Loggerhead Shrike w/repost

I agree Ron, their vocalizations are very unique and fun to listen to. This is a great image with a perfect exposure. Love the sage brush. Very different from anything around here. The very tip of the tail is visable and that makes this work for me. Well done as per usual.

Ron:
The sage seems like a strange setting for a Loggerhead to me too (following Ron B's comment). I expect a more substantial perch without the open BG. I like the singing pose, catchlight, and sharpness of the image. Have you been able to observe thorny trees or fences with barbed wire where the birds are stowing their catches?

Vey nice, Ron. All of my encounters have been from much longer range and I have yet to really listen to them. To bad about the tail but the vocalization and great detail make up for it.

Beautiful. Getting the calling is nice too. I love that hes a bit fluffy

"Have you been able to observe thorny trees or fences with barbed wire where the birds are stowing their catches?"

Dave, Nope - not yet. I really keep my eyes pealed for that kind of behavior (or evidence of it) but so far I've struck out.

I have very few images of this species period! Can't get within a mile of them here. Love the sage perch and, of course, the singing. Tail doesn't bother me in the least. I might crop a tiny bit more off the top.

A fine image as posted. I don't mind the perch or the covered tail in the least.

Held up well oto the crop - actually wish for a little more vegetation and less sky

- Luke

Fantastic shot Ron! I can't get within a half mile of these up here although I saw one through my picture window one day hit a junco and could hardly fly off with it. Vicious things!

love the open bill pose, Ron. I rarely get to hear them. I agree with Luke that this could stand a little more room on the bottom, I think it would help to sort of connect all the little bits of sage.

These guys always have great attitude even when just perching. But I really like this photo and the ruffled feathers indicate he's putting a lot of energy into it. I'll have to listen for their song here. They mostly choose fences in this area. Maybe a little more vertical composition?

Nice catch light in the eye, very, very sharp and you got the beak open singing. Whites look really good and excellent detail in the blacks Ron. I don't mind the sage brush obscurring part of the tail. Looks natural to me. Very well done Ron.

No nits from me Ron. Nicely done!

I don't see these guys in my area unfortunately. Nicely captured Ron-the obscured tail doesn't negatively impact the image IMO.

Very nice indeed Ron. The sagebrush looks very similar to our saltbush spp. Does it have succulent leaves?

cheers
Rob

Mostly I like how you were able to control the light and dark areas in what looks like fairly bright light. I also like the open beak, but I don't know if I would call that noise "singing".

I'm late on this one, but this is a pretty exceptional image of a flighty species.

Well captured Ron and excellently exposed to capture that detail when shooting into the sky. I to think the composition would be stronger if there was more of the perch and less of the sky, this would give more of a feeling of height. Graham

I like the calling pose and your exposure control Ron.

The open beak is extra nice, very cool photo. The bird and its surrounds look so crisp and clean. Perfect looking white balance.

Thank you for all the thoughtful comments on this image.

There seems to be sort of a consensus among those who have commented on my composition that the image would be stronger with "more of the perch and less of the sky", or some similar variation. The reason I didn't do that originally was because it placed more OOF sage in the foreground. I agree that the placement of the bird in the frame is improved that way but is that improvement overshadowed by more OOF foreground elements? I would would appreciate knowing what you think.

For the repost I dragged the cropped image to the bottom of the frame - there's no more room down there.

Thank you for any thoughts.

Ron

Heck, I wouldn't complain about the crop on the original post and don't feel the second is much improved, if at all. Just nice to get up close and personal with one of these. I have found them hard to approach.

Excellent work - I prefer the repost's composition, but the original seemed fine at the time.

Ron,

I prefer the original post, it seems the strongest comp to me. Love the open bill, details and light.

They do have an amazing repertoire of sounds!

I managed to miss this one, Ron. I vote for the original comp. Nice job.