Dieter Schaefer Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 This is the additional weekly image thread for the Nature Forum. While images posted to this thread should still be nature in theme, it may contain a small amount of human-made objects and therefore less restricted than the Monday in Nature threads. Please see this discussion for more details: Alternative weekly thread in Nature forum Each participant please post no more than just one image per weekly thread. Many members will appreciate any information you are willing or able to provide regarding location, shooting process, exposure settings, equipment, and information on the subject(s), including scientific and/or common names. Osprey 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill J Boyd Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Northern Pintail 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin Barkdoll Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Scales on a moth's wing. 6 1 Test Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Sandhill cranes at sunrise 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger G Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_niemi1 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Crested Caracara 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 19 hours ago, brian_niemi1 said: Crested Caracara Brian, may I ask where your caracara image was captured and which lens you used? I know their range is mostly in Mexico down to Central and South America, but it also touches Arizona and Texas in the US. The one place I have seen them the most is the Falklands, off the Atlantic coast of the southern tip of South America. And your image has interesting bokeh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_niemi1 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 55 minutes ago, ShunCheung said: Brian, may I ask where your caracara image was captured and which lens you used? I know their range is mostly in Mexico down to Central and South America, but it also touches Arizona and Texas in the US. The one place I have seen them the most is the Falklands, off the Atlantic coast of the southern tip of South America. And your image has interesting bokeh. Shun, I took this photo last Sunday, 12/31/2023 at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Anahuac, TX which is about 30 miles east of Houston. (They just conducted a bird count there last month which yielded a count of 151 species.) There were two Crested Caracaras together sitting on adjacent fence posts. They were not very skittish as I was able to get pretty close. The photo is not heavily cropped. I have seen them a couple times in the Southeast Texas area but on previous encounters I was unable to get decent photos. The technical data for the photo is: Nikon Z8, Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S. 1/1250 sec @ f/8. ISO 1000. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Thanks Brian. I know the crested caracara's range includes southern Texas, but I haven't done much wildlife photography in either Texas or Arizona. I was in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks last November; I know others have photographed them there but I didn't see any myself, but I have gotten a lot of pictures of them in the Falklands. I was wondering whether you were using a mirror (catadioptric) lens or perhaps a Nikkor Phase Fresnel (PF) lens. I have that 400mm/f4.5 S lens also, and it uses conventional lens elements. I am a bit surprised by that bokeh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_niemi1 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Shun, Texas may not be one of the more popular destinations for birding but there are several bird sanctuaries, rookeries and wildlife refuges along the Gulf Coast. Texas is on the path of many migratory birds heading south and north, and some stay in the area for the winter. In the Spring I see many out-of-state license plates on cars in the parking lots. Egrets, herons, cormorants and spoonbills, for example, nest in the area in the Spring. Port Aransas has its annual Whooping Crane Festival. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanford Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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