Introducing PerchCam!

Dan writes:

Since there's not much wildlife tracking going on this summer, I thought
I'd share some photos from a project I started working on last winter.
PerchCam is an attempt to turn my Canon DSLR into a really high-quality,
really expensive wildlife camera. I've turned a motion detector into a
remote shutter switch for my Canon Digital Rebel, and attached it to a
40 ft wire. That lets me back up far enough to shoot through a
300-500mm lens to capture the bird against a nice background. I hide
the motion sensor on a perch, branch, or stump near my backyard bird
feeder. Any time a bird or squirrel trips the sensor, the camera takes
a picture. (Unfortunately, the camera also takes a picture any time the
wind blows, or a butterfly sneezes...)

I used the system a number of times in January and February of 2010, and
then abandoned the project until recently. I'm working on some new
improvements, but at the moment the problem is mainly a lack of birds!

Enjoy the photos! I've finally gotten around to putting out my other
wildlife cameras, so hopefully I'll have some mammals to share in the
next month.

- Dan

p.s. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 3rd annual Mass/NE
Wildlife Trackers' Conference, Oct 30, 2010!
http://northeastwildlifetrackers.org/