[Leica] IMG: Wednesday Woodpeckers

[Doug Herr]

Optically the Sony 600/4 is darned near perfect.  Lots and lots of detail, outstanding flare resistance, plays nice with teleconverters, decent OOF rendering.  It doesn’t quite have the color richness of the 280/4 APO but that’s splitting hairs.  Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment.

Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto <http://www.wildlightphoto/>.com


> On Apr 22, 2020, at 3:54 PM, Aram Langhans <leica_r8 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Great series, Doug.  They are nice and sharp with great color.  So, how do you think the Sony 600 compares with your beloved Leica 280?  Obviously it gives you a lot more reach so less cropping or stealth necessary.
> 
> Aram
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Douglas Herr
> Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2020 8:57 PM
> To: lug at leica-users.org
> Subject: [Leica] IMG: Wednesday Woodpeckers
> 
> a tale of two species...
> 
> the players: Nuttall's Woodpecker pair
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/dryobates/nuttallii/drynut06.html
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/dryobates/nuttallii/drynut08.html
> 
> female Acorn Woodpecker
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/melanerpes/formicivorus/melfor12.html
> 
> the scene: a dead cottonwood tree, Sacramento County California
> 
> The Nuttall's pair has been working for several days excavating a nest cavity in a dead Cottonwood tree
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/dryobates/nuttallii/drynut09.html
> 
> When I arrived on the morning of 19 April 2020 I saw the male Nuttall's remove something from the cavity that looked like an egg, then resume work on the cavity. Weird, I thought, let's keep watching.
> 
> In the days since I first observed the Nuttall's pair working on the cavity, a colony of Acorn Woodpeckers moved in nearby. A female Acorn Woodpecker seemed unusually interested in the Nuttall's cavity
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/melanerpes/formicivorus/melfor13.html
> 
> at this point the male Nuttall's raised the alarm
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/dryobates/nuttallii/drynut10.html
> 
> Apparently Acorn Woodpeckers don't share nest trees. I also observed the female Acorn repeatedly use her face-chisel to try to stab the female Nuttall's who was inside the cavity.
> 
> I'm guessing the Acorn Woodpecker left an egg in the Nuttall's nest cavity for the Nuttall's to hatch & raise, Mr. Nuttall's discovered the ruse and removed the Acorn Woodpecker egg sending Ms. Acorn into a tizzy.
> 
> Meanwhile in another part of the woods a male Acorn Woodpecker was making another nest cavity
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/melanerpes/formicivorus/melfor10.html
> 
> it's always the guys who take out the trash
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/melanerpes/formicivorus/melfor09.html
> 
> all: Sony a7rIII, 600mm f/3 GM, big tripod.  Some with 1.4x TC.
> 
> All comments welcome.
> 
> 
> Doug Herr
> Birdman of Sacramento
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com
>