Plumbeous Vireo on nest

Gallery: AvianPosted May 3, 201092 views8 comments

Canon 7D, 500mm f/4 + 1.4x, monopod.

1/500, f/7.1, ISO 1000, +1/3 EC

Crop to 84% (15 of 18MP).

Most birds are pretty secretive about their nests, but that seems not to be the case with vireos. This Plumbeous Vireo at Red Rock State Park was singing pretty constantly from the nest, which is why I found it. I've also seen this in Warbling Vireos. The nest was only a foot or so from the trail, so I actually had to back up a ways for the shot. No alterations were made (wish this went without saying) for visibility. Although the bird seemed unbothered by my presence, I kept my visit brief.

This was the best I could do in terms of light in the eye, and although a little more DOF would have been nice, this was about the best balance I could reach.

Comments and critiques are appreciated. Please view larger version if possible.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on May 3, 2010 at 11:14 PM

What a wonderful shot - the only thing I could ask for is a touch more DOF but you got the point of focus on the right spot. It always amazes me how tiny the nests are for some of these birds, which are awfully small themselves.

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 3, 2010 at 11:53 PM

Sweet shot, Brian. Extremely sharp where it counts.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on May 4, 2010 at 12:42 AM

Interesting background information to accompany an interesting photo. Nice job considering the constraints you had to work with. Very spring feeling with those colors and subject material.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on May 4, 2010 at 11:52 AM

For me this is perfect - no need for anymore DOF. She seems to have constructed this with strong foundations, too. But, singing in the nest?

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 4, 2010 at 12:29 PM

Brian, I feel like I am peering into a window...a sort of bird peeping tom

. I like the detail on the headI like the surrounding colors, but they seem a bit bright? Is that because of the time of year or the type of tree?

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on May 4, 2010 at 3:57 PM

Good results IMO. I've not seen this species nesting and didn't realize they did so that close to the Valley.

No alterations were made (wish this went without saying) for visibility.

Well said.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on May 4, 2010 at 4:09 PM

A beauty, Brian!

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on May 6, 2010 at 11:56 PM

I like the nice clear view you obtained for this one, Brian. It's very interesting to see this bird so well tucked away in the nest. You have really fine feather detail and, if I look really closely, I can see a trace of a reflection in the eye.

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