My wife Nancy and I were watching birds in the backyard this afternoon (May 17) and all of a sudden they all stopped moving. I told her that something was hunting in the area. We looked around a bit and found this sitting in a tree over the house eating what I believe to be a Blue Jay. I am leaning towards Sharp-shinned or Cooper's based on his size but someone else told me that they thought it might be a Merlin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
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Rick Hamlin
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Yes, it's a Merlin. That's a pretty good yard bird! Thanks for the great photos! - Ric
4 comments:
Rick,
I would agree with Ric (don't tell him though) that it's a Merlin. Why didn't you ask the Jay? After all it sure was closer than you were! :) Also, depending on what you're shooting with, you should allways have a, say, 56 to 58 guide no. flash with you when shooting in the (shaded) woods, as these shots are a great example. Most birds WILL NOT fly away when the flash fires, and in your case here, the Merlin was close enough to have gotten perfect exposure from a "big flash" It really makes a huge difference -- but, it's also another expence among many, if you want to "get the shot" :)
Mike VanderStelt
in fact my last (Hummingbird) shot was with a flash -- it was a morning, overcast shot, and without it, the Hummingbird was just basically a black silouette. :)
Thanks Mike. I have debated using a flash for birds and wondered if it was worth the investment. I am using a Nikon D5000 with a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens. When using the flash, do you experience allot of red eye or glare off of feathers?
Rick
None what-so-ever, you will get the flash reflection in the eye (see Hummingbird shot) but the ONLY Birds that have a chance of getting red eye are Owls. As far as the body/feathers, they allways end up with perfectly balanced exposure. Your best bet, (bust more costly) is to get a Nikon Flash or poss. a high-end Mepps that will communicate, exposure-wise, with your Camera. I'll do a little research for you, as you want the best fit for your Camera, and a Flash powerful enough to reach your subject, so ping my e-mail & i'll get back to you.:) framework1@frontier.com
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