Bird Feeder Project

As part of observing birds in the backyard, it goes without saying that apart from the nest box a bird feeder woud be a perfect complement. This was actually inspired by the mass produced bird feeders now commonly seen during the season.

The feeder features a seed silo which despenses seeds as they are consumed. The seeds are topped up as the need arises.

The feeder featuring a small perch, autofeeding seed silo, and removable sloping roof.

As opposed to the nestbox which features integrated webcam, this feeder would require an external box for webcam or camera for video streaming or image recording.

Bird Nest Box Project

This has been in the plans for quite a while ... observing birds at their nests, in their home studying brooding, feeding and other related behavior. Both our homes in Miri were blessed with plenty of plants and bushes which were rife with life. We just never quite got to it.

Our prototype nest box with sloping roof, hinged front door and allocation for a webcam.

Later modifications (16/11/13) which included an circular entry targetting tits and nuthatches, a small perch by the entrance and hinged door connected to the top cover. A webcam would be placed on the top cover eventually.

There are plenty of nextbox plans on the internet. We want to go a step further by linking the nest to a webcam to afford us a view inside the nestboc from the comforts of our home, from the computer or laptop.

With our prototype bird house ready, we'll have to start souring for a durable webcam and associated cables to bring reality bird life tv into our living room. It'll be exciting, it'll keep us busy for the winter in time for the spring nesting season.

Link to Video Streaming by Ashank Singh, it will be our definitive guide.

Fall colors in Veen from a cabin by Vinjevatnet

We spent a week in a small wooden cabin by the lake Vinjevatnet, in the middle of fall colors. A week cooped up together in the warmth of the cabin, rowing across the lakes and enjoying nippy autumn coolness.

How TC2.0 III breathes new life to an under utilised lens and saved me some dough

On impulse I decided to quickly go over Stavanger Foto after work today to put to rest the thirst for new gear. Last week while browsing the shop window I saw an M6 Black, a Canon TC 2.0 II. Both I concluded were items I needed : the M6 Black has been on my want list since 2001 while the TC is something I needed when I finally purchase the 200/2.0.

Saturdays are normally the days Stavanger Foto is always choke full of people AND the only day I can browse about town. I left the shop last week with just the prices of the two items  : M6=NOK7000, TC=NOK2500.

After some internet surfing in between last Saturday and this fateful day I also learnt these prices:

• EF200/2.0=NOK52000, 
• EF300/2.8=NOK59,000 and 
• EF500/4.0=NOK83,000. 

There is a used TC2.0 II in Oslo going for NOK2000 I bet from someone upgrading to a III version, as well as a one year old EF300/2.8 going for NOK30,000 from a pro studio photographer on the used market on www.foto.no

I needed the M6 because it's a classic, I fancy myself shooting street candids. I have several RFs and TLRs specifically for this purpose however M6 has always been that "maybe one day" camera.

The rest are for bird photography :

200mm for the close shots from the hide for when shooting Stellar Eider and King Eider from a boat hide in Vadsoy and Kirkenes. Both are high on the birding agenda.

300mm as a standby if 200 is too short or not available, in anycase the cost difference of  the two is negligible.

500mm is a long shot if there's extra money (inheritance for example or more likely that un-utilised company commercial loan at 2.5%). It's also a longer than 400/5.6 which I already own and shoot regularly with. It is also reputedly much lighter than the 600/4 which I also own and reluctant to lug around everywhere lens.

It was complete serendipity that when I arrived at Stavanger Foto at 5:30pm today, the doors were closed shut! Their business day ends at 4:00pm Monday-Friday, 7:00pm Thursday and 11:00am-2:00pm Saturday. The M6 was sitting seductively by the glass display case, looking pristine and badly needing a new owner. The TC2.0 II was also still there.

I left in a huff and puff to another photo shop on the other side of the harbour. And since this shop does not have a used section, sitting on the shellves were all brand new items and a TC2.0 III.

So I bought one: pack it up lady, it's mine ... a less than 3 minute deal for NOK4500!

I remembered reading in a few sites that TC2.0 III was a gem of a converter, a much improved version of TC2.0 II. Initially I thought I can make do with a used TC2.0 II on a 200/2.0 or 300/2.8 or 500/4.0 or 600/4.0 and still get the shots and ranges I needed. I made several typical shots as I walk the length of Stavanger harbour.

Gamle Stavanger from across the harbour at 70xTC2.0II handheld at 1/160sec 5.6 ISO 400.

A bit more than 70+TC2.0 III at the same exposure.

At 200xTC2.0 III handheld 1/125sec 5.6 ISO 400.

At 70xTC2.0 III.

At 200xTC2.0 III.

A lone wooden owl on Strankaien at 200xTC2.0 III.

The Stavanger fire tower at 70xTC2.0 III 1/30secs, 5.6 ISO800, shot later in the evening.

Back at home, I was pleasantly surprised. Looking at the handheld images I made today using the EOS100D+TC2.0 III (brand spanking new)+EF70-200/2.8 IS II (bought several years back from Keats), I have concluded that 200/2.0 can probably be eliminated from the equation!

The images are sharp even handheld at 1/160sec! This have potentially saved me some cash ... at least opportunity cost wise!

With that little piece of glass, I now have access to the following ranges:

1. 70-200/2.8 ==> 100-300 with the TC1.4 II or 140-400 with the TC2.0 III
2. 400/5.6
3. 600/4.0 ==> 840 with TC1.4 II or 1200 with TC2.0 III

My travelling kit can potentially be reduced to only include 70-200, 600, TC1.4 II, TC2.0 III.

Which leave only the following questions:

1. 300/2.8 ==> 600/5.6 with TC 2.0 III ... now looking redundant.
2. 500/4.0 ==> 1000/8 with TC 2.0 III ... now looking a bit superflous at current prices.

Though the 300  is still bulky, there is one available used at NOK30,000. The 500 is slimer, probably suitable handheld however more expensive and will need another NOK35,000 infusion of funds!

In the course of history, men come to see that iron necessity is neither iron nor necessary. Friedrich Nietzsche

I have also made another discovery on the side  : that I can live a whole week without the dream M-6: I guess thats another item I don't need.

Text and images by Nazeri Abghani/Sep 2013/Stavanger

Summer's gone again

"Pejam celik, pejam celik ... suddenly you find yourself in a new season" ... that's what my grandmother used to say when I was little.

Of course then she was speaking in Malay in her heavy Kelantanese accent and was refering the the rising floodwaters, which is annual in Keantan then. It's a particularly difficult time of the year for her since with all the rain, the firewood is eternally wet. Not to mentioned mobility issues for her small venture of selling traditional sweet Malay cakes and deserts. It's a mobility issue since her partner in the venture is an old frail lady in her mid sixties who peddle the fruits of her labor on foot  on top of her head throughout the district. With the floods, her mobility is seriously impacted.

Well, summer's over. We had plenty of seemingly foolproof plans for the kids and the family as whole to fill up our warm summer days in Norway. It was plentiful for the kids with Minecraft, fasting, and two weeklong camps. It's mostly work for Mommy. It's mostly work for Daddy with the weekly or sometimes every other weekly birdwatching trips around Rogaland.

There were plans for visits to the islands around Rogaland, which fell completely on it's face because the entire program was delegated to the children to get them to use their computers for reasearch ie. logistical planning and digging out information. They were more interested in carrying on with their Minecraft, watching the latest Yogcast and generally watching silly things on youtube. You have a great excuse to stay indoors in the cold months; their excuses for staying indoors in the summer months were plain inexcusable.

They did manage to go out exploring the neighbourhood on their bikes, skateboards and push scooters on several occasions. Wished they had done more of that.

Attempts to get the famiy out to the beaches completely failed. Attempts to get them trekking the hills failed. Attempts to get them birdwatching wasn't very successfull  either. Daddy ended up in the car scouring the coastal countryside for birds. On a couple of occasions Ali managed to pry himself away from the beloved lapop to see the sun, he missed all the birds.

Mommy worked extra hard in the summer months, full concentration with very little distractions from the children (they were busy with Minecraft and other computer related distractions) nor colleagues (who were mostly away on their multi weeks summer vacations) nor Daddy (who's either taking a nap or out chasing waders).

We celebrated  Hari Raya in the most understated fashion this summer.  The auspicious day fell on a Thursday of a weekday. Both Mommy and Daddy took two days off from work, the children were off on their summer camp. We had breakfast of instant roti canai together as a family. I think that was Hari Raya this year ...

We are still waiting to pencil in a date for the Hari Raya family sitdown portrait. And it has been almost two months now since Eid. We missed last years session as well.

You blinked, the entire season passes by. Take a more prolonged shut-eye, a lifetime might just slip by. Consider yourself reminded!

A photo from May 2012 after our farewell lunch with the birding gang from across the border. We flew to Norway a couple of days after this photo was taken. (Courtesy of Shirley 2012)

A snapshot of the kids with the gang in Oslo, enroute to our weeklong May vacation in Tromso.

Our spring visit to the Rogaland Arboretum to check out the arrival of passerines for the season.

Aisya photo near Vistestrande near Randaberg after visiting Svarthola, a 10,000 year old early human cave dwelling.

Ali receiving his token trophy with his middle school soccer team during their match in Tananger.

Daddy triumphantly lifting two tripods, one is a carbon. This is after having missing gym and weightlifting regime for almost one year.

Little Stint at Naerlandstande, what a gem.

A Dunlin from Naerlandstrande at night, birding doesn't stop just because the sun goes down.

Skateboarding to Stavanger city center on a wet overcast day.

Text and images by Nazeri Abghani/Sep 2013.

Note from author - we did not obtain the necessary release to publish photos of Mommy. We deeply regretted the circumstances, rest assured she has not changed one bit.

One week in Tromso was too short

We stayed two nites at one of the Frogner Apartments in Oslo before flying off to Tromso on Staurday afternoon. In Oslo the children visited Heldi and Nisa's family and spent time hanging out with their children Shala (14), Shekka (12), Tariq (4) and Zayyid (almost 1). They were buddies at ISS in Stavanger the previous year prior to Heldi's move to Oslo a month ago.

There really wasn't much to do in Oslo when all the kids wanted to do was hangout at home and play. We managed to persuade them to take a stroll to Vigdalen's Park in Oslo so they fool around some more, outdoors this time.

We flew to Tromso on Saturday and stayed a week at Riverhouse, a holiday house in a small fishing village of Oldervik, about an hour's drive from Tromso city. Population of Oldervik stood at 100 but probably just saw less than 10 of them walking about during the day. A quiet little village by the sea, main occupation seems to be fishery.

Throughout the week our main activities were birdwatching though the kids had two full days roaming about Polaria, the Polar Museum, Tromso Museum, The Science Center, as well as a quick photo op at  the Arctic Cathedral.

Tromso is a very scenic city with majestic snow covered mountains all around. The area nearby has plenty of venues for outdoorsy kind of activities, exactly what we were looking for. As this was our first visit, most of the time we were just gawking at the scenery. 

Next trip we'll do more ... like visit the outlying islands to look for whales, see the seabirds and visit the island which has one family of 5 living on it, Musvaer just of Vengasoya.

Vigdalen's Park with Shala, Shekka and Tariq.

Our house for a week and the view around it.

The quick stop over at the Arctic Cathedral in Tromso.