Glossy Ibis, digiscoped from far

Glossy Ibis on Sanibel

There were two, and a Willet walking in front.

We saw some Glossy Ibis on Dinkin Bayou 2 days ago. They were waaay out on a mudflat, too far for my usual camera with telephoto lens, so I digiscoped them. Oh, and did I mention there was thick fog? I like to push the limits of digiscoping, sometimes just to get a photo unattainable any other way. Most digiscoped photos you will see, will be of much closer birds in nice, bright light, hence gorgeous photos. But this was fun, and I like to experiment and see just what will happen when I try something novel. So I did and got a two-fer.

First , Glossy Ibis is a rare bird on Sanibel, which has tons of its relative, the White Ibis. So I wanted to document this.

Secondly, I like the misty, painterly quality to these photos, so unusual. The mist, the distance, the shallow depth of field of a digiscoped image, all contribute to the mood of the photos. Makes me think about where the line of bird art exists between the world of the digital, and the hand of the artist.