Post your best bird shots!

Thanks Bill! Here's the 2nd set, I was closer but the sun has now gone behind a cloud.

No 1 Landing

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/1...00d72a9f_c.jpg
2014_02_12_6319_upd_8x10 by dthrog00, on Flickr

No 2 Taking off Again

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3815/1...de57662b_c.jpg
2014_02_12_6321_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr

No 3

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7357/1...957f0f33_c.jpg
2014_02_12_6322_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr

No 4

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7314/1...2ff4b34b_c.jpg
2014_02_12_6324_upd_8x10 by dthrog00, on Flickr

Thanks for viewing.
Dave

Some more wading birds (and a shorebird).

all with 5dii, 500mm IS II

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/1...22be6ab9_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7419/1...cc5e029a_c.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3740/1...d2a87ccf_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/1...a56b2436_c.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5548/1...a9b82b03_c.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2842/1...3bc9b731_c.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3776/1...841fa53d_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/1...d3e59911_c.jpg


(hope thats not to many)

Super Nick....gorgeous light, wish I was there!

Yesterday, Brant and I went looking for snowys and found an eagle. But this red-breasted merganser eating an eel was my favorite shot of the day. The lesson to be learned was when you eat an eel, make sure it's dead first. You should have seen the poor duck writhe and struggle after finally swallowing it… :eek:

"Losing My Lunch on a Bad Hair Day" aka "No, That's Not My Tongue"
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/1...00450759_c.jpg
EOS 1D X, EF 600mm f/4L IS II + EF 2x III Extender, 1/2500 s, f/11, ISO 2000

Thats a great shot John, I would have had a little fun with it and made the eel pink so it looked like a tongue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DavidWare

Thats a great shot John, I would have had a little fun with it and made the eel pink so it looked like a tongue.

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Thanks - that makes a better title!

One good one from today:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3733/1...4104f219_c.jpg

And one not so good one... every time the shutter clicked, he'd twitch, so all my woodpecker shots needed massive over-sharpening to fake that they were okay. ;)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/1...b1650501_c.jpg

Yet another round of snow and ice here....a bit unusual this late but makes the birds come in to feed and makes for nice photo opp's

Eastern Towhee
1DX
700mm
iso 3200
f/7.1
1/1250
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....90562897-4.jpg

Eastern Bluebird
1DX
700mm
ISO 3200
f/5.6
1/2000
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....21377730-5.jpg

Male Northern Cardinal
1DX
700mm
ISO 1600
f/7.1
1/1250
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....09572744-4.jpg

A couple of stunners Joel! Great shots!

+1, very nice Joel you have amazing backyard bird shots!

Dave

Thanks Dave and Jayson. I am in a good spot for song birds, rural south central Kentucky. My house sits on approximately 5 acres and 75% of it is wooded. I am surrounded by farms and there is a nice little stream that runs year round about 200 yds from my back door. Great song bird habitat all around our home! I have thought of trying to put in a pond to attract waterfowl but don't know if I can ever pull that off:)

Canon 5D Mark III
420 mm
1/640
f/7.1
ISO 125
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3594/1...c99b43b3e5.jpg

still tryin to figure out how to properly use my better beamer. this one isnt to bad i think.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/1...b1ee61d3_b.jpg
IMG_4700 by sedwards679, on Flickr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sedwards

still tryin to figure out how to properly use my better beamer. this one isnt to bad i think.

IMG_4700 by sedwards679, on Flickr

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I agree, the flash looks pretty natural on this one. I think the better beamer works best with low power flash settings. I frequently use manual settings of 1/16 power or less. When using ETTL I will dial in negative compensation like -2 1/3. In other words I use it for "fill flash" almost all the time. Looks like you have the hang of it!

ABE pair

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3812/...4185385e_z.jpg

Nice catch. Good background separation, and I like the touch of motion blur on the wing too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill W

ABE pair

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Wow...beautiful....great sharpness and feather detail!!!

I was set up today getting some images of Gold Finches and the small Downy Woodpeckers when this Female Pileated Woodpecker arrived....too bad I had too much focal length to get her in the frame completely as the light was really nice.

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....20563938-4.jpg

Black Phoebe
5d mark III, 70-300mm f/4 L
only 2.7Megapixel remained after cropping

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7099/1...77dcc830_b.jpg
_AH06932 - Version 2 by ahab1372, on Flickr

From Lock & Dam 11 in Dubuque, Iowa.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3722/1...66e2e79b_c.jpg
2014_03_15_4324_upd_8x10_2 by dthrog00, on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/1...44f8feb6_b.jpg
2014_03_15_4499_upd_8x10 by dthrog00, on Flickr

Thanks for viewing.
Dave

That is an awesome close up Dave.....love it!

It's cold and raining here today.....there are some birds feeding but it's a very high ISO day:(

1DX
500mm f/4L IS USM I
ISO 5000
f/4.5
1/640

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....50776895-4.jpg

Female Downy Woodpecker
1DX
700mm
ISO 3200
f/10
1/800
580 EXII + Better Beamer @ 1/64 power

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....73740474-4.jpg

Red Bellied Woodpecker

1DX
700mm
ISO 3200
f/8
1/800
No flash

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....13383869-4.jpg

new visitor at my bird feeder. I should have bumped it to f8 but didnt think of that till now lol.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7314/1...88820818_b.jpg
IMG_5001 by sedwards679, on Flickr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sedwards

new visitor at my bird feeder. I should have bumped it to f8 but didnt think of that till now lol.

IMG_5001 by sedwards679, on Flickr

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Beautiful Dove Stuart! I like the "high key" effect on the background, well done. Details on the bird look good to me as well.

Thanks Joel . im havin a pretty good day just sittin on the porch. its nasty cold but worth it lol.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/...3116ca7f_b.jpg
IMG_5018 by sedwards679, on Flickr
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2853/...9096fcc4_b.jpg
IMG_5047 by sedwards679, on Flickr

Wow .... you did have a good day on the porch!

Spring is approaching here....the very best time of the year for my backyard is the last week in April and first 2 weeks of May. I have the most activity of local birds because of breeding season and migrants that are moving north as well. If anyone is traveling down I-65 or I-75 and have a few hours to spare let me know and I would be pleased to share some time in the backyard. The best times are from 0800 to 1100.

Took this early today....these are plentiful of course but it's tricky to get one perched above ground. He sat very still and allowed a slow shutter speed which was nice because it is gloomy this morning

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....93667509-5.jpg

1DX
700mm
ISO 3200
f/10
1/80
No flash

nice !send some of those robins north , maybe they will bring some warmer weather with them lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sedwards

nice !send some of those robins north , maybe they will bring some warmer weather with them lol

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They should arrive any day now....there are flocks of them here already.

Tufted Titmouse

1DX
700mm
ISO 2500
f/10
1/1250

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....35618692-4.jpg

got another nice one today. now i need to start trying to name them.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/1...0d4dbdd9_b.jpg
IMG_5302 by sedwards679, on Flickr

That is nice.....might be some type of Grosbeak.

Today I went out to a local "marsh" to check out the migrating birds. This used to be a water treatment plant many years ago and when they shut it down they turned the ponds into a wetland area. There are three ponds. One is fairly large and is ringed by hundreds of feet of reeds. The other two are much smaller and more accessible, but the birds know this and tend to stay at the large pond. I was stunned by the hundreds of birds there today. This is a narrow FOV as I only had my 400 and 1.4x TC mounted today.

http://bimmermail.com/birds/arcola-marsh01-md.jpg

As I approached the small ponds the birds there all took off. There's just no way to approach unheard with all the dry leaves and grass around the pond. But I settled in under a tree and stayed quiet and eventually they came back. Still, distance was my enemy again today.

A ring necked duck takes flight.

http://bimmermail.com/birds/rnd02-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/rnd01-md.jpg

Some northern shovelers.

http://bimmermail.com/birds/ns01-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/ns02-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/northern-shov01-md.jpg

And a red winged blackbird who performed a song and dance routine for me.

http://bimmermail.com/birds/rwbb03-md.jpg

After the marsh I went down to Lake Charleston and immediately witnessed an eagle flyover. I also saw some great blue herons and a horned grebe.

http://bimmermail.com/birds/eagle29-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/eagle30-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/eagle31-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/gbh11-md.jpg

http://bimmermail.com/birds/hg01-md.jpg

Wow Mark! That is a nice spot.....you should consider a small, inexpensive "pop-up" blind. If you can get both the sun and wind at your back the birds will land and take off towards you and the light will be good too.

Thanks, Joel. I may need to get a lens coat for the 400, at least. It seems every time I moved the camera, the birds would spook. Other folks I know have gotten decently close by low crawling military style up the levee that surrounds these ponds. Maybe I should get a Ghillie blanket. :D

Check these out........

http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/stor...phy-blind.html

http://ameristep.com/store/index.php...-category.html