Wildlife with Ray - Birds of Utqiagvik

[@FeathersinFocus]

Love this video, so much variety and effort in it. ❤❤, thanks for sharing. Subscribed!!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed and subscribed!

[@AstairVentof]

Amazing shots. You definitely won't convince me not visit. LOL. With the the constant daylight I was wondering about what the activity patterns of the birds, and i guess you too as a photographer. How do they chose times to be active? And for you what times do you go out to shot. I could have sworn you said you shot some photos at 3AM.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching! As for the bird's activity it seems to be all day and all night. I'm sure they rest at some point but in my limited experience it didn't seem tied to any specific time frame. You are correct I was out shooting at 3am which was when the sun was the lowest in the sky, which wasn't particularly low but still gave a decent quality of light. I specifically would shoot overnight since mid-day if it was sunny was horrible lighting. .

[@Karkawry1970]

Pre-watch like, can tell I will enjoy this one!

[@RayHennessy]

So nice to hear, thanks for the pre-watch like!

[@onnirantanen7599]

Just a small pointer to the part around 19:30: Phalaropes have kind of "reversed" plumages as the female is actually the brighter coloured one! Males also take care of the offspring. Great video and great shots!

[@RayHennessy]

Thank you so much for pointing that out! It's so funny, I knew that detail but had entirely forgot it so it's great to have the reminder! Thanks for watching!

[@andywlasniewski6810]

Great shots as always. This is a bucket-list trip for me for sure!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much and it's a wild place up there!

[@michaelwallwork7482]

Great vlog. Great birds. Great photography 👏

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed!

[@isotechimages.9130]

Some lovely images there Ray but some had annoying purple fringing and some did not, different lenses or just different conditions? I know the conditions up there would be terrible for chromatic aberrations.

[@RayHennessy]

Hey thanks so much for watching and for the comment. Can you be more specific with images that you saw the purple fringing on? I just looked through the original video and I don't see it exhibited anywhere and I can't remember the last time I saw that as an issue with the lenses I've been using for the past few years, they tend to never show that. I'm curious if it's more the KZbin video or what is going on so it would be helpful to know which photos you saw it on. Thanks again!

[@isotechimages.9130]

@ sure Ray will have a look when l got a minute, interesting that you cannot see them maybe it is to do with video.

[@isotechimages.9130]

@@RayHennessy So l mentioned the fringing coz it was so bad so l have just watched it again and there is no purple fringe anywhere in the video, so l am not a tech genius that for sure but it got me stumped.

[@RayHennessy]

@@isotechimages.9130 oh yeah, what a weird thing. Glad you got to see it without that though and I appreciate you trying again!

[@brycehorn3740]

The shorebird technique (referring to the vdeo Emily got of you) hahahaha - I never would have imagined... But if it works it works 🤣

[@RayHennessy]

Haha, yeah, sure looks silly but it works great so you can keep your eye in the viewfinder and shoot while getting their attention. I usually move my foot up slowly and barely move it around but these ducks needed a lot of attention getting hahaha and still barely cared!

[@brycehorn3740]

@@RayHennessy yeah I can envision that's a decent way of getting most subject's attention! Haha

[@jta999]

Thanks for sharing your experience. What type/brand of dry suit were you wearing? Did you have to towel dry everytime you went back into the car?

[@RayHennessy]

I use a Stohlquist drysuit and I had a big trash bag to sit on so that I could not get the seats in the vehicle wet, that did the trick so I didn't have to get in and out of it every time. I ended up leaving the drysuit on the entire time I was out shooting since they are generally comfortable. Thanks for watching!

[@jta999]

Thx very much for the information

[@jimjimgl3]

Great shots. You should go see The Wild Robot! One of the main characters is based on what looks like one of these birds...

[@RayHennessy]

Oh really, that's a great recommendation, thanks I'll look into it!

[@Karkawry1970]

How long generally will you play a call for, does it vary depending on which species?

[@RayHennessy]

If it doesn't respond right away it's usually not going to so I don't bother anymore. Just a short couple of times, if it comes over great, if not then just wait it out or go try another subject. That's my normal approach.

[@philipblairphotography9775]

Can i ask what type of dry suit are you using? I use waders in a floating hide but a dry suit would be better while lying in mud as the tide comes in,

[@RayHennessy]

I have one from Stohlquist but they don't make it anymore. I'd suggest kind of the cheapest dry suit because you don't have to do submersion at any depth, it's all just surface level stuff so all it needs to do is keep you dry and they all do that. Using a drysuit is a huge upgrade for floating hides compared to waders!

[@philipblairphotography9775]

@@RayHennessy Thanks Ray. They are like everything else photography related, bloody expensive!