November 12, 2022
I’ve been interested in visiting Chincoteague, VA in the fall or winter since I got into birding. We made it there the second week of November. The weather was simply stunning, if not too warm because the bugs certainly enjoyed it. We made the most of a bright sunny morning and didn’t put away our cameras and binoculars until sundown. We covered a lot of ground, most of it on foot. And the birds cooperated. That’s always a plus.
So, we stopped at the Nature Center and went bird book shopping. They had several nice ones to choose. They are constantly changing the covers to sell more product and it seems like the photography gets better and better every year. I selected Birds of Eastern North America by Paul Sterry & Brian E. Small. We picked up an advanced birders book and there were FEWER pictures but more words. We immediately placed it back on the shelf.
I’ve had the Lumix FZ300 for a couple of years now and am generally satisfied with its performance. And I’m more than impressed with what it is designed to help the amateur photographer produce. It’s designed to be carried and then quickly utilized. I’m sure it would be great in an urban landscape, but where I know it excels is in the woods.
Key features include 12.1 MP 1/2.3″ MOS Sensor, 25-600mm (35mm Equivalent), Leica DC Vario-Elmarit f/2.8 Lens, 4K UHD Video Recording at 30 fps and a Venus Engine Image Processor that that enables the FZ300 to record up to 60 fps with an electronic shutter or 12 fps with a mechanical shutter. The camera excels in low light conditions with a top sensitivity of ISO 6400 along with 5-axis HYBRID O.I.S. + image stabilization to minimize camera shake.
When describing the camera, I think its best stated that the guts are the same as a cell phone but with a big, kick ass lens. And that super telephone lens with its fixed F2.8 constant aperture enables the camera to perform in low light conditions that equipment costing 10 times couldn’t match.
I was able to add nine different birds to my life list. They include:
White-throated Sparrow
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Harrier
Black-crowned Night-heron (immature) – I saw a breeding adult at Sanibel Island on June 3, 2012. The semi-interesting thing about this is I never actually saw it in Chincoteague. It was like one of those 3D pictures that drove Mr. Pitt mad with rage when he couldn’t see the image. A local birder pointed it out to our group. It was described to me where the bird was located, and I took a picture or two. It was when reviewing the pictures on the computer I saw it. I also saw an immature, Black-crowned Night-heron at Huntington Beach State Park, SC on August 11, 2006.
Pied-billed Grebe
Bufflehead
Red-throated Loon
Greater Yellowlegs
I will definitely return to Chincoteague. It would be interesting to explore the island a little later in the season.