Digiscoping in the sunshine
A clear blue sky, warm sunshine, great birds at close range, and Paul Hackett. What more could you ask for to make your digiscoping workshop a great success?! Today was the first of our two digi-scoping workshops at Pensychnant Nature Conservation Centre. To start with, Paul took the participants through the theory basics before everyone set up their equipment on the lawn in front of the house to put theory into practice. Nuthatch led the cast of birds obligingly coming to the feeders in the garden providing the target for digi-scoping, while in the woodland just beyond the house, Pied Flycatcher showed very well. Common Redstart also put in an appearance and a Tree Pipit flew over, as well as a pair of Chough and even a Cormorant, seeming rather out of place in this inland spot.
Cambrian Photography held an optics demo here with Leica, and a good number of people came along to enjoy the demo, the migrants and the setting – with tea and cake as an added bonus. Meanwhile, the digi-scoping participants honed their skills, becoming increasingly confident as their images improved from good to outstanding – Paul is a master teacher and at the end of a successful and enjoyable day, the group elected Pete’s image of a Peacock Butterfly as the winning image of the day, though Mike’s Pied Flycatcher came a very close second. The prize was a signed copy of Alan’s book on The Best Birdwatching Sites in North Wales, so hopefully we’ll be seeing more of Pete perfecting his digi-scoping skills around here.
We’re back again tomorrow for our second workshop and we’re sure it’ll be just as much fun as today. Pensyschnant Nature Conservation Centre is open to all, so why not come along to enjoy some of this spring’s migrants in this idyllic, beautiful setting. We look forward to seeing you there!