For my 750th post on BPN, and in celebration of my first anniversary as a member, I'm giving you my very best: a male Narcissus flycatcher. Ficedula narcissina is one of the reasons why living on the eastern edge of Eurasia is such a privilege. This species is a pure passage migrant here, only hugging the Chinese coast as it transits from Borneo up to its breeding grounds in Japan and the Russian Far East. When this little guy flew into the copse near a Buddhist temple hard by the East China Sea, I knew he'd be staying awhile, forests being few in the area; and I knew that I'd need the time, because the copse, thick and overgrown, was far from an ideal spot for photography. For two hours the Narcissus refueled right in front of me, quickly getting accustomed to my benign presence. By focusing intently on the bird, and by knowing its habits, I was able to achieve many good shots. I was in Yangkou, a fishing town in Jiangsu, China.
Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal Length: 600mm
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: none
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1600
Subject Distance: 5.6 m
Photoshoppery: A branch was impaling my Narcissus, coming in at the throat and exiting at the nape. Using content-aware fill, I performed surgery in Photoshop, and the flycatcher healed up nicely. I used noise-reduction in Photoshop not only to reduce noise but also as a blurring tool. NR covered my content-aware tracks well enough.







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