Unidentified object in Danish photo of birds (bird poop)

[Rory]

Here's a shot of some birds (Eurasian widgeons, I believe) that was shared today in a Danish UFO group:


Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112842926337/posts/10158628324866338/

Upon looking on the computer the photographer noticed a small object in the top left corner and felt it could be something unusual:



At first I thought it might be photoshopped - it seemed too clear and lacking in pixelation (especially since not the hi-res version of the photo) - but now I'm thinking perhaps it could be bird poop.

Here's a few other photos of Eurasian widgeons dropping their load:



Probably if I look a little harder I can find something that could be zoomed in on.

But maybe it's not that. Maybe it's something else?

Camera details: Nikon Z7 47mill. pix, 1/3200sec, f:5,5 500mm (Nikkor 200mm-500mm)

And I've asked the photographer if he could send a copy of the hi-res original.

 

[jarlrmai]

My guess is bird poop as you suggest or maybe an insect.

I have fortuitously captured insects with birds before eg:



What we do know is it is in the same focal plane as the birds and thus small, as the birds will not be at the hyperfocal distance of a telephoto at 500mm and f/5.5? (f/5.6..)

This also places it right by the birds and thus the size and position means the poop hypothesis is credible.

Your second poop image is a Wood duck though and not a Eurasian widgeon.

 

[LilWabbit]

At first I thought it might be photoshopped - it seemed too clear and lacking in pixelation (especially since not the hi-res version of the photo) - but now I'm thinking perhaps it could be bird poop.

The white bit -- uric acid -- is peculiar to bird droppings. It's a piece of avicultural aerial bombardment for sure.

Article:

The white in bird droppings is predominantly uric acid excreted by the kidneys. Unlike mammals, birds don’t excrete the products of protein breakdown as soluble urea, but as uric acid. This is only marginally soluble, so is seen as a white paste. This comes from the kidney into the cloaca – the single orifice for excretion, urination, egg-laying and mating – where the faecal waste also empties.

This means bird droppings are a mix of faeces and uric acid. However, the faeces tend to be produced first, then capped with the uric acid. Depending on diet, the amounts of each vary. It is easy to see this in domestic fowl where the bulk of the droppings is usually a khaki fibrous mass capped with a dollop of the white uric acid.

Source: https://www.newscientist.com/lastword/mg25133461-700-why-are-bird-droppings-mostly-white-considering-the-things-birds-eat/#:~:text=The%20white%20in%20bird%20droppings,seen%20as%20a%20white%20paste.

What astounds me more than the mystery (solved) of the freefalling piece of turd is the psychology of readiness to believe it could be an alien ship. Such readiness is shown by uploading shite to be analyzed by ufolists.

Not to say people aren't constantly posting crap on social media anyhoo.

 

[FatPhil]

What we do know is it is in the same focal plane as the birds and thus small, as the birds will not be at the hyperfocal distance of a telephoto at 500mm and f/5.5? (f/5.6..)

This also places it right by the birds and thus the size and position means the poop hypothesis is credible.

Yup, the different birds have different levels of focus, nearer ones sharper, and further ones about as blurry as the object, if not blurier. So it's in amongst the birds.

 

[JMartJr]

Yup, the different birds have different levels of focus, nearer ones sharper, and further ones about as blurry as the object, if not blurier. So it's in amongst the birds

Note another "something" above the right-most wing of the bird to lower right, which is very out of focus.

 

[AmberRobot]

Note another "something" above the right-most wing of the bird to lower right, which is very out of focus.

Looks like dust on the lens.

 

[jarlrmai]

Looks like dust on the lens.

It's more likely dust on the sensor, lens dust does not show up that much even on the rear element

 

[AmberRobot]

It's more likely dust on the sensor, lens dust does not show up that much even on the rear element

I would expect dust on th sensor to be essentially opaque while this looks somewhat transparent. But I agree that dust on the lens typically wouldn’t show up if the focus were set far away like this image seems to be.

 

[jarlrmai]

IIRC it depends on the dust spot size relative to the circle of confusion, but from experience these look exactly like dust spots on the sensor, the smaller the aperture the more solid and more noticeable they get.

 

[FatPhil]

IIRC it depends on the dust spot size relative to the circle of confusion, but from experience these look exactly like dust spots on the sensor, the smaller the aperture the more solid and more noticeable they get.

The band-pass filter at the front of the sensor will give a dust speck some blur, but you're right, limiting the aperture reduces the range of routes around the side of the speck, so crispens it somewhat. (Which reminds me, I still have Georgian/Azeri desert sand in my SLR... )

 

[AmberRobot]

The band-pass filter at the front of the sensor will give a dust speck some blur, but you're right, limiting the aperture reduces the range of routes around the side of the speck, so crispens it somewhat. (Which reminds me, I still have Georgian/Azeri desert sand in my SLR... )

When I read “on the sensor” I was literally thinking on the chip itself. But indeed a filter ahead of the chip could produce something like this and I agree seems more likely than on the lens in this case.

 

[jarlrmai]

Yeah there's generally an IR cut then the Bayer layer then the CMOS this collection is often loosely referred to as the sensor, sorry I should have been clearer.

 

[AmberRobot]

Yeah there's generally an IR cut then the Bayer layer then the CMOS this collection is often loosely referred to as the sensor, sorry I should have been clearer.

No worries, your use is probably the more common vernacular than mine. I am used to scientific sensors, not photographic ones, so I didn't think about all the layers that would be considered part of the sensor.