Creeping out of nest cavity (Brown Creeper).

[Daniel Cadieux]

I was taking a rest a the bottom of a tree when I was oberving two Brown Creepers coming quite close...both of them had nesting material in their bills. I tried to follow their movements - it was not long until I realized the nest they are building was 15 feet above my head in the very tree I was resting under!:cool: Morning light angle was not ideal for the direction they were entering/leaving the nest crevice (this is the only image with proper HA), so a visit during a light overcast, or evening light angle will be best to be able to photograph from the other side of the tree. They usually came out looking down, but this one he was looking up insted. I felt the unconventional comp worked as I wanted to include the lower part of the crevice too (this is where they enter the nest)

If feel rather lucky as two years ago I discovered a Creeper's nest, only to have high winds rip the bark away the very next day.

Canon 40D + 100-400L @400mm, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/320s., f/6.3, ISO 640, +1 EC, natural light, handheld, about 70% FF.

[Lana Hays]

Daniel
Nice discovery.....and a bird that continues to be a nemesis. I like the pose.....rather inquisitive and I think that you did well given the circumstances. Hopefully you'll be able to revisit for more images.

[Juan Aragonés]

Lana wrote exactly the word that I was only to write...inquisitive. I like that inquisitive look of the bird. I agree with your selfcritic about light and shooting angle :)

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Dan, the comp works for me, and you knew the best angle possible. I quite like the looking up pose, and interesting texture on the trunk of the tree.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

Would a touch of fill flash have been an option here?

Randy

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Daniel, Nice find. After looking at this image for a while, it kinda grew on me.
However, I'm afraid there are several things in this image that don't work for me.
The shooting angle, the shadow, the overpowering tree trunk, the bill merged with the trunk, the piece of bark that looks like it's sticking out of the bird's back. Given its HA, I would have placed the bird further down in the frame, but your account of wanting to show more of the crevice makes sense.
The OOF LLC also isn't appealing to my eyes. I wonder if cropping about 1 - 1.5 inches from the left and showing more sky on the right would improve that and also make the trunk less overpowering. Wondering if flash was an option to eliminate or at least lighten the shadow.
My 2 cents.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hey Sidharth,

Thanks for your honest reply, I really do appreciate it. I'm with you on most points too ( but I don't mind the size of the tree, and the bird is lit well enough that I forgave the shadow). This image is pretty much a departure of what I normally like...but like you, it did grow on me.

Lucky for me this nest is close to home...it can only mean more opportunities for me to try to improve my files on this species!:)