Cedar Waxwings

[shots worth sharing]

<p>My Sigma 500/4.5 came through! Cedar Waxwings are challenging: because their plumage is so smooth it's hard to pick up any detail. I snuck out this morning in my camo poncho and found a group of them in a tree I've been monitoring. I don't like the color of the color of the fruit but that's the bird's choice, I guess.</p>

<p><img src="http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/Nature/Fauna/i-k6gS4PZ/0/XL/IMGP7364csmu-XL.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/Nature/Fauna/i-f3Cxgtf/0/XL/IMGP7374csmu-XL.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/Nature/Fauna/i-CNQhj36/0/XL/IMGP7375csmu-XL.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/Nature/Fauna/i-h2HzGPL/0/XL/IMGP7362csmu-XL.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>No lack of detail here--I'm guessing this is a juvenile.<br /> <img src="http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/Nature/Fauna/i-CC5W52F/0/XL/IMGP7431csm-XL.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[stemked]

<p>Nice images Dave. One of my favorite subjects. This is cropped from earlier this summer, Sigma APO Version II 400mm f5.6, Carmel IN.<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/14686292-lg.jpg" alt="" width="477" height="421" /></p>

[ukhov]

<p>lovely,..second look to me can be a keeper! Like this bird very much too,only nothing so far to show.Good pics,Dave!</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>Beautiful bird, very well captured Dave, thanks for showing the results.</p>

[john_behrends]

<p>Nice set Dave!</p>

[ian s. forsyth]

Very nice Dave

[michael_kuhne]

<p>Very impressive! That is one fine lens! Your framing of shots and exposure do justice to the capablity of the fine equipment. Nice work.</p>

[hagar]

<p>Very nice set Dave.. I agree, you should send them a memo about what trees they sit around in :-) Beautiful details, by the way.</p>

[personalphotos]

<p>Very nice set of captures Dave. Well done. Come spring when the trees are full of green leaves, this lens combo should et you some great shots. I think you have the combination that will work for your birding challenges.</p>

<p>I can post a photo here that was taken a couple years ago with a K20D and FA300 f4.5. I think they are beautiful birds but fairly rare in these parts.</p>

<div></div>

[stemked]

<p>Believe it or not they get 'drunk' on the berries. I once found one in Minnesota that I picked up and had to put in a tree. It recovered fine, but odd behavior.</p>

[bob_marz]

<p>Great shots Dave. I like all birds, but like Waxwings a lot. I especially like watching them swoop eat mayflies along one of my local trout streams.</p>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>Thanks folks! They<em> are</em> beautiful birds--I can recall drawing a copy of the Peterson's picture when I was a kid. I never realized we had them here until they showed up in my photos two years ago--a finding which added some urgency to my long lens fetish. They may not be abundant on PEI, Peter, but I saw lots of them along the Miramichi on my fishing trip. That's a nice shot, btw--they <em>do</em> look better against green leaves.</p>

<p>Drunk on fermented fruit, eh, Doug? Maybe<em> that </em>explains that last one :~)</p>

<p>Acknowledgements:<br>

1. While not original with him, I first heard the admonition to "Get close!" from Peter and it applies no matter how good the gear is. I think my $20 cloak of invisibility (the camo poncho from Cabella's) is a very valuable piece of equipment. <br>

2. I finally caught on to Michael E's pp advice, "re-size, <em>then</em> sharpen." "Light dawns over Marblehead" as my sister says. Thanks, ME!</p>

 

[michael_elenko]

<p>You are welcome, Dave. Waxwings are a good test of one's skills and gear because they do stop moving just enough for some good shots as you've demonstrated. While ours are hiding right now, we have a lot of them in our yard. They feast on madrona tree berries.</p>

<p>Here's one of my favorite photographs of this year:<br>

<img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-pVS9Qk2/3/XL/i-pVS9Qk2-XL.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>ME</p>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>Oooh, a trio--and nicely posed too!</p>

[MattB.Net]

<p>Great shots! I like these guys too. I nursed one back to health from a cat encounter as a kid in Michigan once.</p>

[bob-c]

<p>Nice shots, Dave.</p>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>Thanks, Robert!</p>