Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

[Ed Vatza]

Image made this morning in Trexler Park (Allentown, PA). I know the background is a bit busy but that is their environment. There were several working one tree in the park and I was very surprised when this one came down low and perched for a bit.

Canon 50D; Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS w/ 2x TC; handheld

1/1250 sec @ f/5.6; ISO 800; +2/3 EV; AWB; FL 600 (EFL 960mm)

[Tony Whitehead]

Good head angle and nice to have the head out of the dappled light which is affecting the beak and body. BG is busy and the tree dividing it in half is a distraction - love the blue/mauve colours though. Bird looks a bit tight in the frame but I assume some cropping to minimise the busy BG.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great find and eye contact. Tony already covered the techs, I would only add that toning down the highlights would improve the image.

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks Tony. Thanks Axel. Appreciate the critiques.

I, obviously, continue to grapple with the backgrounds - particularly on the small birds. Habitat around here is generally very brushy and even though I was in a "park" what you see here is relatively clean compared to most of the opportunities that I walked away from yesterday.

I know I could set up a perch and a hide, bait the birds with some food and sit there waiting for the birds to land on the perch but that isn't what I like to do. I prefer to get out and walk through nature and catch the birds in their natural habitat which, at least in the places I go, is seldom neat and clean.

Now when I go out to lakes or ponds in search of water bids, its a different story and I do try for clean water backgrounds which are much more ofter possible.