Tattered Tail

[Marina Scarr]

Had the pleasure of photographing a super Pileated Woodpecker nest last season. The 3 chicks managed to mangle the feathers of the adults as witnessed by the plumage on this male's tail. Also love seeing the feather pattern and the raised shoulder feathers as the WP put on its brakes. This was a fairly difficult shoot of a high nest, and I was looking for unique shots which could tell a tale. So this is the tale of the tail. :e3

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Canon 1D4, Canon 500 & 1.4
F8, 1/1600sec, ISO 800, manual mode
Fill flash
Jobu head, Feisol tripod

[Bill Dix]

Nice one, Marina. We don't usually get to see the dorsal view with full wing spread. And the mangled tail. Too bad his head wasn't turned just a tad to get more light.

[Doug Brown]

Love the wing spread and the beat-up tail feathers; they definitely do tell a story. It's gotta be tough living in a nest cavity with 3 little woodpeckers!

[Fred Johns]

Nice shot of what appears to be a difficult image to capture. Being able to expose for all of those dark feathers against a bright sky while getting the timing just right must have been challenging. Well done!

[Alexander Krebs]

I love it!

[Rob Melone]

Magnificent capture Marina with the outstretched wings and determined look on the bird. I also love the grassy material on the tree serving as a vertical border. I might try a very slight reduction in shadow or black level or perhaps a bump in contrast to put this really over the top. Still stunning as is!

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position, tattered tail and composition. Well done Marina!

[John Robinson]

Good one- unusual approach to a woody flight shot. Most would try from behind the tree ! Like the spanish moss too !!
JohnR

[Karl Egressy]

Nice wing spread, showing the nest hole and excellent composition, Marina.

[Troy Lim]

It is a good tale of a tail :)
I do not mind the no eye contact here as it is the feathers that are more important in this image. Very nice.

[David Salem]

Nice tale about the tail ;) Liked it the first time I saw it. Even though there isnt killer eye contact I like the pose and the tree with the perfectly carved out hole.
It was great meeting you and I had a fun time shooting together. Thanks for the help making our trip to Florida that much better! See ya soon.

[Satish Ranadive]

Spectacular image with apt title and lovely dorsal view of full wing spread.

Regards,
Satish.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Nice WP species, and thanks for sharing the extra piece of info regarding the tails. I do wish the sky was not so bright in this one.