From Yorkshire to New Zealand: Paul Wheatley’s Digiscoping Adventures
From the windswept coasts of New Zealand to the rooftops of urban Bradford, Paul uses his Kowa setup to document birdlife in stunning detail. Join us as we explore his favourite encounters, digiscoping tips, and conservation triumphs.
You're one of our more recent ambassadors - what should our followers know about you?
I'm a lifelong birder, volunteer conservationist and avid phonescoper. I love to capture slow motion footage of birds. Slowmo Phonescoping is a brilliant way of opening up a window onto bird behaviour that's impossible to appreciate in real time.
What inspired you to choose New Zealand as your second base?
The country has such unique wildlife and stunning landscapes, I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. Catching up with my Kiwi girlfriend also plays a factor!
How would you describe the wildlife and birdlife in New Zealand?
Completely unique! Encountering wild Kiwis was absolutely magical, and I've been very lucky to see 3 of the 5 species including the super rare and elusive Okarito Kiwi. The native birdlife has suffered immensely from the introduction of invasive species but there's been a fantastic surge in conservation work that's very exciting. I spent time living in Wellington where the establishment of the Zealandia nature reserve and tremendous efforts of volunteers have brought back native birdlife across the city and local area.
Where was your Falcon video filmed, what was the distance to the subject, and which scope did you use - and why?
When travelling to the other side of the world, a lightweight scope is really appreciated so I decided to take the TSN55 travel scope. I went on the advice of fellow Kowa Ambassador Paul Hackett who raved about this scope but I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about how good it would be for phonescoping. Of course, Paul knows his stuff, and I was relieved to find how good the 55 was. (read Paul's review on digiscoping with the TSN-55!)
I have a real love for birds of prey, which New Zealand is a little short on. But the Kārearea, or New Zealand Falcon, was a great species to discover. Like many native birds, the Kārearea has made a major comeback in the Wellington area and along with some local birding buddies I spent quite a bit of spare time tracking down a number of different nesting pairs across the city. The video is a compilation of all of those birds and some moments I had watching them.
New Zealand's birdlife is a little more confiding than back in my native UK, so I was often quite close to the birds when filming them - at least by my standards. Urban Kārearea are quite tolerant of people but they do still have a reputation for swooping on intruders when they are nesting so you need to keep your wits about you! Fortunately with a great phonescoping setup I could keep a safe distance and avoid disturbing the birds, whilst still getting some great shots. A couple of times I was watching juveniles that dropped down to the ground right next to me to catch Cicadas. It's not easy phonescoping at 10 feet!
What’s in your current digiscoping setup?
I use an iPhone15 Pro with the Smartscope Vario Adapter and Kowa scopes. A really crucial part of my rig is an arm mounted dot sight, which opens up all sorts of possibilities for filming birds in flight.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start digiscoping?
Dive in and try it out. It can be a little fiddly at first, but once you get into it it's very rewarding. I love the way that it's complimentary to birding in really assisting with your observation of birds - not just as a photgraphic discipline focused on the aesthetics. I've created a free website guide to phonescoping which you can find at phonescoping.org It provides my thoughts on everything from equipment to filming and editing.
What’s your favourite piece of digiscoped footage so far?
Way back in 2018 I filmed a Water Rail exhibiting some incredible behaviour when it was swimming and diving to catch fish. I was using an iPhone6S on a dark day in the middle of winter and the result is none too sharp. I imagine it would be so much better if I filmed it on my current rig. But what a sight - and almost certainly one I'll never see again. This typically shy bird was diving into the water, swimming out into the middle of a channel and diving to catch fish. It was a really challenging subject and location as I was shooting through small holes in a viewing screen at waist height - literally shooting from the hip.
I should probably mention a flight shot as well. Few birds are as fast *and* agile as the Black Tern and I love the challenge of filming them fly catching.
What makes digiscoping birds in flight particularly challenging?
Without a viewfinder or a way of zooming the phonescope right out, the biggest challenge is simply getting lined up on the bird before it's out of sight! Adding a dot sight to my rig completely transformed things - its a real game changer for phonescoping. Manual focus also makes it tricky to get good results but there's no way round that one. I always joke that the most important skill is in the editing. When you review your work and find the perfect bit of action and you've nailed the framing and focus for a few seconds of action, it is very satisfying. A lot of material hits the cutting room floor though!
How does the experience of digiscoping differ between the UK and New Zealand - in terms of light, haze, and weather conditions?
The weather conditions can be remarkably similar to the UK but the main challenge in Wellington is dealing with the wind. The wind howls through the Cook Strait so vibration of your tripod can be a big issue. Processing technology is improving all the time and I've had some success at removing vibration from an otherwise quality shot.
What has been your most unforgettable wildlife encounter to date?
It's so difficult to choose only one in a year that I heard my first singing Superb Lyrebird in Australia, saw Orcas from the kitchen window while I was cooking my dinner (!) in Wellington, and heard super rare Okarito Kiwis "snuffling" to each other in courtship in pitch darkness after 5 hours of searching. But I think, believe it or not, it has to be watching Peregrine Falcons on a nest camera! I've spent a lot of my spare time over the last few years establishing a conservation and engagement project for Peregrines. Our first real success was seeing the Falcons use the nestbox we sited on a 70 metre high chimney of a former silk mill in the City of Bradford. Its been a hugely challenging project but watching our Peregrines courting on the nestbox was absolutely magic and has made it all worthwhile! The parents have hatched two chicks and are doing great.
Thanks Paul!
Paul's Kowa gear:
