Ever have one of those mornings where you just don't want to get up? This morning was like that. I was all snuggled up with Lenore and it was nice and cozy. But I knew if I wanted to get any Bandtail images I needed to get my carcass out of bed. So there I was all bundled up in a warm jacket and the fuzzy hat my Mom hates sitting in my blind at seven thirty this morning waiting for the Pigeons to come down.
I had to get out in the blind early for two reasons. First off the lighting is softer and nicer earlier in the morning and the second reason is that where I live Bandtail Pigeons are one of the more wary birds I photograph. They take off if they even see you in the window of the house. They are hunted in this area so they ain't no city pigeons.If they see you go into the blind they won't come near the blind for well over two hours. Unlike ravens which won't come down until they see you leave!
In any case it was the usual procession of birds. First came the Juncos. They were followed by the neighborhood thugs the beautiful Stellar's Jays. A cute Grey squirrel then arrived and I asked him to leave with a shake of the blind .Finally the
Bandtail Bullies sent a disposable scout down to see if everything was all clear and safe. I never photograph the first bird. Once the upper echelons have seen it is safe to eat let the games begin. They just started coming down.
Yesterday I moved the feeder a few feet and I added a vertical stick for the birds to land on. So that is where I photographed my BOAS for today. (Bird ON A Stick). It was a great shoot and I was done by nine thirty. Below is some technical stuff that I don't normally include but today I will
For the equipment a phobes I was shooting with a Canon 50D and a Canon 100-400 on a Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a Heavy Duty 3055 ballhead.
Exposure wise I was shooing in Manual exposure due to the dark background and the exposure was at ISO 400 F.6 at 1/800th sec.
To see more about bandtails visit: http://audubon2.org/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=22
God's blessings to all,
chris
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