Young Sharp-tailed Sparrow on Mullein

[Sharon Hallowell]

Early morning image from the Forsythe NWR yesterday. 50D, 500mm @ 700mm, 1/640, F5.6, Iso 400. Thank you for looking!

[Bill Dix]

This is a beauty of an image, Sharon. It has a dreamy quality to it, because of the early morning coastal light and the soft, oof grasses. The pose, Mullein perch, background all work nicely. You had some tough side lighting, and might consider toning down the right side of the bird and brightening the face, but not much (if at all). Despite my many trips to Brig, this is a species I've only rarely gotten a clean look at, even though they are always there, lurking.

[FWIW, the species was formerly called the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, but the powers that be have renamed this the Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus), to distinguish it from the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni), now renamed Nelson's Sparrow. The two were once considered a single species, collectively called Sharp-tailed Sparrow, but were deemed to be separate species, with different breeding ranges. But you probably knew all that.]

[Sharon Hallowell]

Thanks for the clarification, Bill.

[William Dickson]

Beautiful lighting here Sharon and you handled it well. The bird is framed nicely with the lovely FG blending nicely with the BG. Detail on the bird and perch very nice. Thanks for sharing.

Will

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the perch, pose, sharpness, composition and complimentary BG. Very nice image Sharon!

[keith mitchell]

You had some beautiful light for this one Sharon, bird ,perch and a super bg all look good,you can't ask for a lot more, beautiful image.

Keith.

[adrian dancy]

A lovely image Sharon and I agree with Bill regarding toning down the bright bits on the right hand side of the bird as viewed.

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely colour palette with the complementing colours in the bird, BG and grasses, Sharon. I like the soft grasses coming into the frame from below and left. Not sure that the frame adds anything as it is a strong clean image but that is just personal preference on my part. Well done.

[Mervyn Marsh]

youve made a bland looking bird look awesome. nice work

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image. Beautiful colour pallet. Nice pose and lovely composition.

Regards,
Satish.