Wednesday (29-January-2020) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Night Sky Over New Jersey.

The night sky was clear and I haven’t done star trails for some time. I set up a Nikon D850 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 15 mm, f/8, 30 sec) on my patio to collect a series of night sky images. The images were processed with Capture One Pro and the composite star trails created using Photoshop CC (scripts, statistics, maximum).


Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.



Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (78.2 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (39.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A sunny day. A deficit of 38.7 kWh.

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One-Year Ago (29-January-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Carolina Wren, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Mourning Dove.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Carolina Wren at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
House Finch at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 2500, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Blacked-capped Chickadee at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 800, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Mourning Dove below a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 2500, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).

Tuesday (28-January-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Regulars (House Finch, Blue Jay, and Northern Cardinal) at my bird feeder.


Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (77.3 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (26.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sunny in the morning. A deficit of 50.8 kWh.

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One-Year Ago (28-January-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

A lot of birds at the bird feeder today. Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, and House Finch. At one point a Dark-eyed Junco and Carolina Wren got into a fight over sunflower seeds. Ultimately, the Blue Jay settled the fight.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Dark-eyed Junco looking down at the bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 2200, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Blue Jay looking down at the bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1000, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Female Red-bellied Woodpecker at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 560, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Carolina Wren at the frozen bird bath. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 640, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
House Finch at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).


Dark-eyed Junco and Carolina Wren fighting over sunflower seeds. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed in my PhotoShelter gallery.

Monday (27-January-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Tufted Titmouse at the Bird Feeder and a Doe behind the Electric Fence.

Tufted Titmouse at the Bird Feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tufted Titmouse at the Bird Feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Doe behind the Electric Fence. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Doe behind the Electric Fence. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (77.2 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (10.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Not much sun. A deficit of 67.1 kWh.

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