Greater/Lesser Yellow Legs?

So, suffering from lens envy and seeing that Ian (Wallace River) could shoot 1000mm, decided to take the Bigma out and put on my 2x multiplier. It's a beast, jumps immediately to f13 and the manual focus is touchy, touchy, touchy!

It also appears that there not much DOF wide open when the subject is at close range. I didn't want to stop down as I was running ISO 2500 all ready. This is not at 1000mm but at 730mm f/13 1/1000. Also discovered very quickly that the RC4 Ball Head is probably not adequate for this as it tends to shift after locking down so that you have to guess where the image will drift once you let go of the adjusting knobs.

If anyone out there want to share tips on how to best use a set up such as this please do! I am encouraged to pursue this more as it will allow me to fill more of the screen with subject and not have to try and get as close. I have always shot using autofocus, and it is fairly time consuming to try and use the live view and zoom function to get sharp focus and manage to get the picture taken before the subject moves. I am also using a remote to try and keep from bouncing the camera.

So to summarize, camera was a 6D with a Sigma 50-500mm f/5.6 Bigma and X2 doubler on a Manfrotto 190 XPro B and a RC-4 Ballhead. Equipment upgrade suggestions welcome, but I cannot do a 500/600mm prime (at least at this time) .

So enough with being long winded, here's the image. Oh, yes was taken about 5 minutes after sunrise.

Any and all comments/suggestions welcome.

Umm, am aware of the crappy composition, but that's what I was left with after straightening. It was almost full frame with virtually nothing left for cropping.

Tks.

IMAGE LINK: http://smg.photobucket​.com …%206D/Yellowleg​s.jpg.html

Very nice John! Too bad the reflection is cut off, but I realize you had nothing left to crop... bird is 'perfect'!!

Very nice job, I think it is a Greater Yellowlegs because the bill looks upturned.

Nothing wrong with that, despite your ballhead issue. I was actually using a ballhead on the Kingfisher, but it was a RRS BH55 and it holds my camera and lenses rock steady. If you really like using ballheads, consider that one - I picked mine up used. I really prefer using the Wimberly II gimbal, but just got lazy that day and didn't switch it over before heading out.

Excellent shot John, great manual focus skills.

It is a Greater Yellowlegs. The reason that it is a greater is because the bill is 1.5 head widths in length. It barely looks like that in this picture, but you have to take in that the head is angling away, which creates shortening of the bill. On a Lesser Yellowlegs, the bill is exactly one head width in length. (head width measured directly back from the base of the bill, to the back of the head). Another detail is that in general (this really can depend on what the bird is doing with its feathers so not 100% like the bill), Greater Yellowlegs and much deeper bodied than the lesser. I wouldn't rely on the deepness of the bird's body unless you first learn to tell the body size difference with a lesser and greater next to each other. However, bill length does not require that you have both species next to each other as you have the head to estimate the size.

Hope this helps,

Thanks, CMOats. At the time my eyes were tearing so much I could hardly focus, let alone tell how much I had in FOV. I find my eyes are becoming more light sensitive and I have to move my glasses to see whats in the viewfinder.

2N10, BirdBoy; thanks for the id, I try to remember these tips on the next one. Still using a bird book and oftentimes it really doesn't look like the example.

Ian and Lester, thanks for the kind words.

The ball head is a Manfrotto 498RC4 and when the friction knob for the swivel is loosened off then the whole assembly can rock. Of course at full zoom this can affect what is in the FOV. Not a big problem with a 17-40mm shooting landscape but a entirely different kettle of fish with a long lens on.