Male Downy Woodpecker

[Bret Goddard]

Hello everyone, My first post here. This, as most of my shots is from my little backyard, (.19 acre) in the middle of suburbia, Northern Virginia. He came by for a bite of suet or peanuts that were put out. This day, a gang of Grackles stopped in and chased him up to this branch, actually a popular branch that has hosted many different peeps. He was a bit upset at being chased off, which is why He is so fluffed up. I have been looking around here for a bit now, finally registered and am still amazed at the quality of the images here. Though for various reasons, it is difficult for me to make it out in the field as most of you all do, I think. I hope my backyard variety is accepted as ok here. I hope to learn from all here and would gladly accept any advice from anyone. Hope you guys and gals are not bored with more of these more common variety of peeps.

[IMG][/IMG

Canon 7D
EF400f/2.8is w/2xtc III
f/8.0
s.s. 1/640
ISO 200
800 mm
Distance, 9.8m
04/06/2013, 10:00 or so in the morning on a sunny day
No flash used, never use a flash, levels, brightness contrast, minor sharpening, selective color in neutrals only using PS, CS5

Thanks very much for looking in,
Bret

[vishaljadhav]

Nice details Bret, exposure if lovely and i love the sweet looking BG
good perch too
I may prefer a touch of canvas on the bottom below the tail

[Daniel Cadieux]

Ooh that woodpecker looks great! Terrific pose, details, erect head feathers. Very nice background. I do find the perch a tad large, and I would have preferred a looser composition as the subject is a bit cramped in there.

BTW, welcome to BPN!! Oh, and backyard birds are more than welcome here, with many of us using backyard setups regularly. Hoping to see more!

[Doug Brown]

Welcome Bret! Very nice pose with good eye contact. The bird feels a little tight in the frame for me, and I think you could go quite a bit brighter; the bird's white parts are looking pretty gray. Look forward to seeing more of your images!