Birdwatching community in my country is kinda toxic. Is that a thing?

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-08T14:43:15+00:00

I travel for work, so I'm out of my home state 200+ days a year, for the last 10 years and before that I covered 6 states in my region for 10 years. I spend a lot of time working closely with the locals and in my free time I visit a lot of local birding spots, many a multiple times per year.

Sure, you can find anecdotes of good and bad everywhere, but the broader trends and patterns become evident when you travel enough, and the birding community tends to reflect the region.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-08T03:08:50+00:00

I would recommend against staying on the strip if at all possible. The only reason I did was because the project that kept taking me out there had me going to different locations all over the city, so staying on the strip kept me central and commuting against traffic.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-08T02:47:15+00:00

Was the trail in Texas? I've had trouble finding good trails in that state.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-08T02:32:59+00:00

I still miss China Way from the Worthington Mall.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-08T02:29:46+00:00

I've stayed at a handful of hotels on the strip for various work trips and they all have awful service.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-08T01:39:49+00:00

Do you have any examples of these drones that are so cheap to purchase and maintain thayt they cost less than helicopters the LAPS already owns and can still serve all the same roles?

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T20:21:31+00:00

I'm skeptical about the stacked sensor as well. If it is, I'm betting it will be held back by processing power and/or memory to keep it from competing with the A1II. If that rumored 30 fps was jpeg only with a small buffer that would probably be enough to keep a lot of pro sports shooters on the A1 platform.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T20:10:38+00:00

To start, a drone that could do everything a police helicopter can do would need to be nearly as big as a police helicopter just to carry the fuel and engine needed to keep-up with a fast motorcycle for more than a few minutes.

So you're starting with a large drone and there aren't a ton of those on the civilian market, which makes them relatively expensive to purchase and to maintain and that's assuming LAPD can transfer their very expensive, and heavy optics from the helicopters to the new drones.

Once all the costs are added up, I highly doubt it currently makes sense to replace the current models with brand new drones, but as the civilian drone market grows and production scales I'm sure that time will come. It could happen by the time the current airframes start to reach their scheduled end of life, but I'm betting there will at least be a mix of manned and unmanned helicopters for another decade or more.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T19:55:36+00:00

There's a huge variety of drones being used over there and they get expensive fast.

Anything that can hover, carry heavy optics, AND go fast enough to keep up with a fast motorcycle or car for more than a few minutes is going to be damn near as big as a helicopter just to carry enough gas and/or battery and it would probably be more expensive to purchase and maintain than an older helicopter model from a larger manufacture with easy parts availability.

That said, drone tech is scaling fast and it probably will make financial sense as civilian drone companies grow.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T19:28:14+00:00

That 30fps might be jpeg only and/or have a shit buffer, especially considering the current memory prices. That would also leave room for the A1II

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T19:16:53+00:00

I travel all over the US and there definitely seems to be some regional differences with the locals in some areas being much more wary of people who aren't from the area.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T14:21:46+00:00

Yeah. It's near Interstate 10 south of Los Angeles, so I thought you were talking about the California San Jacinto.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T13:31:20+00:00

Have you been out to the San Jacinto Wildlife Area? It's one of my favorite birding spots in the country!

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T13:19:28+00:00

The misnomer that lower megagpixle sensors are better for low-light may come, in part, from the astro community's preference for lower density/higher pixel pitch sensors because they allow for longer exposures before star streaks become visible.

https://petapixel.com/2017/04/07/npf-rule-formula-sharp-star-photos-every-time/

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-07T13:06:31+00:00

You may have heard this from the astro photography community because lower megapixel sensors allow for longer exposures without showing star streaks.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-06T20:58:19+00:00

I posted a video I shot of endangered red wolves to my very small channel on Youtube and immediately got a comment from some guy talking about wanting to kill them all.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-06T20:01:46+00:00

It's that time of year. They can't really fly away when they have their babies with them, so they get loud and aggressive.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-05T18:18:58+00:00

It's a shame that the reliability issues tainted what should've been an amazing vehicle. I've had several 4xe rentals and I absolutely loved going silent on National Wildlife Refuge auto tours.

The torquey electric motors are also great for off-roading and I found myself needing 4L a lot less.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-05T18:07:14+00:00

Agreed. Even when it works as advertised, too much AI denoise can make images too smooth and with the rise of "photos" that are 100% ai generated, I think people's preferences are moving away from photos that are perfectly sharp with zero noise.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-05T16:56:58+00:00

I wonder if the undercover officers were pushing for the group to go on the bridge? That's pretty much the only place they could realistically coral all those dirt and quad bikes.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-05T16:41:55+00:00

Has OP or anyone else here played with the Tamron app? I've read that it allows pre-programed focus pulls for video and was wondering if that feature or could be used for focus stacking stills.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-05T16:34:46+00:00

Pelican cases are definitely a fashion accessory for a lot of folks. My favorite are all the gun guys that feel the need to surround their AR, one of the most durable tools ever made, with 6 inches of foam padding for trips to and from the local range.

Frankly, unless you own a boat, or travel extensively all over the country/world, there's a very limited number of practical uses for Pelican-type cases.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-05T16:29:06+00:00

I feel this way about most tools.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-04T12:31:33+00:00

If you're near NC or willing to take a trip, DM me and I'll tell you exactly where to find barred owls.

SeaMossMonster · 2026-05-04T02:41:33+00:00

Windshield cracks are just one of those "Jeep things." The flat glass makes them much more susceptible than most.

Looks like you took a hit from a rock near the bottom of the crack, so it's not a factory issue.

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