Flycatcher + Reposts

Gallery: AvianPosted January 9, 201095 views11 comments

La Sagra’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus sagrae): The range of this little bird is Grand Cayman, Cuba, the Bahamas and as an occasional vagrant to S. Florida. This image was obtained on a walk along the Mastic Trail, Grand Cayman.

I’m not certain of this identification. I have several shots of this bird but in every one he shows the same pose. The image also bears quite a close resemblance to the Loggerhead Kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus). However, I think evident cinnamon (rufous) wing feathers and relatively small size tip the id to the flycatcher.

Not only was the pose of the bird static but so was the very hard light. Some detail is lost in the whitest spots on the wings(but I can't see it even in the large version here!) Just to make it more challenging, the shot was at ISO 1600. Postprocessing included noise reduction and sharpening as well as selective lowering of exposure to eke out as much detail as possible. I am now beginning to appreciate the challenge in obtaining acceptable images in dark forests and jungles when the bird decides to perch in a sunny spot.

All comments welcome especially about the image quality and about the id of this bird.

EOS 7D, EF100-400 mm: ISO 1600, 235 mm (4.18 meters to the bird), 1/500 s, f/6.3. Image is 3848 x 2566 pixels (=9.9 MP or 55% of the 18 MP of the 7D).

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 9, 2010 at 7:28 PM

Steve, I have virtually no experience shooting birds in these conditions so I'll leave that to others. To my eye the detail in the bird looks pretty good. I've thought quite a bit about the arching OOF branch in front of the bird and personally there are elements about it that I like and that I don't. On balance though, I think I wish it weren't there. I'm certainly glad you didn't try to get rid of it though, I'm impressed that you did so well under these conditions. My one suggestion might be to consider cropping slightly differently so that the intersection between the two branches on the left wasn't at the frame edge.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Dubois on January 9, 2010 at 7:57 PM

Looks like you did well under tough conditions. I'm also not wild about that curved OOF branch. Have you played at all with a vertical comp?

Registered on February 22, 2005, 129 Posts, 4739 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 9, 2010 at 8:07 PM

Steve I think you did well to get the details you have in the bird's plumage considering the light and the conditions.

I can't help with the ID, I didn't get to bird the Caymans much at all, I was there with my mother and we went out to see stingrays and sea turtles instead of birds.

I like the bits of what looks to be food on the bill, the nice pose and light in the eye.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 9, 2010 at 9:49 PM

Hey Steve, certainly some type of Myiarchus flycatcher, though without knowing which ones are present there, I'll leave it at that. I think that you did well with the difficult light, though in the larger version I do think that I see some loss of detail due to NR along the edge of the wing and perhaps in the crown.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on January 9, 2010 at 11:44 PM

I think you did well here and there is plenty of detail. I think, too, a vertical crop may strengthen this??? I do like the lighting of the forest...those greens are enchanted. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 10, 2010 at 11:33 AM

Thank you all for your very constructive comments. Reading them I thought that it is difficult to judge the original lighting without seeing the original. So, I'll post it now. Hopefully my photography will improve so I can do better with the original and rely less on post-processing. I now have a Speedlite 580EX II and look forward to trying it out, maybe after Jan. 20 in Cuba (if I can carry it on the aircraft!). Several of you made suggestions about new crops. I'll post two images showing those too. Here goes...beginning with the uncropped original:

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 10, 2010 at 11:34 AM

Now here is a crop suggested by Ron eliminating the intersecting branches:

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 10, 2010 at 11:43 AM

And finally, the vertical crop suggested by Ed and Sharon. I think that I do like the vertical crop best. However, now the image is only 2566 x 1983 (=5 MP or only 28% of the 18 MP of the 7D). If I wanted a resolution of 300 pixels per inch in a print then, without using uprezzing software, I'd be limited to an 8.6 inch by 6.6 inch image. Usually the lowering of total MP is what discourages me from using a vertical crop. Thank you all again.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 10, 2010 at 4:22 PM

I can't add much to the thorough comments on the shot, but I may be able to help with the ID. It is a La Sagra's Flycatcher. In addition to the problems you've noted with a Loggerhead Kingbird, the head is too small for a Flycatcher and the bill too delicate.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 10, 2010 at 8:09 PM

Thank you, Jim. I'm very glad to see that confirmation. Your comment, in agreement with Brian's and mine, provides a strong support that we've correctly identified this one!

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on January 10, 2010 at 8:53 PM

Nice job in tough lighting Steve. I think I like the last vertical post best.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments