Nuthatch

at least 300, 500 are enough for birds.
I still use my 100-400 and get great results, but really i think of one prime.
I love to get that 600 for sure, but on my another thread people disagreed with me when i was thinking of 400 which is cheaper than 600. maybe you are right that sometimes i need long reach more than 400, but i can try to learn how to get closer with what i have. Maybe someday in my future long time i will get 600mm, who knows.

ZipDude66 wrote in post #2040410
Have to agree with get the best glass you can afford. Have to disagree with this statement "certainly couldn't of got them without the reach of the 600mm prime". You surely don't need a 600 to get good birdy pictures makes it somewhat easier for sure. I have shot many nice bird shots with a 85mm 1.8 at very close distance. If I had been using a 600 I would still be backing up to get all the bird in. Birding skills and patience are what I think it takes for good bird shots. Size does matter but not as much as one might think. Just an opinion.

Zip
Wild66.com

Depends if you want an image of the bird showing its natural behaviour in an undisturbed way or one frame taken before the bird is scared off I guess. Also I try not to crop my images in Ps I try to get the crop done in the camera to maximise the detail in the image. At 6 metres with the 600mm a small bird like a robin doesn't fill the frame even with the cropped sensor on the 20D or 1D MkII N so I use extension tubes to allow me to focus closer when the situation allows me to.

Fantastic shots. Excellent work.

PhotosbyKev wrote in post #2041587
Depends if you want an image of the bird showing its natural behaviour in an undisturbed way or one frame taken before the bird is scared off I guess. Also I try not to crop my images in Ps I try to get the crop done in the camera to maximise the detail in the image. At 6 metres with the 600mm a small bird like a robin doesn't fill the frame even with the cropped sensor on the 20D or 1D MkII N so I use extension tubes to allow me to focus closer when the situation allows me to.

Excatly.

Classic nuthatch pose and very well taken shots. The colours rendered by the 600 have a lovely 'signature' pastel look that I like a lot. Great stuff.

The first image is perfect. Thanx for sharing.

Great shots! Even the perch is interesting.