Kinglet, Horned Lark and a GBH for MathewO

[coastalconn]

I had to wait for AT&T to install some new wires for U-Verse so I had a really late start. Hit all my normal spots and came up with a few keepers.. Comments Welcome

Golden Crowned Kinglet

Golden Crowned Kinglet by krisinct, on Flickr

Horned Lark being all puffed out - went sniper style and slowly crawled about 75 feet for this one

Horned Lark by krisinct, on Flickr

My Great Blue Herons aren't trained as well at Matt's are but I sure gave it a try sitting on a muddy rock at low tide for 45 minutes...
Found a Heron at sunset.. ISO 1600 with the 2x TC on...

Great Blue Heron Sunset 4 by krisinct, on Flickr

Landing

Great Blue Heron Sunset 1 by krisinct, on Flickr

 

[bumpylemon]

awesome shots! many many times ive went sniper style! you have too!

 

[sm4him]

Ha! "Sniper style" explains the look on that horned lark's face! These are just excellent as usual, Kris.

Sniper style is one thing I just can't do; these old knees have no cartilage left in them and they just don't take contact with the ground well at all. Trying to crawl around on the ground without letting your knees hit anything isn't really very effective. :lmao:
And that was BEFORE the left knee got hit in the wreck.

 

[matthewo]

Well mine are well trained. It seems the gbh are not as skittish at my normal spot at times.

I love that kinglet shot. Great colors, i had a similar pose of a yellow rumped warbler but the background was not as good as yours.

Great light on the gbh, i think mine was younger as well, may have added to being able to get close

 

[globeglimpser]

The last one is brilliantly exposed..... Well done

 

[baturn]

Yup. The last one is amazing.
I've posted shots and asked about the posture of birds like the Horned Lark in this set. Does anyone know what it is that causes this?

 

[baturn]

Sorry Kris. It seems I not only unwittingly tried to hijack your thread but managed to jinx it in the process.

 

[coastalconn]

Sorry Kris. It seems I not only unwittingly tried to hijack your thread but managed to jinx it in the process.

LOL, no worries. I would normally say they get puffy when they are cold. In this case the Lark had an itch, or is it a scratch, lol, whatever. I think it might have something to do with mites? I've seen a few articles where mites cause itchiness in birds. It's just a total guess..

Thanks for everyone's comments!

 

[flying_gadget]

Some beautiful fine sharp feathering in the first two !! Love the angles as well and fine eye contacts. Nice lighting in the Heron shots and well caught. Great to see thanks.

Danny.

 

[Aloicious]

I've seen birds puff up like that when they're sunning themselves, I'm guessing it has something to do with temperature regulation?

great shots Kris as usual. looks like you're getting some excellent results with the 120-300. how is the D7100 treating you? still find it quirky vs your old D300?