Black Headed Grosbeak

This is a pair that has been coming to my feeders and I have been trying to get a good shot of them. These are OK, but since my lens died, I will have to wait and submit these.
1/800s f/8.0 at 400.0 mm iso400

And the female ..
1/500s f/8.0 at 400.0 mm iso400

Nice shots Dennis, looks like a common hang out as you can see the claw marks on the wood.

Dan

Great captures, thanks for sharing these. You must have a great backyard for birds. I never saw the yellow on their breast before.

And the juvenile grosbeak.. Note the light stripes on the chest.(last)

Wow...great series of shots. Sorry to hear about your lens though. These are beautiful captures of beautiful birds. Well done.

Nice job with the family reunion.

Great captures of a very nice looking bird. Very colorful!

Great series of a very nice looking species. I would love to see this bird.

Nice series Dennis! They sure are a pretty bird and you've done a great job capturing them.

-Carl

Nice shots Dennis. I've never seen one before. Cute bird.

Not certain why you didn't think these were "good" shots, Dennis. They look pretty good to me. Image #1 is my favorite. Great color, exposure and detail. Of particular interest to me is the two white ovals on the underside of his tail. Unusual markings and it looks like there may actually be four white ovals.
If you don't consider these shots good, we're all looking forward to seeing your "good" ones.

Ron

They still look nice Dennis.
What do you mean it died?

They get some much free food, it attracts a lot of vagrants.

Thanks Rathke, just a tract house on a little lot, I notice that both the male and female have yellow and the immatures have yellow under their wings.

Thank you Sindri, every year they come back to the feeders and bring their young.

Thanks BD, Keith and Carl for your kind remarks.

Thanks Fee, since I got my telephoto lens I have discovered many birds that I didn't realize were here.

Thanks Ron, I was hoping to entice them on to my "magnetic" branch (one that I put near the feeders to keep from getting "feeder shots". With the right light and pose, I was hoping for great shots. I went back to look for those ovals, I wonder if they are not an artifact of light. I will have to look through the shots that I have.

Thanks Dimitri, the autofocus went out and I think the IS wasn't working consistantly. I had to get it in before the warrenty expired.

I noticed the orange plumage of this Black Headed Grosbeak merges into a nice yellow colour underneath, with the black and white feathers (especially the first shot) makes this bird very contrasting and interesting. Your shots with razor sharp focus and details have brought out their qualities.