Stick By Stick...

[Joseph Przybyla]

Stick by stick that's how the Double-crested Cormorant build the nest. I think it is the male that brings the sticks back to the female who places them to build the nest. And not just any sticks, watching reveals that the sticks are carefully chosen and must meet the approval of the boss when presenting at the nest site. Image captured at Gatorland earlier this year. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 400mm
1/2500 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV +2/3 ISO 560 WB set with eyedropper on a neutral in the image, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2019 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped and canvas added to position the bird for composition and presentation

[Jonathan Ashton]

You nailed that one Joe, well done. Excellent tonal details, the title is very apt.

[Bob Smith]

You've even caught the green tinges in the feathers Joe--nice work. I always find it difficult to get a presentable image of these fellows but this wing/tail spread and exposure does a great job . When I stare at this hard enough though I feel like the wings and eye are just slightly outside the zone of focus----or maybe it's just "old eyes" syndrome?--I'll be interested to hear what others have to say. When I first saw this I thought it was a straight overhead shot but I see you used a monopod so it must have been a steeply rising view?

[John Mack]

Love the pose here. The nesting material is a bonus. Detail on the bird is very nice.