Floating hide?

BillN_33 said:
I think that you are doing really well Phil - some marvellous images

Is it cold - how long can you comfortably stay in the water
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Thanks Bill. The water is still relatively warm and I wear a pair of 5mm neoprene waders which keep me fairly warm. I was in the water from 6.30am to 9.30am on Friday and wasn't at all cold.
 
@phil_b

:plus1::agree: to all previous posts. Wonderful PoV and some great images.

Makes the whole project worthwhile and thanks for sharing your results so far :D
 
Vintage Racer said:
Great work Phil........I look forward to seeing more images.

.
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jdburkedjburke said:
Phil
Great project and some great images.
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Box Brownie said:
@phil_b

:plus1::agree: to all previous posts. Wonderful PoV and some great images.

Makes the whole project worthwhile and thanks for sharing your results so far :D
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Thanks very much everyone. I am hoping to get out on Saturday morning again for another try. Getting a calm morning with decent light when i don't have to work is
proving difficult. I have made a few changes to the design and now have the camera 2 inches lower than the last attempt and 3 inches lower than when i first started. It could turn out to be too low but i wont know until i try. Never mind the photos, the whole thing is just good fun:D
 
phil_b said:
Thanks very much everyone. I am hoping to get out on Saturday morning again for another try. Getting a calm morning with decent light when i don't have to work is
proving difficult. I have made a few changes to the design and now have the camera 2 inches lower than the last attempt and 3 inches lower than when i first started. It could turn out to be too low but i wont know until i try. Never mind the photos, the whole thing is just good fun:D
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Having fun is the main thing. As long as you enjoy it, that's all that really matters.
You're getting some great shots with unique pov's and I can't wait to see some more.....
 
FWIW, orange waste pipe deteriorates relatively quickly in UV light (including sunlight). Painting the rig might help it live longer.

Loving the results you're getting from it - my favourites are the KF with the OOF heron behind it and the grebe looking straight at you.
 
Nod said:
FWIW, orange waste pipe deteriorates relatively quickly in UV light (including sunlight). Painting the rig might help it live longer.

Loving the results you're getting from it - my favourites are the KF with the OOF heron behind it and the grebe looking straight at you.
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Thanks Nod. I did get some black paint for the pipes and the timber but it sat so low in the water and the camo tarp hid it so well that didn't bother painting it. Maybe it would be worth giving it a coat anyway.
 
phil_b said:
Thanks Nod. I did get some black paint for the pipes and the timber but it sat so low in the water and the camo tarp hid it so well that didn't bother painting it. Maybe it would be worth giving it a coat anyway.
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Re: choice of paint?
As the hide will be immersed in water, I wonder if you need to be careful as to choice of paint as suitable for water immersion i.e. not leach water polluting chemicals into the water???
 
Looking at the video of your hide, I reckon you'll be OK for a few years at least! I have a feeling that the UV degradation makes the orange stuff go brittle (eventually) so give it a decent rap and if it doesn't shatter, I thing it should stay afloat.
 
This is the reason that I used 'grey' pipe for making my floating hide. It is more expensive than the 'orange, but in my region (S W France), there is a lot of strong UV light. Although most of the pipework is hidden from sight when in use, I have still painted the whole thing in camo paint as well. - Having just received my new knee last week, it is realistically going to be next spring, before I am able to use it though.

Keep the images coming Phil.....they motivate me to keep pushing the physio! ;)
 
Box Brownie said:
Re: choice of paint?
As the hide will be immersed in water, I wonder if you need to be careful as to choice of paint as suitable for water immersion i.e. not leach water polluting chemicals into the water???
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Nod said:
Looking at the video of your hide, I reckon you'll be OK for a few years at least! I have a feeling that the UV degradation makes the orange stuff go brittle (eventually) so give it a decent rap and if it doesn't shatter, I thing it should stay afloat.
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Vintage Racer said:
This is the reason that I used 'grey' pipe for making my floating hide. It is more expensive than the 'orange, but in my region (S W France), there is a lot of strong UV light. Although most of the pipework is hidden from sight when in use, I have still painted the whole thing in camo paint as well. - Having just received my new knee last week, it is realistically going to be next spring, before I am able to use it though.

Keep the images coming Phil.....they motivate me to keep pushing the physio! ;)
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Thanks everyone. I had it out yesterday morning again and although it was too rough for taking photos, i did take a good look at it in the water and when it is floating the orange pipe can't be seen. When it is stored at home again the tarp nearly completely covers the pipe and the shed it is in is always semi dark anyway so i don't think uv degradation is going to be an issue for a good few years and this is Ireland after all so bright sunlight isn't normally a concern;). Therefore i'm going to save myself the bother and not worry about painting it.
 
I spent today out along the shores of Lough Neagh checking out various places where i may be able to access the Lough. The Lough is 30km long, 12km wide and has 125km of shoreline so there is plenty of options. There is dozens of private harbours the Eel fishermen work from and i got talking to a number of these guys today and most were fairly helpful giving advice on where the best places for birds are. 100,000 wintering wildfowl fly in from places as far away as Canada, Iceland, Greenland and the Russian Arctic so if i can get a few good places it might be worthwhile. Whooper swans, Goldeneye, tufted duck, pochards, etc all put in appearances so it could be good. Just need some calm weather now.
 
The POVS you're getting are just superb.

A very worthwhile project.
 
Both great shots, Phil. Especially the coot.

Dave
 
I got another go in my floating hide this morning after a couple of failed attempts where it was just to windy/rough to use it. It was one of those lovely autumn mornings with a slight chill in the air, not a breath of wind and a mist rising off the water. I was trying out a new spot where i can park the van just 10 meters from the water, there is easy access into the water and 500 meters south from this point has nice reeds growing out into the water which provides plenty of cover for the birds. The whole area up to over 100 meters off shore is less than 3ft deep so it is easy to work in. The mist was making things a bit difficult, sometime i couldn't see more than 25 meters and other times the sun almost broke through casting a warm glow over everything. I had great fun with a Kingfisher that arrived shortly after i arrived before sunrise and stayed about most of the morning. When it first arrived i heard it outside the side of the hide and when i peered out it was staring back at me. I was able to turn the hide round and back away a bit to be able to focus on it. Later on it landed on the top of my hide and spent a whilke fishing off it. Here is a couple of quick phone videos so excuse the quality.

View: https://youtu.be/K94_xhIWalU


View: https://youtu.be/bCJrpEqHk5o
 
Excellent work, Phil. You should very pleased with the shots you have so far(I'm sure there will be more to come) and the video of the kingfisher on your hide is lovely.

Dave
 
Wow, this is fabulous, has to be one of the best projects I've seen here.

The KF on your hide remeinds me of a time it happened to me, although I was in a pop up, not a floating hide. I could hear it scurrying about on top ,whilst the landowner watching from a distance, was in fits of laughter as the KF was totally ingoring my perches, just feet away.

The 3rd KF image is my fave of the KF shots, although thay are all really nice. Looks like a juvenile female.

The mist in the others, particularly the little and great crested grebe images really makes those, together with the POV and light, they are just wonderful. I'm a fan of just the right amount of mist and you've got that here. I've never considered mist for wildlife but you've made it work.

The sunrise is cool too.

Just a wonderful set, keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.
 
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I'm resurrecting this old thread again as i got out with the floating hide for the first time in over 4 months. A combination of short days, busy with work and poor/windy weather meant i just didn't near it. I got the opportunity a couple of weekends ago after seeing a forecast for almost 0 wind and targeted a group of Little Egrets that have recently appeared locally. I found that i was almost too low to the water to get the reflection and had to raise the camera up a bit.

DSC_9657-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_9768-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_9761-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_9743-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_9737-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_9720-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr
 
robinsslee said:
I wonder if you need water licence to use floating hide in England?
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Never heard of that to be honest. I'm in Northern Ireland. They are becoming more common with a number of companies producing them now and a number of YouTube wildlife photographers using them.
 
I got out in the hide again yesterday morning, 1st March, and the conditions were class. It was -2 degrees as i was driving down at 6.30am so the water wasn't warm but heated socks are a winner. No wind, nice light and mist rising off he water was the theme of the morning. Lots of Tufted Ducks and Coots, the Egrets that were normally there didn't put in an appearance unfortunately.

aroundDSC_6160-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_6162-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_6168 by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_6173 by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_6186-Edit by Philip Blair, on Flickr

DSC_6193 by Philip Blair, on Flickr
 
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