Great-Tailed Gracklel

[David Salem]

Took this comical shot last spring at my YHBB spot. I posted a pic of a YHBB on this same branch.. This branch is in the middle of a marsh area has gotten allot of action this year.

I will be posting pics featuring different birds and their activities on "The branch" This is not a setup nor are the others I will post. Just a cool spot to sit for a few hours and watch nature do its thing.

On this frame I was shooting the male YHBB when this Grackle flew in and challenged the king for his throne. The YHBB dove repeatedly to try to chase the Grackle off. This is one of the frames as he swooped by.

7D---500mm---1.4TC---f5.6---ss1/2500---ISO 400---Car w/ BLUBB---@8:30am

Thanks again for looking and your input.

David

[Richard Unsworth]

Nice action, killer pose David and ace BG!
Perhaps you could try just a little more sharpening to head/eye
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[Randy Stout]

David:

Certainly an unique pose! Squarish crop works well with all the strong diagonals here.

The image is a bit soft on the head, and a little too bright for my personal taste.

Would have been great fun to be able to show the interaction to complete the story. Now where was that zoom control:S3:

Cheers

Randy

[Ofer Levy]

Fantastic behaviour captured. Looks sharp to me but this small version needs some more sharpening. Details are not great maybe due to the crop?

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Wow, now this is a dynamic image! I agree with the above and think a little bit of sharpening would go a long way. I would also consider a longer crop (in the vertical direction) so as to have more room at the top and bottom.

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comments and help.. Looks sharp on my monitor but still learning web posting. Sharpened more and toned down the brightness a bit. Not sure if it made much of a difference. What do you think?

Thanks

David

[Sachin Saraf]

David, you really captured nice action here...Nice pose and exposure which shows off shades of color on bird....I would love to see some more space at top.

Edit: you posted the edited version as I was writing the comment, so removed the mention of sharpness issue :S3:

[Manjeet & Yograj Jadeja]

superb timing here, loved the repost

[David Salem]

Yes Ofer, the crop is probably about 35%. Posted more for the pose. Detail might be lacking a bit due to crop..

Thanks again everyone for your comments.

David

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, well timed to capture the action, and certainly a unique pose. As Im not familiar with the species, I cant comment on the lighter or darker plumage, but do feel you have brought out the iridescence nicely, together with the sheen on the head. Killer BG too.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Love it!! Exposure looks good from here. Thanks for the explanantion of the antics leading up to this pose. Almost looks like an olympic diver ready for a backward dive :-)

[Marina Scarr]

Love the behavior here and RP looks a little better. Exposure looks good.

[Melissa Groo]

I love poses like this that showcase the extravagant gestures and poses of birds in the midst of interesting behavior. Pretty spectacular, David. I do prefer the repost level of brightness.

[David Salem]

Thank you all very much for your nice comments and suggestions.

David

[Satish Ranadive]

David,
Absolutely superb pose captured.Love the pose with open beak,colors and great details.

Regards,
Satish.