Shy Woodpecker

Peeb · Jan 25, 2018

This is all I got from this Pilated Woodpecker before he flew the coop (or tree)...

shy pilated woodpecker by Peeb-OK, on Flickr

baturn · Jan 25, 2018

Cool! More than I ever got.

snowbear · Jan 25, 2018

Same here. I can get close to geese, but not much else.

Donde · Jan 25, 2018

Enough to show that it's a male.

zombiesniper · Jan 25, 2018

I like it.
Matches the title well.

Peeb · Jan 25, 2018

baturn said:
Cool! More than I ever got.

500mm and shameless cropping can make up for a lot of ground!

tirediron · Jan 25, 2018

Great shot; I love the expression. I might consider actually cropping a bit tighter on him.

Peeb · Jan 26, 2018

tirediron said:
Great shot; I love the expression. I might consider actually cropping a bit tighter on him.

Yeah, I agree- just wasn't sure I had enough pixels left to get much tighter! I think that the crop factor and pixel density of a D500 would have been fantastic here (or even the D850 in crop mode) but either or both options will remain on the wish list for the time. I've actively toyed with looking for a refurbished D7200, which handles about like the D610 and has the tighter FOV with the same 24M pixels.

Still, I find that nature shots have as much (or more) to do with geography as they do photography. Having the perfect rig is fantastic, but just happening to be at the right place at the right time can result in an incredible wildlife shot with even an iPhone.

With this woodpecker, I was very sad that I could not get everything I saw onto the memory card, but the glimpse thru the leaves is still the best image I've had to date, and it was total luck. He was right there in the front yard!

The game is still afoot Woody!

Dean_Gretsch · Jan 26, 2018

They really are hard to get a whole body shot of. You did well!

BrentC · Jan 26, 2018

I keep hearing them but never seeing them.

Dean_Gretsch · Jan 26, 2018

BrentC said:
I keep hearing them but never seeing them.

I heard and saw one about an hour ago. It would let me get close enough to raise the camera and then take off. Same thing happened with a bald eagle this morning too, lol. The frustrations of a birder!