Snow Bunting Feeding On Grass Seeds.

[Daniel Cadieux]

It was pretty cool to watch this innovative Snow Bunting fly up to the top of this three foot tall grass stem, to then let the weight of its body drop to the ground to bend the stem, and then feed on the now accessible seeds while holding it down with its feet. It would do this repeatedly, anytime it needed to change its grip on the grass. A few seeds scattered on the ground can be seen along the bottom of the image.
Canon 7DII + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/640s., f/5.6, ISO 1600, natural light, handheld, FF, darkened the pupil and added the catchlight, deepened the blacks via burn tool.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent behavior image Daniel! When I first viewed the image I was thinking that I would have cloned out the grass stem poking out of the back but after reading your story it is an essential element of the image. Great IQ, details, exposure and composition. Merry Christmas to you and your family and thanks for all the guidance through the years.

[Bill Dix]

Your explanation really helps in understanding the image. Great dynamic pose, nice exposure and detail. Well done.

[keith mitchell]

Dan it's interesting reading on this birds feeding behavior ,they certainly know how to adapt to the conditions,bird itself looks lovely to me,nicely exposed in difficult conditions.

[Isaac Grant]

This is such a beautiful image Dan. I think you have an amazing eye for the details that make a nice image into something special. The pose, the grass, the scattered seeds are all fantastic. Only problem I have is that to me this is the first image I have seen of yours at ISO 1600 where I feel the image quality is not as good as it could be. While still good, it does not have the same wow that I am sure it would have at a lower ISO or in better light. For what it is worth, I still have no clue how you make ISO 1600 look so good on your 7dii as I have never been happy with mine at that ISO.