Reifel Sandhills

Out in Vancouver for Christmas with my kids and they took me down to the bird sanctuary yesterday so that I could feed the bird addiction. It was cloudy, overcast and dark and a glorious time. There are birds there that I don't normally get a chance to see such as these pair. They were a loong ways away but still came out not too badly. These were taken with the 500mm on a monopod as I did not want the weight of the tripod for the flight. Might want to reconsider after yesterday.

Any and all comments appreciated and welcome.

Merry Christmas to all and your families.

IMAGE LINK: http://smg.photobucket​.com …hillCranesReife​l.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://smg.photobucket​.com …illCranes1Reife​l.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://smg.photobucket​.com …llCranesReifel-2.jpg.html

Looks like an awesome way to spend the day! Nice set with a beautiful backdrop!

They turned out real nice, great eyes and beautiful feathers, Merry Christmas to you and all yours, what a great gift you got!

Excellent shots

very nice John

Love the birds against that wonderful background! Great shots!

great xmas pressie, and good shots. Yep, a tripod is a good thing to pack, but looks like you did just fine. Merry xmas to you as well John.

You did well. No tripod needed.

SJC from VT wrote in post #16554377
Looks like an awesome way to spend the day! Nice set with a beautiful backdrop!

It was a great day. The Sandhills have become quite tame and actually were out on the path at the entrance, mixing it up with all the ducks for seed from people. I much prefer them in a more natural setting.

Oldjackssparrows wrote in post #16554545
They turned out real nice, great eyes and beautiful feathers, Merry Christmas to you and all yours, what a great gift you got!

Thank you. I do enjoy these birds and the sanctuary. It has been a great visit.

2n10 wrote in post #16554623
Excellent shots

Thank you.

kmunroe wrote in post #16555555
very nice John

Thank you.

Scrumhalf wrote in post #16555560
Love the birds against that wonderful background! Great shots!

Thanks, I was lucky that this pair came out as I was passing.

catsith wrote in post #16555562
great xmas pressie, and good shots. Yep, a tripod is a good thing to pack, but looks like you did just fine. Merry xmas to you as well John.

jhayesvw wrote in post #16556184
You did well. No tripod needed.

This was the first time with the monopod and the big lens. A real learning experience, in the future am going to make a bigger effort to bring the tripod if possible.