Great-tailed Grackle close up – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I had an off day yesterday where a lot of things seemed to go wrong both in and out of the field. In the field I had soft shots of kestrels that should have been sharp, birds that were flushed by vehicles going by before I could even get focused, birds that disappeared the second I spotted them, shots I missed if I had been a few seconds faster or slower getting to a specific location and birds that were simply too far away. All of this stuff seems to happen now and then when I am out in the field looking for and photographing birds but yesterday morning they all happened frequently and it was kind of discouraging.
Thankfully I had one bird yesterday afternoon that came in close enough for me to take a few portraits of it before a man walking up to where I was caused the bird to fly away. I’m glad I had a few seconds to photograph this Great-tailed Grackle up close in the warm afternoon light before it was flushed and flew away.
A few seconds was all I needed and even though I would have liked to have more time with this bird I’m delighted with this Great-tailed Grackle close up because I don’t have as many opportunities to photograph them as I would like to have.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Great-tailed Grackle photos plus facts and information about this species.
Beautiful portrait I love the colors and balance of colors.
My experience has been about the same lately. I have not been going out as often. When I do go it is just to enjoy the sights and sounds, to refresh my soul. I capture very few photos. I looking forward to the end of hunting season. In my opinion it is way too long. I have also seen more wounded birds this year which has been very disheartening.
That eye is striking! Our Boat-tailed Grackles have dark eyes although some from the Gulf states may have golden ones too.
That late afternoon light (and the grackle) is beautiful.
Sorry to hear about your off-day. Nice portrait of the grackle, often confused with blackbirds when in a group with males. Did everyone hear about the heatwave in Australia and its impact on the fruit-bats?
Sydney reached a nearly 80-year temperature high of 47.3C (117F) on Sunday. Hundreds of lives lost due to the extreme heat and not enough canopy cover to shade them or keep them cool. They don’t use echo location like most bats and are important pollinators. 😢
I did hear of that disaster. And mourned.