{"id":63428,"date":"2018-09-14T05:03:36","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T11:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=63428"},"modified":"2018-09-14T05:43:36","modified_gmt":"2018-09-14T11:43:36","slug":"dusky-flycatcher-the-best-bird-ive-photographed-in-quite-a-while","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/14\/dusky-flycatcher-the-best-bird-ive-photographed-in-quite-a-while\/","title":{"rendered":"Dusky Flycatcher – The ‘Best’ Bird I’ve Photographed In Quite A While"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ‘best’ I mean that this flycatcher gave me more poses yesterday, on more perches, over more time than any other\u00a0small bird in longer than I can remember. And “he” even allowed me a bunch of shots with prey for good measure, including a yellowjacket. My only complaint is that many (though not all)\u00a0of his chosen perches left something to be desired.<\/p>\n

All photos are presented in the order they were taken.<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

In 11+ minutes I took 371 photos of him as he hunted for insects from a variety of perches\u00a0in the Wasatch Mountains. He wasn’t particularly close for this one but it was a suitable distance for takeoff shots…<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

and I got lucky with a\u00a0posture I adore.<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

But luck wasn’t always with me. For some reason this bird didn’t care much about the aesthetics of my photos and was more concerned\u00a0with the success of his hunting\u00a0so he usually chose perches with ‘problems’. In this case the issue is with the brightness of that vertical branch to the right. I could tone it down a little during processing but I still think I’d be bothered by it.<\/p>\n

I was a little surprised that at f\/6.3 and the distance I was from the bird the tail and especially the bill aren’t sharper.<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

The bird was a relentless hunter and he was successful with insects several times. His concentration on potential prey in the nearby leaf litter was absolute, which is probably why he ignored me and my pickup for as long as he did.<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Some may wonder why I’d even bother to focus on the bird or\u00a0push the shutter button for a shot like this because he’s\u00a0largely hidden by the branches and\u00a0covered in dark shadows.\u00a0I did\u00a0so because the photo documents hunting behavior and because\u00a0there’s always that remote chance I could…<\/p>\n

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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

get lucky with a second takeoff shot of the same bird on the same morning which almost never happens. I was happy to get the ‘twofer” even though I wish the background was further away from the flycatcher so the bird would stand out a little better. Technically this is actually a flight shot because his feet have left the perch<\/p>\n

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1\/6400, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

His next hunting perch also had problems, particularly that out-of-focus\u00a0twig he’s perched on because it’s jutting out almost directly toward the viewer. In an effort to minimize the problem I slid my lens as far right\u00a0on the ‘noodle’ on my window as I could with only limited success. But I do like that almost coquettish hunting pose.<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

The bird was considerate enough to give me a climactic finale to his extended performance. He caught a yellowjacket and proceeded to kill and eat it in good light and on a perch where\u00a0I could actually see most of the action. Leaves in the foreground obscured the tip of his tail\u00a0and they’re annoying but I can live with them. I took 86 shots of him killing and eating\u00a0that nasty yellowjacket\u00a0and then cleaning his bill\u00a0so I may post a few more\u00a0of them in the fairly near future.<\/p>\n

In my book any bird that eats yellowjackets is a good bird.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

Notes: <\/em><\/p>\n