American Kestrel

SCraig · May 27, 2013

compassrose said:
Nice! You were the second thing I noticed.

Thanks! I did put his eye where it would draw the viewer's eyes

What part of Tennessee are you in? There are several members here across the state.

jedirunner · May 27, 2013

Love the clarity. Which 70-300 are you shooting with? Those are amazing.

Kevin

SCraig · May 27, 2013

jedirunner said:
Love the clarity. Which 70-300 are you shooting with? Those are amazing.

Kevin

Thanks! The lens is the Nikkor 70-300 "G" lens. I've had it for several years now and would be lost without it.

Radical · May 27, 2013

Beutiful Bird.

SCraig · May 27, 2013

Radical said:
Beutiful Bird.

Agreed! He is a gorgeous little one.

JacaRanda · May 28, 2013

Very nice shots Mr. Scott. I am fortunate to have them here in Southern California, specifically at Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The sad part is that I have not been happy with my shots of them. That darned lack of length thingy is MAJORLY bugging me! I am just about to do something my wife may call crazy; like eating Top Ramen noodles for the rest of my life to make up for .......................!!!!

SCraig · May 28, 2013

JacaRanda said:
Very nice shots Mr. Scott. I am fortunate to have them here in Southern California, specifically at Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The sad part is that I have not been happy with my shots of them. That darned lack of length thingy is MAJORLY bugging me! I am just about to do something my wife may call crazy; like eating Top Ramen noodles for the rest of my life to make up for .......................!!!!

Well, there's no end to the quest for longer lenses. I have a 150-500 and it's frequently not long enough because I tend to shoot over a couple of different lakes a lot. If the critters are on the opposite side of the lake they could be in another state by the time I got over there.

The best thing to do when it's possible is get them to come to you. Throw out some seed or other food and they will come closer (if I do that at one of the lakes I frequent it's a $200 fine though). A zoo is also good for shots since the subjects are frequently very close. This little guy wasn't in a zoo but he wasn't going anywhere either so I could have gotten closer if I had another lens with me.

ktan7 · May 28, 2013

Great close up close!

JacaRanda · May 28, 2013

SCraig said:
JacaRanda said:

Very nice shots Mr. Scott. I am fortunate to have them here in Southern California, specifically at Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The sad part is that I have not been happy with my shots of them. That darned lack of length thingy is MAJORLY bugging me! I am just about to do something my wife may call crazy; like eating Top Ramen noodles for the rest of my life to make up for .......................!!!!

Click to expand...

Well, there's no end to the quest for longer lenses. I have a 150-500 and it's frequently not long enough because I tend to shoot over a couple of different lakes a lot. If the critters are on the opposite side of the lake they could be in another state by the time I got over there.

The best thing to do when it's possible is get them to come to you. Throw out some seed or other food and they will come closer (if I do that at one of the lakes I frequent it's a $200 fine though). A zoo is also good for shots since the subjects are frequently very close. This little guy wasn't in a zoo but he wasn't going anywhere either so I could have gotten closer if I had another lens with me.

Indeed! We do our little cheating now with bird seed in front of our patio. However, most often we are in state or county parks that frown upon feeding the wildlife. We even let people know that feeding bread and crackers to geese, ducks etc. could really screw the whole thing up for all of us. Canadian Geese that don't fly back to Canada can be and has been a problem in the area.

Anyways, I am seriously looking at that 150-500 Sigma.

SCraig · May 28, 2013

ktan7 said:
Great close up close!

Thank you. Much appreciated.

JacaRanda said:
Indeed! We do our little cheating now with bird seed in front of our patio. However, most often we are in state or county parks that frown upon feeding the wildlife. We even let people know that feeding bread and crackers to geese, ducks etc. could really screw the whole thing up for all of us. Canadian Geese that don't fly back to Canada can be and has been a problem in the area.

Anyways, I am seriously looking at that 150-500 Sigma.

Same here. Most of the time I'm in a state or national park when I'm looking for birds. I have a couple of feeders here at home and occasionally see something worthwhile there, but most of the time it's sparrows, robins, or doves. Oh, and squirrels

I've had good luck with my 150-500 Sigma. Some have not had good luck with them, but I've had no complaints with mine. Give it enough light and it works great but it doesn't like dim conditions. If the light is gray and flat the images are really soft contrast. I usually just leave it at home on days like that.