[Leica] a morning walk

[Daniel Ridings]

Thanks Doug. I enjoyed your walk and am happy you used digital so that you
knew what you had in focus before you came home.

I really enjoy your background information on birds as well. I have a very
bird friendly yard and I work on it to make it even more so. I enjoy the
creatures and enjoy knowing more about them.

Daniel


On Wed, 10 Mar 2021, 19:20 Douglas Herr via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> 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
>
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