Clay’s Digiscoping 1000 is my effort to identifiably digiscope 1000 species-things that fly, walk, hop, crawl, or wriggle. Officially it started in January 2008. All photos were taken in the course of my travels as Swarovski Optik’s Naturalist Market Manager and Mad Birder.

I am including the kinds of things we all encounter when we go out birding and of which we later wish we had made notes, sketches, etc.-birds, butterflies, dragonflies, mammals, and “herps.” I’ll leave the bees, beetles, and other species for others to document. Flowers, mushrooms, trees, caterpillars, etc., can’t run away and thus are easy to photograph with a regular camera, so I will leave those out of CD 1000.

Why am I doing this?

It’s fun. It’s challenging. It serves a good purpose - documenting the things I find for others to see. We can now electronically submit our daily bird lists to eBird, and anyone will be able to use that information as part of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Citizen Science program. Soon we will be able to do the same with all our images.

Digiscoping was “invented” to photograph birds and animals through spotting scopes. At its very core, digiscoping’s ability to accurately record species seen has had a profound impact on bird watching worldwide. British birders that were noted for their skills at note-taking and field sketching have embraced digiscoping, and American birders are following suit.

Digiscoping also proved that when using the right equipment in the right setting, a skilled photographer can take images that are remarkably good. Neil Fifer of Australia entered a digiscoped photo and won the Gold Medal for Nature in the Sydney International Exhibition of Photography, competing with images taken through conventional SLRs and telephoto lenses! It can be done, but it takes skill, patience, and often a little bit of luck.

Oh yes, it’s LOTS of fun!

About the images:

All the images here were taken with a digital camera through either a spotting scope with eyepiece, or a binocular - “digibinning?” “Digibino?” We need a better name for it. The different setups are found under Camera Setup Details. In most cases I used the spotting scope on a tripod or from the car with a window mount, but any “freehand” shots will be noted.

All were taken in the field with wild subjects that were not in captivity or otherwise restrained. There are no “Hand of Man” restrictions here-using bird feeders, butterfly gardens, or nest sites (keeping a proper distance, of course), etc., are all OK. This is all about verifying what you see in the field.

There will be some UGLY photos-blurry, grainy, etc.- but the species should be identifiable. Whenever possible, I will be trying to upgrade crummy species photos for better ones, but the desire for identification will always be the same.

Oh yes, last thing - sometimes I will include an identifiable subspecies or color morph, counting it for the Grand Tally.   Since digiscoping is all about verifiable identification of wild animals, why not?   Besides, it’s MY list.