Wren
Update to Coming Out
16/07/10 Filed in: Summer
As promised, the video of a baby wren falling out of its nest. I am also posting below a shorter clip of the wren coming back and hanging on a leaf. The baby wrens have no real tail yet.
Coming Out
12/07/10 Filed in: Summer
Baby on Bark: ISO 800, 90mm, f/19, 1/250
Gaining Strength: ISO 800, 90mm, f/8, 1/250
Peering Out: ISO 800, 90mm, f/8, 1/45
The backyard is very quiet now. The House Wrens have left the crabapple tree and our yard. I was very fortunate to have the day off when the babies left the nest. I am still processing the images and video!
The above shots were of two different babies. The first two photos are of the same bird. He/she was the first to literally fall out of the nest. The bottom picture is the second bird to fall out. I managed to video record the second baby falling out. I will upload here when I get a chance.
I ended up using my Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro lens to get these shots. My zoom lens could not focus at the short distance I was able to get to the nest. My 35mm was not filling the frame and I would have to crop a lot of the shots. I forgot how versatile the 90mm is for not only macro but for all other shooting situations.
I also had to increase the camera ISO to 800. This was uncharted territory for my newest camera (Canon 40D). One of the reasons I hunted it down on Ebay was because it was to have good image quality and low noise at 800 ISO or less. I am very happy with the results. You can detect noise in the darker areas of the photos but the detail is still pretty good in my opinion. I hope you agree.
Pushing my Luck
05/07/10 Filed in: Summer
Open Wide: ISO 400, 100mm, f/5.6, 1/30 (Same Settings for Both Pics)
Well the baby wren's are getting bigger. Parents are flying around looking for bugs to feed them every 5-10 minutes it seems.
The parents are very agitated when I peer into the apple tree to snap shots. I don't want to push my luck too much. I noticed my settings weren't the greatest on my camera. I didn't check them before I peered in. I should have set my aperture to around 8 or 11 but then I might have had to push up my ISO to get the faster shutter speed.
I bought a Kodak Playsport Video Recorder and have set it up to record the feedings. Video will follow shortly. From what I seen yesterday there is 3 baby birds in the house.
Update: Here is the Video Link. I adjust the camera at the beginning and the babies hear the rustle of the leaves and pop their beaks out real quick then Mom comes and makes her warning call. At the end of the clip she comes back and feeds the kids.
Just as I Feared
I have not seen the Wren and her newest addition to her family since late last week. It’s so sad when they leave the nest.
This is one of the final shots I have got of the mother Wren.
Look at Me
I wasn’t giving up with the Wren. I have spent the last couple of days trying to get more Wren shots as who knows how long the Baby Wren will call our backyard brush a safe harbour from the neighbourhood cats. I was trying to get photos of the baby last night and I was getting to close and she did fly a few feet into our crabapple tree.
This shot is of Mom trying to get my attention and at the same time looking for more bugs to feed Baby.
Feeding Time
The last few days we have had an agitated wren flying around the yard. I found out why this afternoon. She was creating a diversion so that we would not spot her baby.
This shot isn’t the greatest but I had to be quick to get the moment. I wish I had the tripod handy as the light was the best I was ever going to get.