Dale's Garden Hide. (been a busy boy)

Still need some bigger perches mate:D

Dale with regards to your convo with rich....................i've seen similar behaviour similar situation hawk coming to a village back garden sitting pretty much out in the open on garden fence.. It occurs at a friend's house,so I can't be much more specific,I don't see it as unusual behaviour but as always would stand corrrected. Rich when i ran that out door poultry place we had sparrow hawks wheeling over head regularly,I don't think they ever touched the chucks,we had banties as small as d'uccle and dutch out there,so tiny (they are feisty aren't they I think it's small man syndrome:D). We had probs with corvids( some of the horror stories with crow taking large young ducks are horrowing) and the hawks would nail collard doves,but never a chuck. Leastways to the best of my knowledge!!

the old keepers rearing under banties knew a thing or two Rich i'd lay a bet the pheassies reared the old way weren't half as clueless as the birds one sees reared today. Banty's make amazing mums as you well know i've watched mum banty tell pheasie and partridge kids "hawk over" it's some sight

Haha my mate also had a turtle dove visiting last year what a coo huh:oops: :$ . Sorry mate that was terrible......................it's been a hard week:banghead:.........true though I was so frustrated by that. But it's been nice to hear them again here,we haven't for a few years now

Dale all the luck,it's just being there at the right time mate,i'm having the same issue with woody,I sat down to write this and have a cuppa,the min me back is turned she's here.

seeya

stu
 
Interesting reading.

I saw her again today, I actually got some time in the hide. It amazes me, the way life is, that I struggle even to spend time in the hide, let alone get off to these far flung places. It was a fleeting glimpse, she flew through the garden and up and between the houses., she must've had her eye on something.


Anyway, it was horrible weather here, and this is a dizzy, for me, iso 3200 on the MKiv and still only managed 640/sec at f5.6. A male housey, looking very bedraggled, in the rain.


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Rich when i ran that out door poultry place we had sparrow hawks wheeling over head regularly,I don't think they ever touched the chucks,we had banties as small as d'uccle and dutch out there,so tiny (they are feisty aren't they I think it's small man syndrome:D). We had probs with corvids( some of the horror stories with crow taking large young ducks are horrowing) and the hawks would nail collard doves,but never a chuck. Leastways to the best of my knowledge!!
My Sparrowhawk story (which I fear I’ve posted here before, but can’t find it in search) is that I used to keep Black Rosecomb bantams (about the size of your Dutch, 450g) which lived wild in the garden. One day I heard a lot of screeching which I ignored because they do that. But it seemed to go on for a long time so I went to back door and found a Bantie hen on its back and aforementioned big female hawk trying to kill it. I ran forward but hawk took off with my hen. Over the the next couple of days I searched for the remains of my hen — the hawk usually only moved off a short distance when observed on live prey on other occasions — no success. Anyway, 3 days later the hen turned up in the early am at the back door asking for food and it turned out she was sitting on a clutch under a shed and had escaped the hawk :) — she only hatched one (cockerel) chick from the clutch so I guess she may have taken a couple of days to make her way back — as you say, amazing mums, though the cocks are also amazing dads :) .

the old keepers rearing under banties knew a thing or two Rich i'd lay a bet the pheassies reared the old way weren't half as clueless as the birds one sees reared today. Banty's make amazing mums as you well know i've watched mum banty tell pheasie and partridge kids "hawk over" it's some sight

stu
I’ve raised several lots of pheasants under the banties very successfully, mothers treating them like their own. BUT the cocks seem to know they are not banties :-( .

Edit: apologies for hijacking your thread Dale.
 
I'd apologise too but Dale won't have it :p ;) but I will just say lovely Rich ta muchly ,which I can't do with a likey button( I know rosecombs but not very well). lovely tale you are right won't dwell:)

Dale, love your bedraggled mate no loss of IQ from what I can see mate... high iso exploration time beckons:D best place to find out what that camera can do Dale !

I got unlucky today but we now have a good few bathing I saw it all today not a frame to show....,what you said about getting stuck in with a home set up is so true.. it isn't easy

all the luck with the spar kiddo

stu
 
What a great idea this is!


thank you.

A new addition this weekend, an old garden seat frame makes a great feeding and perch station. I have creeping soft fruit bushes either side that I aim to grow over the frame itself, eventually hiding the bars and string. Rough and ready but evolving.

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...and its first visitor, taking the mealworms from the nooks and crannies. Obviously had a busy summer.




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Jeepers now it's just sayin':eek:.............. some folks huh ..............talk about cake and eat it now there is bravado too:LOL::LOL::LOL::p

You do realise you'll have to change those big perches soon,now they've finally arrived:whistle: Ahh mate, one does all this work on a bit of wood ages finding sommit nice drillin ' holes and then the birdz show and "I need a new prop becomes" evident pretty damn quickly

beautiful bro the detail looks incredible Dale love the framing last frame

Dale I work in new build,so i'm a bit like that guy Edison ,ok without the intelligence;). what i'm saying is I know a hell of alot of ways how to build something that doesn't work. which brings me to the same question I asked elsewhere. Talk to us about reflection pool dimensions please buddy.

Dale for my part having used the same type of tray for my quick set pool it's utterly inadequate.in length,ie the direction the image maker is shooting. i'd also like to know if there are any thoughts on the depth of pool.

Take care bro lovely to see all this Dale. Things are starting to go silly here goldie numbers are spiraling must have doubled ( probably more) this last week loads of kids,I have a suspicion the parents are using us as a dumping ground buddy quick Q how far is the perch from you in the above image

stu
 
Jeepers now it's just sayin':eek:.............. some folks huh ..............talk about cake and eat it now there is bravado too:LOL::LOL::LOL::p

You do realise you'll have to change those big perches soon,now they've finally arrived:whistle: Ahh mate, one does all this work on a bit of wood ages finding sommit nice drillin ' holes and then the birdz show and "I need a new prop becomes" evident pretty damn quickly

beautiful bro the detail looks incredible Dale love the framing last frame

Dale I work in new build,so i'm a bit like that guy Edison ,ok without the intelligence;). what i'm saying is I know a hell of alot of ways how to build something that doesn't work. which brings me to the same question I asked elsewhere. Talk to us about reflection pool dimensions please buddy.

Dale for my part having used the same type of tray for my quick set pool it's utterly inadequate.in length,ie the direction the image maker is shooting. i'd also like to know if there are any thoughts on the depth of pool.

Take care bro lovely to see all this Dale. Things are starting to go silly here goldie numbers are spiraling must have doubled ( probably more) this last week loads of kids,I have a suspicion the parents are using us as a dumping ground buddy quick Q how far is the perch from you in the above image

stu

G'd evening.

Reflection pool dimensions, this I've pondered and Googled for some time. I don't think there's any set size, so to speak, each is different but I do think bigger is better. Mine is roughly, off the top of my head 40 inches by 40 inches (sorry for the imperial, that's how I work, old school and all that). It's a builder's mixing tray that I bought at Homebase I think it was. It works well at that size but there are a few restrictions. My main gripe with it is the length of reflection, or lack of space (water surface) for it. Anything much bigger than a starling wouldn't fit in my reflection the way it is. The nearest edge of the 'pool' is about 5 feet from the hide, so there is that dead man's land between it and the hide, which is obviously of no use. Also, I find the edge of the 'pool' nearest the hide gets in the way. This is what makes me think that a pool starting more or less right under the viewing hatch in the hide would solve that problem, so my thinking is to build a bespoke permanent pool at some point, which starts under the hatch, and stretches out to 8 or maybe even 10 feet from it at it's furthest point. This will remove the 'dead man's land' and also give a much larger reflection space. I've also noticed that the height of the pool can be problematic as it can introduce unwanted distractions into the reflection, in my case, a row of houses in the street beyond, if the pool is too low. I like low down POVS for this kind of thing but my current pool is about 4 inches below the bottom edge of the viewing hatch, to maximise the length of reflection without getting the houses reflected. Depth of pool? An inch or so should be plenty if your mindful of the colour of the liner. My tray is black, it seems to work well and the water is just over an inch deep, it's filled to the brim.

I'll get pics tomorrow.

The perch for my woody shot would be about 15 feet or so from the hide hatch. I'll measure that tomorrow too.

This side of things is very much trial and error at the moment, one day, I'll nail it. (y)
 
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Thanks mate ,be cool to see more pics. ......... why have a pool where you can't focus ?? I'm not sure either on this yet Dale the dead mans bit I hear ya but can't get past the first bit!! I know the pool wants to be at a height that is comfy to sit and view ie raised for this type of hide. I want my lens to sit along the water surface ...low pov and upwards

I also think you want it relatively deep your end and shallow at t'other get the action down the other end????

Ahh buddy, I just missedout this eve on the most stunning musket backlit unreal golden light and golden rain,one wrong move ahhhhh.so close if I'd have done my bit it would have been a real one for life!! He'll have found the goldie kids I guess

cheers
 
As promised, some pics.

It's suprising how much the bottom edge of the pool restricts the reflection, the perspective gives quite a shallow reflection, I think it's best just to eliminate it altogether, even if it will be OOF. It can be cropped or even used as part of the DOF, with the centre in focus, the bottom edge OOF and the background mushed.

The general layout, simple, rough and ready, but it's working. I do need more cover though. The rest of my garden is tidy, honest. :LOL:


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From inside, the view to the pool and my branch that is there at the moment. There is lots of living algae and moss on it, as well as some weeds that are growing. The bottom edge of the pool restricts the reflection quite badly.

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...and the view to the feeders and log. I have creeping, soft fruit plants that I am going to grow over the black frame.


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A juvie goldfinch this week. Strong light and shadows :(

TP.jpg
 
That new perch is paying dividends for the visitors and it "look" it provides you (y)
 
Underated birds in my opinion, they can look good with some light on them. I used my old 40D for this, with my 70-200 f4 and Sigma 1.4xTC. One thing that struck me after using the 5D in the hide this last week or so is the difference in DOF between FF and crop, even at the same F number. The background looks a lot mushier on FF.

Starling, 07/09/2018.

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Underated birds in my opinion, they can look good with some light on them. I used my old 40D for this, with my 70-200 f4 and Sigma 1.4xTC. One thing that struck me after using the 5D in the hide this last week or so is the difference in DOF between FF and crop, even at the same F number. The background looks a lot mushier on FF.

Starling, 07/09/2018.

View attachment 133992

As you say great light shows these feathered troopers beauty. Lovely image :)

PS interesting to read your insight/thoughts re sensor size & DoF with quality of the bokeh. (NB from someone who sometime back went from APS-C to FF to now m43 (NB I still have my 5D3 but only with the 24-105mm lens......sold my 100-400mm). Plus I used to have the 40D and IMO it had for an APS-C sized sensor superb bokeh.....in the class of FF!
 
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As you say great light shows these feathered troopers beauty. Lovely image :)

Plus I used to have the 40D and IMO it had for an APS-C sized sensor superb bokeh.....in the class of FF!

Cheers.

I'd forgotten how much I liked my 40D. The DOF does seem to be noticeably narrower on FF to crop, especially with close up work. I may be wrong though.

Thanks Paul.

One of today's visitors, and a new one. :whistle:


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I gave the 7D a go today, overexposing by up to one full stop at times, this one was 2/3rds, then pulled back in Lightroom. Certainly an improvement, to be fair. Still not as clean as I'd like but I am a bit OCD about it, again in fairness to the camera.

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A juvenile, this one is feisty, even taking starlings on, never mind the sparrows. It had been on the feeders all day and I think it had had its fill by now. That's a thought, I've been out there from 11am until 6-30 pm, where did that go?

View: https://youtu.be/yIRp6zQcVO0
 
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Really enjoying this thread it makes interesting reading, some excellent images too, I unfortunately live in a first floor flat and the last time I started to feed the birds in the communal garden the neighbours complained that the birds were crapping on their washing
so I had to stop, miserable gits.
 
Really enjoying this thread it makes interesting reading, some excellent images too, I unfortunately live in a first floor flat and the last time I started to feed the birds in the communal garden the neighbours complained that the birds were crapping on their washing
so I had to stop, miserable gits.
Think different. When I lived in a 7th floor flat I used to feed wasps on the window sill ... just saying
 
Stop it, I have the space. :LOL: That is pretty awesome.


@Stuart Philpott


I have the space too:whistle:. Dale I really think one needs length to the pool,i've had a look sometime at the Miller's wood pool I can't work out how much length we need mate,but if camera is close to water surface then that pool has to be long to get the reflection completely in frame. I've already learnt that the way round this is to shoot down,on subject,but that's not much help,because we need to be at eye level with our subjects not making images of the top of them. I've got plans buddy might site this on my allotment,there are a few species here that don't visit the garden yellow hammers, reed buntings BOP's etc that may well come to this in the summer. Oh mate all these goldies ARE attracting sparrow hawk. Sure I barely see him blummin graft but he was here again today

Dale love the work with the 7d !! Bro,I don't think we can see enough with these small jpeg sizes to be hyper critical ???????????,but I see little noise in your goldie;).........maybe the fine fie detail isn't there like your 5div pics bro,but I really am nit picking,mind that's what we do:D The biggest problem with these set ups mate is the constant need for props,ie new branches that is my particular failing,it's all so difficult when one is grafting all hours,,but it's something I def need to address

Why is it I simply can't see Rich ( @sphexx ) in a 7 story flat,but can utterly see him feeding wasps :) Rich I don't know you at all but one sort of gets an impression of someone on the web. Ha, you make me smile mate:cool:


Dale,these reflection pools.................................. how does one make them look natural?? I love the idea of it all and am playing a bit as you are but this sharp line of focus then the bkg completely out of focus makes for a very obvious RP( reflec pool) image.. For me mate although I haven't yet worked out the hows and why's this is something i'd like to be able to address. I think planting or even clever working of erm' stuff branches etc is sort of needed behind the plane of focus. I made some goldie on teasel images last year. If I get chance I'd really like to add teasels behind the one I want birdie to land on . In doing so I'm trying to create something that looks just that bit more like what I'd envisage in the wild, as it were. There is an art in all this Dale a real art to be explored. I have no wish to pull the wool over anyones eye's ,i'd declare how the images were made. I just want then to look right to my eye I suppose

seeya:D

stu ,
 
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Why is it I simply can't see Rich ( @sphexx ) in a 7 story flat,but can utterly see him feeding wasps :) Rich I don't know you at all but one sort of gets an impression of someone on the web. Ha, you make me smile mate:cool:
,
><snipped
(More OT, sorry Dale) The natural history of blocks of flats is very interesting Stu (@Stuart Philpott), see my old post here:
The hated Earwig!!! Ugh!
 
I have the space too:whistle:. Dale I really think one needs length to the pool,i've had a look sometime at the Miller's wood pool I can't work out how much length we need mate,but if camera is close to water surface then that pool has to be long to get the reflection completely in frame. I've already learnt that the way round this is to shoot down,on subject,but that's not much help,because we need to be at eye level with our subjects not making images of the top of them. I've got plans buddy might site this on my allotment,there are a few species here that don't visit the garden yellow hammers, reed buntings BOP's etc that may well come to this in the summer. Oh mate all these goldies ARE attracting sparrow hawk. Sure I barely see him blummin graft but he was here again today

Dale love the work with the 7d !! Bro,I don't think we can see enough with these small jpeg sizes to be hyper critical ???????????,but I see little noise in your goldie;).........maybe the fine fie detail isn't there like your 5div pics bro,but I really am nit picking,mind that's what we do:D The biggest problem with these set ups mate is the constant need for props,ie new branches that is my particular failing,it's all so difficult when one is grafting all hours,,but it's something I def need to address

Why is it I simply can't see Rich ( @sphexx ) in a 7 story flat,but can utterly see him feeding wasps :) Rich I don't know you at all but one sort of gets an impression of someone on the web. Ha, you make me smile mate:cool:


Dale,these reflection pools.................................. how does one make them look natural?? I love the idea of it all and am playing a bit as you are but this sharp line of focus then the bkg completely out of focus makes for a very obvious RP( reflec pool) image.. For me mate although I haven't yet worked out the hows and why's this is something i'd like to be able to address. I think planting or even clever working of erm' stuff branches etc is sort of needed behind the plane of focus. I made some goldie on teasel images last year. If I get chance I'd really like to add teasels behind the one I want birdie to land on . In doing so I'm trying to create something that looks just that bit more like what I'd envisage in the wild, as it were. There is an art in all this Dale a real art to be explored. I have no wish to pull the wool over anyones eye's ,i'd declare how the images were made. I just want then to look right to my eye I suppose

seeya:D

stu ,

Sounds great Stu.

RE the 7D, I am chuffed to bits at the moment:). I still think mine is one of the more sensitive copies but I would love to make it work. Maybe it needs that little bit more coaxing than other7Ds, I'm not sure, but we'll see. I'd love to make it work and not have to replace it, it would be a great hide camera, it's not over complicated, has 19 focus points, which is plenty in the hide and it's fast too. The only thing that (now only potentially) lets it down is the image quality. I'm trying my best to give it a chance and save myself some money, even an M50 costs £500.


I think the only way to make a pool look natural is to let it evolve and become a part of the environment....let it grow, so to speak. Initial set up is imposrtant and I would do as much as possible at that stage but after that, just let it go. I've not bothered too much with my pool for a while, I've been too excited with the GSW and goldies:banana:. The pool could become an Autumn/Winter project now.:whistle:

Rchard, no problem on the OT, I'm off to check that link out. (y)
 
Seen that one before somewhere. ;)


One day, all reflection pools will be built this way. (y)
 
Seen that one before somewhere. ;)


One day, all reflection pools will be built this way. (y)

With oh so slightly creaking grey cells it might have been me that posted it before...........................doh!!!
 
Or an alternative https://www.garyspicerbirdphotography.com/hide-reflection-pool/

Thinking about Stu's problem about the out of focus areas, would it be possible to grow some shrubs in pots and move them as required to create the desired background ?

Good read on that link with an innovative idea..........one thing that caught my attention was ref to initially paying for a one year access license. Surely needs more to really get "going"....but having said that he has clearly continued the project beyond that first year of 2015.
 
RE Stuart's problem, are we meaning the white band we often get with pool images, as in the image below?

PS, my image but not from my hide. ;):LOL:

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