Mountain Bluebirds - last trip of the year, Breakfast Variety

[Retief]

I was hoping to see some babies out of the nest boxes, but that was not to be. Of the 3 nest boxes we have been watching, it appears that 2 are now empty, only one was active. I am guessing this means the others have fledged, not sure if I can get back to the last one and actually see the little ones. But here is what I did get.

Adults quite active bringing all sorts of things back to feed. My Bug ID may be a bit lacking. The birds sit on branches staging before taking the food to the nest box.

1. Dad and Big Bug

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2. Mom and Grub

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3. Mom and Grub

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4. Fruit to go with the Meat

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5. More Fruit for the babies - experiment with a bit more "negative" space, opinions please?

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6. Back to Meat from Dad

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7. Takeoff to the Box

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8. Thanks, Dad, How About some MORE???

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9. Mom Feeding

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It has been fun watching these birds this year, have to do it again next year, I think.

 

[Louis Champan]

Very well done Bill. Looks like you hit the jackpot here toward the end of the season for the bluebirds. Some really good captures of the parents bringing in food.

 

[coldwaterbeach]

Excellent in every way! Great capture in # 7.


Gary

 

[gorec]

Very nice set,Bill..
they seem to be having all sorts of meat and fruits. .
#1 is a notch above. in my opinion.

 

[prairie_pal]

Very nice set there Bill, especially like #1 because the b/g and bush colors are complimenting the bird.

 

[james thiel]

Bill what a last trip this was. I think some of the best of the season. Love the ones with the red berries. Great job on these. Your new setup seems to have worked very well here. Do you think it made the shots sharper-(less movement) or just easier to shoot? Anyway super set here. Look forward to seeing the owls.

 

[waltuba]

Bill - Very nice for your last trip! Sweet and nicely detailed. Glad to see you had a good trip!

 

[Palouse]

Damn-- those are nice! Bugs, grubs and bluebirds---a complete shoot! I love negative space--though mine is typically dark shadows.

 

[andreasb]

Looks like you had a great time, and you sure came away with a ton of great images!

 

[Birdie]

Stunning images! Love the negative space . Maybe a more pano crop ?

Birdie

 

[Retief]

Thanks, all, I owe it all to the subjects, they make the "button pushing" pretty simple

Gary, on #7, one thing I find is that my "keeper" percentage of flight shots on these little birds is far smaller than on the perched shots. They are so fast, and usually give no warning. I, personally, was rather happy with #7 myself Thanks.

Ivan and gorec, thanks for the nice comments on #1. The size of that bug, as well as the BG really set this one off for me. What is nice about this specific nest box is now nice the BG is on the staging bushes. We can set up and have no distractions. I hope they come back again next year.

Jim, the new "better than a bean bag" setup just made things easier, I think, although that should translate into "sharper" as I was more comfortable and stable. Now that I have V2 done, I will have to make a post here and show my new invention.

Birdie, Pano on which one, #7 I am guessing? I thought about that, but liked the space below for "diving in". Both looked good though, I think.

One thing I should mention. Someone, who shall remain nameless , said that some of these looked a bit more "crunchy" which some not perfect masking. I have to agree, I was trying some new global techniques which I have now backed off on a bit. Not sure if anyone else noticed, and was too polite to say anything , but I find that sometimes when I try something a bit "new" I can go a touch overboard. I think that is why HDR scares me .....

Again, thanks all, you are very kind.