Backyard Visitor

It has been a while since I have actually posted a photo. My backyard has been host to several wintering birds. I have trying to get better pictures the woodpeckers, cardinals and jays. Only the woodpeckers have been cooperative. The others continue to be very shy.



1/640 f/5.6 ISO 100 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM +2.0x @ 375 mm Canon EOS 40D
Richmond Hill,Ontario

Yellow Billed Cardinal

Another colourful bird that caught my eye was these red-headed ones. At first I thought they might be Red-crested cardinals, but it turns out that they are actually the closely related Yellow-billed Cardinal. What is the difference? Their haircut. The yellow-billed bird does not have the crest at the back of the head.

I like the composition here, but it is not as sharp as it could have been. It is the price I pay for hand-holding. I suppose getting the reflection of all three in the water would have been additional icing. The grass along the bottom I am not so sure what to do with. On one hand it provides some fore ground interest, but would have been better if it had been sharp as well.

Now you might think that my tip is to use a tripod and if you are on a photo expedition that would be a good thing to do. But I was on vacation with my wife, pictures are secondary. Sure I would have loved to put a 16x20 of these birds on my wall, but I was happy to have been there with her. A 4x6 in a scrap book will do just fine.

1/200 f/3.2 ISO 400 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 200 mm Canon EOS 40D

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park,Hawaii

Saffron Finch

Shortly after arriving on the island we saw these delightful little birds. As you can see from the photo, bright yellow with a dusting of red on the head. Saffron Finches apparently originally came to Hawaii from South America.

1/320 f/5.6 ISO 320 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM +2.0x @ 385 mm Canon EOS 40D

Keahou,Hawaii

I made about 30 attempts to get an image I was happy with but too often I was ending up with a snapshot-like result. For our second week we stayed at a different location which had a second floor balcony surrounded with gardens and palms. There was a palm growing right next to our balcony and a saffron had a nest in the crown. I could see her (or him?) while in the nest but most just the eyeball. They would often rest on a frond across the way and that is where I caught this image. I used my 70-200mm f/2.8L IS with the Canon 2X Extender. This allowed a good side-on view with a background I really like.