14 hour birding day, my Lightning and -14f temperature

[Lronn]

Greetings, winds are gusting to 20+mph, it’s -14f but lots of sun for the Isabella Christmas bird count in NE Mn. 4 Jan 25

The 23 er lariat is at 100% as we head out of the heated garage, 6:30 am, after 1000’ of +elevation change at 50mph we’re in the count circle, 46 miles 81%. We have 13 more hours, another 300’ of elevation up and easily another 100 miles before arriving home!

Three of us will be stopping, looking for birds and in and out of a 62 degree set temperature, heated seats on…

-no commercial charging available.
-backup charging, which we used, is available at our cabin, 50 amp, a little out of the way.

By noon the battery was at 74% with its temperature decreasing, long lunch hour, 1:30, it’s still -6f, battery temp still dropping, 71%soc…we drive to charge up, two vehicles, back two hours later with 6% added, 8kwh and up to 77%. Battery temp closer to normal. 4PM….
Time to head up to the evening birder gathering, -6f, home with:
38%
54 miles remaining @ 1.4mkwh
6.25 hrs driving
143.4 miles driven
1100+ ft elevation change
We may not have needed the two hr charge, though I’m not sure how battery temperature plays into the equation, or the “71” number on the battery gauge.
BTW 19 species 1000+ birds
This is a great truck for birding, nearly silent operation and hands free driving/observing! Love this vehicle!!

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[gheron75]

Thanks for your account (pun intended )! We're birders too, and we love the Lightning for the same reasons you mentioned.

 

[jberry2]

Hey, another birding Lightning owner here, from western NY area. Keep posting!

 

[chl]

Another birder, since 7th grade (1964).
Heavy snow here (7 inches in Northern Va is 'heavy'), lots of birds at the feeders warily keeping an eye out for the Coopers (like the one in the picture from Fall 2020) and Sharp Shinned Hawks that terrorize them, but usually miss.

 

[NikonJim]

Let’s hear the 19 species

 

[Maxx]

Another birder, since 7th grade (1964).
Heavy snow here (7 inches in Northern Va is 'heavy'), lots of birds at the feeders warily keeping an eye out for the Coopers (like the one in the picture from Fall 2020) and Sharp Shinned Hawks that terrorize them, but usually miss.

What lens/camera did you use for this shot?

 

[XENOILPHOBE]

Greetings, winds are gusting to 20+mph, it’s -14f but lots of sun for the Isabella Christmas bird count in NE Mn. 4 Jan 25

The 23 er lariat is at 100% as we head out of the heated garage, 6:30 am, after 1000’ of +elevation change at 50mph we’re in the count circle, 46 miles 81%. We have 13 more hours, another 300’ of elevation up and easily another 100 miles before arriving home!

Three of us will be stopping, looking for birds and in and out of a 62 degree set temperature, heated seats on…

-no commercial charging available.
-backup charging, which we used, is available at our cabin, 50 amp, a little out of the way.

By noon the battery was at 74% with its temperature decreasing, long lunch hour, 1:30, it’s still -6f, battery temp still dropping, 71%soc…we drive to charge up, two vehicles, back two hours later with 6% added, 8kwh and up to 77%. Battery temp closer to normal. 4PM….
Time to head up to the evening birder gathering, -6f, home with:
38%
54 miles remaining @ 1.4mkwh
6.25 hrs driving
143.4 miles driven
1100+ ft elevation change
We may not have needed the two hr charge, though I’m not sure how battery temperature plays into the equation, or the “71” number on the battery gauge.
BTW 19 species 1000+ birds
This is a great truck for birding, nearly silent operation and hands free driving/observing! Love this vehicle!!

You need to hit Assateague Island, Virginia...

https://www.assateagueisland.com/birdwatching/assateague_bird_list.htm

 

[Ynotbike]

I'm just lazy and wait to the birds to come to my truck.

 

[Lronn]

I'm just lazy and wait to the birds to come to my truck.

My bike was in the back of the Lightning during the bird count, I figured -30f windchill was over the top…..

 

[Lronn]

Let’s hear the 19 species

Let’s hear the 19 species

After doing this count for 43 years I don’t always have the species notes with me.
‘what I can say is what we didn’t count :
no shore birds
ducks
Owls, we usually have a few
Song birds
Cross bills
Black birds
Warblers
Waxwings
Starlings

we did have:
grey jays
b.c. Chickadees
evening grosbeaks
pine grosbeaks
BB woodpeckers
hairy/downy “
pileated
raven
crow
B eagle
ruff grouse
r b nuthatch
p finch
pSiskin
a goldfinch
and more

 

[chl]

What lens/camera did you use for this shot?

I have a Canon EOS 70D and I was using a 55-250mm zoom lens, I may have been doing a manual focus because the auto-focus sometimes drives me crazy, but I use the auto exposure and image stabilizer.

The properties tells me it was f/10, 1/160 sec, ISO 1600, 250mm focal length:

I also cropped it to 1489 x 1177 pixels from 3053 x 1649 pixels originally.
Saved a JPEG.
No image processing.

Here's the uncropped image:

There was a blue jay harassing the Coopers in the tree above and the hawk was eyeing me as well.

 

[chl]

There was a blue jay harassing the Coopers in the tree above and the hawk was eyeing me as well.

Eyeing the blue jay above:

 

[Maxx]

I have a Canon EOS 70D and I was using a 55-250mm zoom lens, I may have been doing a manual focus because the auto-focus sometimes drives me crazy, but I use the auto exposure and image stabilizer.

The properties tells me it was f/10, 1/160 sec, ISO 1600, 250mm focal length:

I also cropped it to 1489 x 1177 pixels from 3053 x 1649 pixels originally.
Saved a JPEG.
No image processing.

Here's the uncropped image:

There was a blue jay harassing the Coopers in the tree above and the hawk was eyeing me as well.

Thanks for taking the time to share.

I moved from an old cropped Rebel T2i to a full frame 6D Mark2 but have only a 100 mm macro and 50 mm lens, both prime on the new body. I have been debating if going for a telephoto on full frame is worth it since to get any decent range I may have to break the bank and open up space in the back of the truck for those ginormous lenses. I miss the reach I had with my 250 mm (400+ on crop sensor) on the old body. But I am much happier with my prime lens image quality.

 

[chl]

Thanks for taking the time to share.

I moved from an old cropped Rebel T2i to a full frame 6D Mark2 but have only a 100 mm macro and 50 mm lens, both prime on the new body. I have been debating if going for a telephoto on full frame is worth it since to get any decent range I may have to break the bank and open up space in the back of the truck for those ginormous lenses. I miss the reach I had with my 250 mm (400+ on crop sensor) on the old body. But I am much happier with my prime lens image quality.

I am not a pro, but I used a Nikon F2 (film camera) for many years (1972-2015) and was always happy with the Nikon lenses. Since film processing was being phased out, I bought the Canon in a COSTCO bundle with two lenses, 18-55mm and 55-250mm.

For my purposes, the $300 55-250mm zoom is adequate. I often see those ginormous lens folks out in the field taking pro-quality pics, but like you say, they break the bank. Of course, if I won the lottery...lol.

Most of the bird pics I get from my own yard which I have let 'go natural.'

I have quite a variety visit to feed on carpenter ants in an old rotten cherry tree (Pileated Woodpecker) or sunflower seeds in one of our feeders (Rose Breasted Grosbeak). In spring, many warblers visit the little pond I put in, hard to catch on camera though, usually a blur. Sometimes I get lucky like this female Parula Warbler in Sept 2019, attracted to a a misting spray I set up with the backyard hose.

Anyway, happy bird watching!

 

[chl]

Another lucky event for me, not the squirrel...walking to my car from my front door across my yard, when suddenly a Red-shouldered hawk glides past only a few feet in front of me and snatches up a gray squirrel, then lands on a fence at the end of our cul de sac about 50 yards away. I quickly go inside, grab my camera and manage to take some pics as it looks around with its lunch in its talons, eyeing me as any apex predator would, before flying off to dine.

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