Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2021/03/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Doug, this was indeed a worthwhile outing.? I especially liked the Sapsucker series.? Nice lighting for details! On 3/10/21 12:20 PM, Douglas Herr via LUG wrote: > I spent yesterday morning at a river floodplain re-purposed as a nature > study area with plentiful walking trails and wildlife. One of the first > birds I found was a cooperative pair of California Towhees, munching on > filaree seeds. By waiting quietly I was able to test the minimum focus > distance of the 600mm lens: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/passerellidae/melozone/crissalis/melcri19.html > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/passerellidae/melozone/crissalis/melcri16.html > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/passerellidae/melozone/crissalis/melcri20.html > > a side benefit of all this quiet waiting was a Hermit Thrush in a nearby > bush who un-skulked long enough for a few quick exposures: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/turdidae/catharus/guttatus/catgut02.html > > I then walked through the floodplain to an area with dense brush, perfect > habitat for a Spotted Towhee: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/passerellidae/pipilo/maculatus/pipmac21.html > > Towhees are basically a large sparrow and both the California Towhee and > Spotted Towhee are often found in suburban yards; this two-for (on a > Tuesday) in wilder habitat was a first for me. > > Having adequately and delightfully spent the morning with these birds in > glorious overcast light I felt that I had used the day well, and with an > eye on the thickening cloud cover I packed the camera and started to head > home, but wait! What was that in those distant trees? It looks like a > woodpecker, near the area where last year both Acorn Woodpeckers and > Nuttall's Woodpeckers had nest cavities. I unpacked the camera and walked > over to investigate the activity. > > Turns out the woodpecker was neither Acorn nor Nuttall's: it was a > Red-breasted Sapsucker visiting the lowlands for the winter. The > sapsucker drills little sap wells in the bark of trees, returning > periodically to check for sweet sap and any insects that may have been > attracted to it. > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/ruber/sphrub09.html > > This bird spent most of its time in one tree and was quite cooperative > allowing this onlooker to expose a few billion pixels. The bird's M.O. > was to start on the lower trunk, working its way up to the higher limbs, > drilling new sap wells as it saw fit, and checking on the older sap wells > > going up the trunk: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/ruber/sphrub11.html > > checking sap wells on the other side > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/ruber/sphrub08.html > > new sap wells on a higher limb > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/ruber/sphrub12.html > > oooh! nice sticky sap > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/ruber/sphrub10.html > > equipment: "Leica" alpha 7rIII, "Leica" 600mm f/4 GM, big tripod. > > With all of these birds, the camera's autofocus system struggled to lock > onto the bird so I often used center point focus (not my fav) and ended up > deleting a lot of images. Demonstrations of the new alpha 1's Bird Eye AF > look promising. My wallet is quaking in fear. > > As usual, all comments are welcome. > > Doug Herr > Birdman of Sacramento > http://www.wildlightphoto.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > -- Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA