Saturday (10-December-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Night Sky Over New Jersey: Bird Captured Flying Past the Full Moon.

I missed the Lunar Eclipse because I am on the east coast. The sky was clear and the moon was full, so I did take some images and DSLR videos with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter. The D3s is limited to a 5 minute 720p HR video, so I would keep going out  and restarting the videos. It was cold, and I wasn’t going to stay out there. The amazing thing when I started viewing the videos, on the very first one saw that I captured a bird flying across the moon. The duration of the transit was about 0.1 second. The frame-grab image from the video shows the bird in front of the moon. I think that it is a sea bird based on the wing shape, but hope that a bird expert can help with the identification. I’ve also included a video of the bird transit. The first pass is real time, the next six repeats are slowed down 10x.

Bird Flying Past Full Moon. Frame Grab from a DSLR Video taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR llens and TC-E III 20 teleconverter (David J Mathre)
Bird Flying Past Full Moon. Frame Grab from a DSLR Video taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR llens and TC-E III 20 teleconverter (David J Mathre)

Author: David Mathre

I am a scientist by training (Eckerd College, BSc; Caltech, Ph.D.). I worked for 27 years as a Chemist in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing processes to manufacture medicines for human and animal health. I now spend my time as a photographer and world traveler. My interests include the natural world, wildlife, landscapes, sky, and seascapes, travel, and astrophotography. I look for unique ways of viewing the world and presenting my images. I have traveled to over 55 countries in six continents, often on Semester at Sea voyages. While at home in New Jersey, I spend time on home renovation and expansion of a wildflower garden/meadow.

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