird feeders. Our vindication follows...







See you by those stubborn feeders,

CapeCodAlan