Winter Wren

[Allen Sparks]

I find these birds hard to catch as they never stay still for long. This guy posed for an instant and then was gone.

Canon 7D, 400mm f4 DO plus 1.4x TC, ISO 800, f5.6, 1/250s, monopod

[Doug Brown]

Wrens are definitely tough subjects, and you caught this one in a great pose. Sharp where it needs to be. A little tight at the bottom of the frame. I might blur the twig in the ULC.

[thijs broekkamp]

Nice job cathing these birds who almost never sit stil. Sharpness is super, although it might be even nicer if the whole bird was sharp.

[Pieter de Waal]

Hi Allen,

Nice image of this fast moving little guy. Well captured with great eye contact and well defined feather pattern. Love the raised foot. I would also consider removing the twig ULC.

[Danny J Brown]

Cute, fat little bird. Wrens always have attitude. Love to see your excellent work with that 400DO because as I get older, weaker and more arthritic, I see one on the horizon to replace my 500.....not that you are older, weaker or arthritic.:) The winter wren has some nice patterns on its feathers, by the way. Thanks for showing us this little guy.

DB

[Patrick Sparkman]

Great capture on this little guy! I really love wren's, but don't have anything this good. I agree with Doug, a little background work would help. The bright green against the brown is a little distracting, so you might also try some selective desaturation on those.

[Daniel Cadieux]

That's a good look at this nervous little guy! Sharp where it needs to be. I find it tight in the frame though...the comp would be stronger with a bit more breathing room.

[Allen Sparks]

Much thanks for the comments and suggestions... :)

Danny, my back has a degenerative disc so the 400 DO seemed like the logical choice for me as I do quite a bit of walking when shooting. I find it very manageable.

[Craig Brelsford]

This is an impressive shot, the first winter wren I've seen on this forum in my six months here. Looking at your specs and the result, I can't see anything that I'd have done differently, except perhaps give the wren more breathing room in the frame. Wrens are one of those "low-light, high-speed" birds; in Asia, we also have Troglodytes troglodytes (the only wren outside the Western Hemisphere), and they're just as tough to shoot over here.