Ring-necked Pheasant Rooster

One of the really cool things about digiscoping is that I am willing to try and take photos that I would never have done in the past with my 150mm lens on my dSLR camera. The images are not as high quality as I get from my regular camera, but for long distance shots that I wouldn't try otherwise, I'm delighted with them. These rooster pheasant photos were taken with my iPhone 4S through a Swarovski Optik ATX 85mm spotting scope at 60 power. Yes, I said 60 power. Most scopes of lesser quality will have a dark and dingy image at 60 power, but one comes to expect crystal clear images with Swarovski. I feel like the camera's autofocus and my hand-holding is the only thing really holding me back from getting better images. Even at 60 power, the scope still has great light transmission and clarity to capture the array of colors seen on this pheasant.

I know it is not a native bird, but it is a well established in Idaho and just so dang beautiful. Just look at the colors and the patterns. Amazing! Make sure to click on the image to view them in a larger format.