Yellow Head Blackbird

[Ron Caswell]

This was taken at the Wolf Lake fish hatchery. This is a rare visitor for Southwest Michigan area so a lot of birders have been viewing this bird. I think he may have a female near by because of his behavior, Maybe someone can confirm this. He is very protective of a certain area and chases away any red wing blackbirds who come by. He does frequent calls also. All critique welcome. I did clone some branches out of the image and some minor level adjustments. Shot with the canon 1Dmark4 500mm f4 with a 1.4 TC, ISO 400 at F11 320 shutter from a tripod. Thank you, Ron

I did do a video of the bird if your interested, My brother talked through most of it so excuse that :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90LJXDMk0f4

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Ron you have nice detail in the blacks and good lighting. The crop is a little tight on top and on the right and not leaving much room for the tail. Many thanks for sharing this and I look forward to seeing more.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Sharpness and eye contact look very good. I would go for a wider crop and wish beak and perch would not merge. Thanks for sharing the video link!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Good find for your area. We had one in Ottawa reported last week too - I guess a few of this species roamed farther east than usual. Good pose. A bit tight in the frame as previously mentioned.

He does frequent calls also

I'm a big fan of using calls and do so regularly...having said this, I would be very judiscious in its use in this case considering the rare find and the number of people likely wanting to see/photograph this beautiful fellow:cool:.

P.S. Good video

[Ron Caswell]

Thank you everyone, Daniel, I didn't mean anyone was calling the bird, The bird itself is doing a lot of calling. No need to call this bird in it is very near the trail and has no problem with people watching it. In fact it flys right over head and lands right behind us (people) and scavanges the ground for insects. Ron

[Daniel Cadieux]

Talk about misunderstanding a phrase on my part!!:o

Thanks for the clarification........:)

[Gary Esman]

Nice find Ron! Hope to get out and see him this weekend. It is nice to just be able to see birds like this in Michigan.

[Randy Stout]

Ron:

Good critiques above. Agree about the tightness.
Nice balance on exposure, sharp.
I might try to burn in tree trunk beneath him just a bit

Thanks again for the heads up on this fellow.

Cheers

Randy