Blackbirds - No Branches!

[Scottes]

I'm learning. No branches, and more-or-less frontlit this time.

http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/blackbird1.jpg
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/blackbird3.jpg
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/blackbird4.jpg

[PacAce]

Alright! Good stuff! Well done, Scottes! :)

[acurtis]

Scottes

I like the 3rd picture. It shows off the speckles on his back and the vivid red wing flash. What is the bird called? We don't get those here.

Andy

[CyberDyneSystems]

Well those are damn fine!
Congrats.. very noice :)

[Cadwell]

I'm learning. No branches, and more-or-less frontlit this time.


:shock: Yes, but some might argue that gluing the bird to the branch is going too far! :shock:



;) Just kidding. Great shots :D

[cindavphoto]

I'm learning. No branches, and more-or-less frontlit this time.


:shock: Yes, but some might argue that gluing the bird to the branch is going too far! :shock:


That could explane the angry look the bird has in the first one.

[Mills]

Very Nice.

[Scottes]

Gosh, thanks folks. :oops:

They are Redwing Blackbirds, and seem to be quite common at Great Meadows right now. They sing quite a bit, and boy do they belt it out. Take a listen here (http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/spring/RedwingDictionaryORIG.html) and listen to the Okalee song, which is what I heard all morning. But turn your volume up to really get the impact. The Okalee is what they were singing, and they puff up like this for impact, which you'll understand if you take a listen. He's not angry, just singing.

They didn't mind me coming up to them, either. Granted I had the 100-400mm with the 1.4 TC on, but #1 is barely cropped, and the others are about 60% of original.

#1 is my favorite - and I got about 30 frames of him - but I had to blow out the background a bit even though he's frontlit. I gotta try my 420EX at fill flash - a 550EX would have made a world of difference, but I don't know how a 420EX would do the job. I'll find out next week.

Thanks again.



Please note: I'm not a snobby snot-nosed ornithologist - I had to use Google to find the above info. :lol:

[JZaun]

Great pic Scottes

JZaun

[IanD]

good to see something else besides ducks nad geese... :lol: :lol:
Love the first one Scott.

[msvadi]

Great shots! #1 is my favorite

[stoneylonesome]

Great shots. That sure looks like one angry redwing blackbeard, guess he didn't like his picture being taken :lol: