Long-tailed Tit

[Rich Steel]

Hi

We just had the annual garden bird survey in the UK which was undertaken by over 500,000 people this year. The survey gets people to record the number and type of birds present in their garden for a 1 hour period on a particular day. For the first year the long-tailed tit has made it in to the top 10 which is thought to be due to the run of recent mild winters. The are great little birds and very entertaining as they will often hang upside down from a branch with one leg while holding some food in the other to eat. I actually managed to find one still for a moment.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/squidfish_2006/longtailedtittit50Dv3009.jpg

Taken with 50D (mk3 was in for the latest 'fix') and 500mm at ISO 400 F6.3 1/1000s and -0.67EV

Cheers

Rich

[Arthur Morris]

Would love to see this with a crop from the bottom, a bit more sharpening on the bird, with the bird slightly less contrasty and saturated. Love the BKGR.

Does it matter for the study if you are feeding or not?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the details, BG and eye contact. Another vote for a crop off the bottom, maybe where brown goes into green.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I don't mind the comp so much, but the suggested crop would work. I can see how the perpendicularly positioned perch and subject can be difficult to frame properly. You say for the first year this species has made it to the top ten...for how long has this event been going on? Sounds like fun...

[John Blumenkamp]

I really like the light on the bird against that darker background. I also think varying the crop would be interesting to see with this one. Hope to see more.

[Rich Steel]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. The crop was a tricky decision on this one.

More details of the Garden Bird Watch can be found here.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/

The bird watch has been running since 1979 and provides a snapshot each year of birds visiting gardens. It doesnn't matter if food is put out or not.

Cheers

Rich