Once in a great while you have a special encounter with a bird, or in this case two birds. Artie recently posted an image of a Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan in classic habitat, which doesn't always make for a nice BG. Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a pair of these beauties building a nest about 20 feet from my room in Costa Rica. The hotel landscaping created a considerable distance between the birds and the rainforest BG. And the birds were perched quite low, maybe 15 feet off the ground. They would perch on this branch and take turns hollowing out a nest cavity. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with them, but I did manage a number of nice frames. PS work includes cloning out one branch and creating a little space where the tail feathers of the bird on the right touch the bird on the left. We'll be visiting this location on my Costa Rica tour in 2010, and Chestnut-Mandibled Toucans are regular visitors at this hotel.
Canon 1D Mark III, 500mm + 1.4x, f/6.3, 1/160, ISO 800, tripod








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