Observation details: start time 5:45PM, observed mostly Fish Crows, with active vocalizations, for almost 2 hours from along South Canal Street, with sunset time at 8:26PM.

Conditions: partly cloudy, wind SE 5 MPH, temp 74F; sunset time 8:26PM

For those of you with an interest in documenting bird behavior trends and patterns, a time lapse video may be worth a closer look. This video presents a fascinating look at staging Fish Crows over a period of almost two hours before sunset. As members of the Crow Patrol dive deeper into our research work, these types of videos will help us to better understand random and synchronized movement patterns in the staging process. Very little is known about these patterns, particularly with young Fish Crows.

The timer function allows the user to set up a start and finish time in advance. In this case it was from 5:30PM until 8PM. The user is able to capture action when it is most likely to happen. The weather resistant construction allows you to leave it in place for days or weeks at a time. The unit runs on 4 AA batteries, a very nice highlight, and great for longer term birding projects.

You are provided with a number of capture options, including time-lapse intervals, as well as a custom time option for using any interval duration. Continuous intervals can also be set. The ATL-200 supports multiple capture modes, including motion detection, stop motion, time-lapse, time-lapse and motion hybrid. The camera’s integrated motion sensor can also detect moving objects. In addition to the camera’s autofocusing capabilities, you can manually set the focus and zoom using the ATL-200’s companion mobile app.

Photo gear used for this outing:

Canon EOS 80D with Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS 

Afidus ATL-200 time lapse camera

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Blog post and photos by Craig Gibson, 2020 Crow Patrol, Lawrence, MA