Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

[Daniel Cadieux]

A migratory woodpecker, it is always a pleasure to welcome it back to the forest at this time of year. Here a female took the male's spotlight by answering the call (the male has a red throat)....

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/320s., f/5.6, ISO 800, natural light, handheld, small crop for comp, darkened the pupil, remove an oof BG twig at right edge. Audio used.

[Karl Egressy]

One of my nemesis birds. Rarely seen and only substandard images.
You did well, Daniel.
Nice pose and perch.
The background has strong magenta cast that you might consider removing.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

I like the diagonal trunk and composition, head position, well exposed and sharp. She seems to be listening intently.

Cheers

Randy

[John Robinson]

Hi Daniel That name,s a bit of a mouthful !!
Nice expression on the head . Can't see a colour cast on the BG but I never can! Would be nice with some gradation or OOF twigs in it but thats just me.
John

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, I like the inquisitive pose, colours well exposed, and overall, nice and sharp. I yellow lichen on the tree trunk adds an extra splash of colour, and Im fine with the colour of the BG.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Daniel! I like the pose, IQ, exposure control, lichens, visible holes in the trunk and composition.

[William Dickson]

Fantastic image as usual. Everything 'fits in'. The bird looks great and I love how you can see the roundness of the tree. Great work

Will

[christopher galeski]

very nice image,sharp with good detail,love the color in the BG,and nice detail in the tree,and like the pose.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks a bunch guys! Karl, the magenta colouring you see in the BG is caused by distant groupings of still leafless dogwoods.