Last week I was down at Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Indiana to get in some forest bathing and herping. When we got there the Gate keeper asked if we were there to see the Brown Booby that had gotten lost and had been hanging out down at a pond by their nature center. We said we were not planning on it, but got directions because we now wanted to at least give it a glance.
For those who aren’t into birds: The Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird known for its striking appearance and distinctive diving behavior. It has a dark brown body contrasted with a white belly and a sharp, pointed yellow bill. Brown Boobies are found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world, often seen gliding over the water or plunging headfirst to catch fish and squid. They nest on islands and coastlines, forming colonies where they lay their eggs on the ground or in simple nests. They definitely are a novelty to be found in southern Indiana.
When we got down there, we were initially a little disappointed. First off, the bird was on the far side of the pond….and the best viewing area was chock full of birders. Nothing against birders, as they are overwhelmingly nice people…but part of the reason I love being out in nature is I find it much more soothing than being around a bunch of people. But I digress.
At any rate, we wandered down the dock, where we found a group of very friendly folks who were using all manner of paraphernalia to observe and photograph this lost soul of a bird who was perched all the way across the pond.
One of them was an especially nice gentleman with a telescope set up. He was actively inviting people to look through it. So we took advantage of this opportunity. On a lark I lined my phone up on the eye piece without using the phones zoom and got a pretty remarkable picture of the bird. To show the difference, I also took a shot of it (on a different branch but the same area) at maximum zoom with my Google Pixel phone. Don’t get me wrong, that pixel can capture some images…and it isn’t a bad picture. But the picture from the telescope was like I was right there (minus the shadow ring of course.
After talking to the gentleman some more, I found that telescopes are really reasonably priced these days. Especially when compare them to the $1200 smart phone that can’t get even close to the same zoom. Afterword we said thanks, and went and enjoyed a nice long walk in the old growth forest.
It was a really good day.
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