Rose Breasted Grosbeak by Gary Fairhead
I am most fortunate to have this species visit my yard for several years now in Ottawa Ontario CA. They like the deep woods and usually stay high in the trees but will visit feeders, The male pictured here is equally beautifull in flight when white markings show up and the same deep red on the breast extends well under the wings ( armpits if you will) The draber looking ( browns) female is still a beautiful bird to see and if you are lucky you will see the deep yellow/gold feathers that extend well under the wings. They have a beautiful song that is similar to the American Robin’s but much prettier IMO.
Canon 50D and 400 F5.6L and 580EX ISO 400 1/400 at F7.1 +1/3 exp comp and -1 on flash for fill ( by memory)
March 19 2011: 329 views
Comments
Excellent capture Gary!!
Thanks very much Kathleen :-)
– Gary Fairhead
Perfect capture. The colors, focus, DOF ~ It is all just wonderfully done Gary!
Thanks Kimberly..this bird gets a lot of my attention and I only wish I saw it more often..
– Gary Fairhead
I agree with Kimberly!! This is just perfect…in every way!! I appreciate your personal observations in your description!! Well done Gary!!
Thanks Blair and personal observations on this species have accumulated over the years and every year I notice something else. This could never get boring :-)
– Gary Fairhead
God’s beautiful design! You have captured it well.
Many thanks :-)
– Gary Fairhead
Sure is a pretty one and your nice sharp detail is wonderful.
Thanks Jeff :-)
– Gary Fairhead
Absolutely beautiful!
Thanks so much !
– Gary Fairhead
wonderful shot. beautiful details. great model.
Thanks and yes the pird is very photogenic.
– Gary Fairhead
Very striking colors and an excellent view of this RBG!
Thanks very much David!
– Gary Fairhead
Perfection and clarity – do you find a 400mm lens enough for your bird captures as I have noticed this is the used lens or are you lucky to have a longer lens too?
I only have a 300mm and I know that isn’t enough for the small birds at all.
Thanks Kelly….you can never have too much reach in most cases. The 400 has served me very well and Its still considered to be one of the best in flight lenses even without stabilization. A 300 2.8 could arguably be a better in flight lens. A shot like this with the 400 requires some planning. 1) I have these birds coming to my feeder 2) the perch you see in the shot was put there by me and placed near the feeder to give the birds a launch point. 3) I am in a sitting position not far away and remain motionless when I hear the bird ( almost always hear them first…its like they announce their arrival) 4) the background and light are within my control because I decide where to sit and where the perch and feeder are placed. 5) patience….all of this would be much easier and the results would be better if I also used a blind ( I do have one :-) ) Some of my images in RB were taken with a borrowed 500 F4 and some of my more recent images were taken with my new 500 F4 .I already had a 1.4X TC so its on the camera quite a bit and there are still times when I wish I had a bigger lens:-)
– Gary Fairhead