Nightjar at Twilight

[Tonji Ramos]

It was exactly twilight; after sunset, with the traces blue ambient light rapidly turning grey.

Thank goodness for my cooler of cold beer which also served as a seat. I was trying to take a nightjar with the bit of light thrown by an already deeply set sun. The flashlight, while a nifty tool, gave a harsh light. I thought it would look even cooler if the bird could be photographed without artificial light.

Twilight is a perfect time for the bird to start feeding. Lots of bugs come out at this time. If you were not looking for a nightjar, you would certainly miss it in the near darkness. But birdnuts are a bit different. Haha, we see in the dark. Must be the beer.

This bird was nice enough to show up at the very last moment of light so I could take my twilight shot.

Savanna Nightjar


Canon 5d mk2, 500mm, 1/10, f4, ISO 2000 tripod, cable release, manual focus and exposure.

[Toto Gamboa]

Great low light shot. How can one spot this kind of weird looking bird?

[Tonji Ramos]

Hi Toto, glad you like it.

How to spot? Since it only comes out at night the best way is by listening for the call. There is a nightjar in my street, I hear it almost every night so I am very familiar with the call.

I have been going around my street with my gear at night trying to get a good shot for some time. Sylvia found this bird while walking the dogs. If we sit without moving they actually fly over our heads sometimes. Its kinda hard to take without artificial light since they like to come out just before its almost totally dark. You can tell its not a bat because the wings have white bars plus it has a tail. Hehe.

[Neon Rosell II]

Wow!! This is an awesome shot, Tonji!! I can just imagine how dark the conditions were when this shot was taken and without artificial light. Great to see a nightjar wide awake in an alert position with eyes open.

Is this FF? you could crop a little bit further to show some more detail of the bird.

[Ely Teehankee]

I have never seen a Nightjar and it looks very interesting like a cross of an owl and an ordinary bird. The beak looks abbreviated. When it comes to looking for adventure, look for Tonji. Well done Tonji. Mabuhay

[Ralf Nabong]

Great ground level shot Tonji! I like the blurred FG/BG.

[Bob Kaufman]

Great capture, Tonji considering it's almost twilight.

[Romy Ocon]

Wow, the 5D2 is night-vision gear, Tonji!

[Nilo Arribas Jr.]

Excellent work done without artificial lighting. Congratulations Tonji.

Nilo

[JP Cariño]

Nice shot Tonji! I like this better than your last Nightjars

[JV Noriega]

What a wonderful rendition of the Nightjar Tonji.. captured at twilight! Good job!