What are you looking at?

[QuietOne]

I saw this fellow land in the tree day before yesterday. I was originally on the other side of the river from him (her? How do you tell?) I figured I'd have to settle for just watching, since they tend to leave when you try to approach them. Then I saw a couple of people walk right by the tree he was perched in. Figured, heck, if he'll sit still for that, might as well see if I can get across the bridge before he finds someplace else to be.

I think it's a juvenile red tail, which might be why he just sat staring at me. He's too young to know better. I wish it was a better shot, but I cropped the heck out of this to get this much, and did evil things with the lighten shadows slider.

[Mad Aussie]

I saw this fellow land in the tree day before yesterday. I was originally on the other side of the river from him (her? How do you tell?)

If it squawks incessantly at you for no reason at all ... it's female!!


It's a good crop and processing I think. Nothing evil about it

[casil403]

If it squawks incessantly at you for no reason at all ... it's female!!

Great stuff Q1...Loving the evil stare!

If it ignores you completely while you are talking to it...definitely a male.

[Mad Aussie]

if it ignores you completely while you are talking to it...definitely a male.

... ...

[QuietOne]

Ooooh, battle of the sexes! That's always fun! (Gets out chair and popcorn, settles back to watch)

Thanks for your kind words, BTW.

[masp]

Wow, excellent shot. May I ask what camera and lens this was taken with? I'm still oogling various cameras and setups as I try to figure out what to buy. I'd like to be able to get tightly zoomed shots of birds like this if possible.

[QuietOne]

Wow, excellent shot. May I ask what camera and lens this was taken with? I'm still oogling various cameras and setups as I try to figure out what to buy. I'd like to be able to get tightly zoomed shots of birds like this if possible.

Masp, I'm learning my way around a Nikon d90, with the kit 18-105 F3.5-5.6 lens. From what I've read, it's a good lens for the money, and I've certainly done pretty well with it. But for the distance I shot this at, you'll have to do some heavy cropping.

It seems like the folks here who get the good bird shots are working with around 300 or 400mm lenses. If your budget can stand it, you might look into something in that range. And I'll be wildly jealous.

[Mad Aussie]

It seems like the folks here who get the good bird shots are working with around 300 or 400mm lenses.

That's about right. I used to have only 300mm and often found that a bit short at times. Now have 400mm and still could do with more sometimes. I recommend 300mm being an absolute minimum.

[masp]

Ah nice. It seems to be a fairly sharp lens from what I've read and the image quality is good for such a crop. Bythom.com mentions that is a good value for the money.

Are the ducks in your other thread are also taken with the same lens?

[edG]

cool capture and I would recommend the Nikkor AFS 70-300 with ED and VR to you- an excellent lens that won't break the bank (shooting it on my D5000).