We arrived home from our latest camping trip yesterday afternoon. We had five days of adventure, great birds and beautiful country in Montana and Idaho. The weather was good until the end when the forecast turned a little sour so we decided to head for home before the holiday craziness got out of hand.
One of our favorite photo subjects was the pair of nesting Williamson’s Sapsuckers that we first found on our last trip to the area a month ago. This time I decided to experiment a little more with shooting angles and techniques and concentrate on action shots. This post consists of only a single image because I haven’t yet even seen, much less culled or processed, most of the many thousands of images I took on this trip. The next few days are going to be busy ones…
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
When we arrived at the nest-hole we were delighted to find that both adults were busy feeding chicks and maintaining a tidy home for their family. Here the male is leaving the nest after delivering a beak-full of ants to ravenous youngsters. At times the adults had so many ants in their beaks that it almost looked like they were carrying large clusters of grapes. The chicks weren’t yet old enough to poke their heads out of the hole but we could clearly hear them.
The dead aspen leans considerably so I didn’t (and won’t in the future) rotate to straighten it. I thought the shadow on the aspen of the birds tail, foot and leg was interesting.
Shooting conditions for action shots at the nest-hole tree are challenging. Light hits this side of the tree for only a few hours in the morning and even then it’s often dappled so exposure is constantly and rapidly changing. The background is tricky with all the light (aspen) and dark (conifer) tree trunks combined with some bright blue sky back there. But despite the challenges I’m confident that I was able to get many interesting images of these sapsuckers (and other birds and wildlife) that I’ll be sharing over the next few weeks.
I look forward to seeing them myself…
Ron
Very nice photo and discussion; thank you!
That’s a great shot , with all the conditions that you mentioned taken care of, a good reminder to check my angles and point of view with regards to light and shadow, including the background.Oh, I don’t envy you the work ahead, but if you are anything like me, you will obsessively work on the photos and have them done quickly.
Welcome home. And thank you. Love this image and am really, really looking forward to seeing others from this trip. And coming home before the holiday madness reaches its peak would always be my choice.
Welcome home! And happy July 4. This photo is wonderful. I love the pose and the detail of the wing feathers. The shadow of the bird’s foot reminds me of lizard feet, which I find endlessly fascinating.
Happy Forth to you and Mia, Ron. I hope your trip doesn’t” fly by too fast and that you get to return to that beautiful place soon…also hope the “Summer people” are elsewhere! I have discovered a wonderful new friend in Jorge, thanks to you. I hope his own “Independence Day” comes soon for him….and he can then follow his heart.
You’re a sweetheart, Patty…
great shot of a bird I don’t think I’ve seen…detail is so sharp, even the bird’s nails are sharp. If Ibfound one of its feathers, I would probably think it belonged to a woodpecker…What kinds of things did that little Savannah Sparrow catch?
And you’d be right, Patty – sapsuckers are types of woodpeckers. The Savannah was eating mostly insects – a huge variety of them in both species and size. And it was an absolutely relentless hunter!
Wonderful. As a 30 year birder, I’ve seen this bird only twice,. You got the shot! bravo. Leslie, raptor freak, San Diego
Leslie, My two experiences with this pair were my only time with the species too. Quite a thrill!
Lovely shot, and I’m certainly looking forward to the new images. Glad your trip was good. =) Every time I see birds in my garden, I’m super grateful they’re there to moderate the invertebrate community.
Me too, Biobabbler. These sapsuckers put away a huge number of ants but the champion insect-guzzler on this trip was a little female (I think) Savannah Sparrow. She was an amazing hunter (that’s an understatement) and some of the invertebrates she took on were absolutely huge, considering her size. I’ll be posting some interesting shots of her and her prey.
This is a great shot. Amazing color in this bird 😀
I’m glad you like it, Arwen. Thank you.
What a fantastic shot Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Welcome Ron. What a way to announce that you are coming back. Wonderful shot. I can’t wait to see all the others.
Thanks very much, Jorge – for the welcome and for the nice comment on the shot. It’s good to be home but I’m sure I’ll be itching for another trip very soon.