Particularly this time of year when the number of bluebird pictures becomes overwhelming, I try to put most of them on Tom's Trailcam Central blog. But a lot of them end up on this site also. There are four different ways I get the images: Trail camera, DSLR motion trigger, DSLR remote trigger, and DSLR human trigger. Trail cameras are great for getting lots of images, but the image quality is terrible. DSLR motion trigger provides better image quality, but I hobble myself somewhat by using my 20-year-old 1D Mark II to hold down the shutter count on my two newer DSLRs. With remote trigger, I can sit on my porch and hit the trigger if something approaches the subject area. And with human trigger, I'm sitting out in the yard, perhaps in a blind, reacting to what is going on around me.

All have their place, and so far most of the images this spring have been taken with a new trailcam, a Gardepro T5CF. The "CF" stands for close focus. The distance from the lens to the center of the nest box is 18 inches, much closer than I dared put the old Brownings. The close-focus ability is great, but the image quality is not good. Better than the old Brownings perhaps, but not as good as the new Browning or the two Reconyx. Photography is a series of compromises. Here is one of the better trailcam images from this spring. I would like to get something like this with one of the DSLRs.

May 2

Update, May 19: Even though I now have two boxes about 20 yards apart and The Internet says the two species will tolerate each other in this configuration, the swallows may be winning the battle against the bluebirds again this year. It seems 95% of the trailcam images I get at either box are of the swallows.

May 16