Northern flicker in low light w/1D Mk III

[gymell]

This morning on my way out the door I noticed a male pileated woodpecker at my feeder, and grabbed my camera. By the time I got set up he was gone, and this male yellow-shafted northern flicker had showed up. I've seen these in my yard occasionally, but never at the feeders and never this late in the year. It was cloudy and somewhat early (the EXIF says 8:21 but it was 7:21) and so there wasn't much light since sunrise is at 7:00. For the first photo I had the ISO at 800 and then had to bump up the exposure in DPP. The second two photos I cranked the ISO up to 1600 and was very pleased with the result - didn't have to do any exposure adjustments afterward. Post processing in DPP, Paint Shop Pro, and I did some noise reduction with Neat Image.

Empty suet log:

http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/88586802/original.jpg


Checking out the peanut feeder:
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/88586820/original.jpg

Clear view that this is a yellow-shafted flicker:
http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/88586821/original.jpg

[skydolphins]

very nice, I love it when the come to my yard, we had a pair that had several clutches of eggs this year. Great job photographing them.

[gymell]

Thanks - at first I was really surprised to see it because I've never seen one at a feeder before. I saw many around town earlier in the summer, mixed in with flocks of robins. One time I was driving home from work and found a just-fledged flicker in the middle of the road. I moved it and it kept hopping back until I moved it far enough away. Cool that you had them nesting in your yard! Like the red-headed woodpecker, they are on the decline, partly due to nesting competition by the similar sized and non-native European starling.

[canonloader]

Excellent work Liz. Never saw one in my yard, but there lots of them down at the island this spring. All I got were long shots though. :)

[gymell]

Thanks - this is the first one I've photographed in my yard. Can't wait to get a decent perch up so I can start taking more natural looking shots! It's my first time shooting at high ISO so that definitely opens up new possibilities.

[ajosteve]

Liz, these are some beautiful shots, love the darker background for this bird, makes the colors pop...very fine catch...steve

[gymell]

Thanks - the dark in the background is a clump of pine trees further back in the yard. Because of the high ISO, the dark areas had more noise so I had to do more noise reduction than I normally do.

[avwh]

Great shots, Liz - did you make or buy that suet log in the first photo?

[MDoc]

WOW those are some terrific shots Liz. I especially like the first one.

[gymell]

Great shots, Liz - did you make or buy that suet log in the first photo?

Thanks - I bought it at a bird store. It works great and attracts many types of woodpeckers (including pileated woodpeckers) nuthatches, chickadees, etc. Other birds that have a hard time clinging to vertical surfaces aren't able to use it very well, which works great for keeping undesirables off the suet. I have a baffle on the pole and that keeps the squirrels off. During the summer the woodpeckers fill up their beaks with suet to take back to the nest, and then it's fun to see the fledglings come in and learn how to use it. ;) I'm planning to put a homemade perch up in addition to this so I can get some more natural looking photos.

[gymell]

WOW those are some terrific shots Liz. I especially like the first one.

Thanks - I was excited to see the flicker and happy that the high ISO worked out so well!

[tom ryan]

Hi Liz...I really like the first shot and the results on #2 and #3 are excellent at ISO 1600...tom

[bromm]

Great job Liz, beautifull captures!

[w7psk]

Im very new to this and I bought my XTi and Sigma 70-300 Zoom/Macro to take wildlife pics.

What lens you use and how far away. Ive yet to try outside, Im trying to read as much as I can yet.

[gymell]

Hi Liz...I really like the first shot and the results on #2 and #3 are excellent at ISO 1600...tom

Thanks - I wish I'd thought to use ISO 1600 on the first, but I'm not used to going so high with it so was experimenting.

[gymell]

Great job Liz, beautifull captures!

Thanks! It was very unusual to see a flicker at the feeders so I was excited.

[gymell]

Im very new to this and I bought my XTi and Sigma 70-300 Zoom/Macro to take wildlife pics.

What lens you use and how far away. Ive yet to try outside, Im trying to read as much as I can yet.

I used a 500mm f/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter. I was about 20 feet or so away, shooting from a window to the feeder just beyond the patio. Also I had the lens mounted on a monopod to keep it steady, which worked well. For a 300mm you'll need to be pretty close, maybe set up a feeder and practice on tamer birds like chickadees and nuthatches.

[hTr]

Boy you sure showed the power of the MkIII Liz, Absolutely Great shots

[IraRunyan]

Liz, Those last two are outstanding.

[Paul A]

Really nice colors with the flat light, good work.

[avwh]

I used a 500mm f/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter. I was about 20 feet or so away, shooting from a window to the feeder just beyond the patio. Also I had the lens mounted on a monopod to keep it steady, which worked well. For a 300mm you'll need to be pretty close, maybe set up a feeder and practice on tamer birds like chickadees and nuthatches.

Liz:
are you shooting through an open window, or is this through a glass pane? I'm even more amazed at the IQ, if this is through glass (I've only been trying to set up my backyard feeders to get direct line-of-sight, b/c I know I'll lose all kinds of IQ through my house windows).

[enjoy]

Its a nice sharp picture.

[targetman]

terrific shots.

[gymell]

Boy you sure showed the power of the MkIII Liz, Absolutely Great shots

Thanks - I had never tried such a high ISO before. I usually try to stick to 100 or maybe 200. I'm glad I did try it, both for my trip to Alaska next week and also for the winter here there will be less light.

[gymell]

Liz, Those last two are outstanding.

Thanks - yes I think the second two pictures where I bumped up the ISO to 1600 look better, as opposed to the first where I had it at 800 and then bumped up the exposure in DPP afterward.

[gymell]

Really nice colors with the flat light, good work.

Thanks - I'm very impressed with the camera's capabilities on a cloudy early morning like that.

[gymell]

Its a nice sharp picture.

Thanks - having the rig mounted on a monopod really helped, and IS didn't hurt either!

[gymell]

terrific shots.

Thanks for looking!

[gymell]

Liz:
are you shooting through an open window, or is this through a glass pane? I'm even more amazed at the IQ, if this is through glass (I've only been trying to set up my backyard feeders to get direct line-of-sight, b/c I know I'll lose all kinds of IQ through my house windows).

Actually I opened the window. I recently relocated these feeders so I can see them through a back window and also a sliding patio door in my walkout basement. The previous day I had removed the screen from the window. I don't think shooting through the glass would have been at all successful in this light, no matter how much I push the ISO. I'm trying to come up with the best strategy for shooting in this location. It's simply not going to work to have the window open during a Minnesota winter! I do have a blind I can set out on the patio, but I'd also like to be able to take those spur of the moment shots. I've had zero luck with the pileated woodpeckers while I'm in the blind. Plus sitting inside when it's below zero will be much more comfortable. I think shooting through the patio door will be better, but I have to figure out a way to keep my cat from running outside when I do that! ;)