Merlin

[Richard Stern]

This guy was perched on a fence-post eyeing the nearby shorebirds the other day at Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. Taken from my vehicle.

D300, 300 F/4 ED-IF + 1.7 TC-E2.

1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 800.

Richard

[Fabs Forns]

Very nice compo and colors, but the bird looks soft to me. Also, the BG could use some noise reduction from using ISO 800.
That lens and tele combination is not always tack sharp.

[Ian Mason]

Beautiful bird and a really nice composition. I agree the bird is a wee bit soft though. Is it a large crop maybe?

[Randy Stout]

Richard:

I agree with Fabs about the slight softness. There also appears to be a green colorcast in the image, particularly noticeable on the whites, and the birds feet. The BG seems a bit oversaturated for my taste.

The perch shows the hand of man a bit more than I would prefer in a perfect world.

The pose itself is very nice with great eye contact, and I like the plants in the foreground.

Cheers

Randy

[Aidan Briggs]

Good comments from above. In addition, the light is a bit harsh. I would also prefer a more natural perch.