Dickcissel's are a rare bird in my area (northwestern Ontario, Canada) - we are well north of the regular range and haven't had a recorded sighting in the district for several years. I was tipped off to the location of this bird by a member of the local bird-watching group. I originally stopped at the location early in the morning but returned just before sunset after assessing the scene for lighting.
I don't have much experience with the species, but I have to say this was a very aggressive little bird! I sat and watched him guard his length of fenceline chasing off every Sparrow, Bobolink and Kingbird that dared occupy a place on "his" fence. After trying to chase him as he continuously moved along the fence, I parked and placed a tethered speaker in the grass on the fenceline and ran the cable back to my car (parked on the shoulder of the road ~ 12 feet from the fence). After maybe 10 seconds of a recorded call, the bird zipped along the fence, parked himself right in front of me and sat there calling away. I couldn't have asked for a more cooperative subject...
Canon 1DIV -- Canon 400mm f/5.6L -- 1/1000s @ f/9 -- ISO400 -- Av Mode @ 0 EV -- Handheld
I loved this image when you posted it on Flickr a while ago.
The colors are so nice, the light is really good, and the singing pose is excellent. Well done!
Lucky you Jeff. The exposure looks very good, the Bg is great, pose is wonderful. I don't mind the perch at all. It is nice to have birds show up in your area that are usually not seen there. Glad you got him.