![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/northern-flicker-4544b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-flicker-4544b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nSome near-misses sting more than others.<\/p>\n
Most bird photographers have at least one type of photo that eludes them despite trying for it for years. For me it’s quality photos of Northern Flickers in flight that show off the spectacular salmon-red shafts of the dorsal surface of their flight feathers. Those colors can’t be seen unless the wings are open.<\/p>\n
But in my area at least Northern Flickers are unusually nervous birds that seldom allow a close approach and on those few occasions when I have been able to get within range something always seems to go wrong to stymie my attempt.<\/p>\n
Yesterday morning in the mountains that unfortunate trend continued.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/7.1, 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 While it was perched on top of this juniper the bird was a little too far away for good detail and the shooting angle was pretty steep anyway. But I had hopes for a takeoff or flight shot so I kept my lens trained on the flicker and waited. Eventually it took off toward me and dipped down to mitigate some of the effects of the steep angle. The timing of my shutter was perfect to catch the wings in a position that showed off the salmon colored flight feather shafts and I think most of the bird is “sharp enough” or nearly so.<\/p>\n But, and it’s a big “but”, the flicker was looking straight at me so we don’t have a good look at either eye, there’s no catch light and the head and neck threw a deep shadow on the left side of the bird. If the flicker had only turned its head to our right all of those problems would likely have been solved.<\/p>\n In bird photography “almost” just doesn’t cut it so my quest will continue.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some near-misses sting more than others.<\/p>\n