Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

I find them so hard to capture standing still. I like the image but the shadow on the head is a little distracting for me. Perhaps if the contrast was a little softer it would be better?

I like the perch and pose. I agree with Cheryl on the shadow on the head. I might spend the extra time in processing either cloning out the shadow or lightening it.

Not sure what you mean by the shadow... The dark line above the eye is part of the plumage. I'm honestly not sure if its only present in breeding plumage, but a quick Google search shows many other images with this mark, and many without.

Thanks for letting me know Jeff and sorry for the mix-up. We don't get this species, so wasn't aware of it and just assumed it was after reading Cheryl's comments also. It actually does somewhat resemble a twig shadow though

Great capture of a notorious tail flicking and fidgety critter...... Eye shine, feet, and great EV contrasting it against the background. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful little bird in a wonderful setting. Have never seen these.
Really nice pose and the contrast of the blue and greens is cool.
Well done!
Sandy

A nice image of a tough bird to get in the open. I like the habitat you included. Nice bird position too. In the larger version fine detail is lacking a bit, but a small nit on a very nice shot.

Great perch and setting Jeff

cheers
Rob

I saw and photographed my first Gnatcatcher recently and was amazed at how quickly they moved around - so to get a shot like this at eye level is very impressive.

Jeff,
I have never seen one of these but I like what you got here. Terrific perch and habitat, nice job on the exposure, and a good head turn for you. The larger post is lacking fine feather detail but just a little and with a 1.7x it's no wonder. Great capture of a very cool looking little bird Jeff.

Nice bird and composition. Good directional light. Slight loss of detail but not an image killer in this case.

Great catch, Jeff. I love the colors and the detail and the light.

Wonderful shot. You get so much variety over there.
I,m jealous !
JohnR

Wow Jeff so sorry as well. I see these guys alot and never noticed that dark bar on the head. I thought it was a shadow from the branch Ohhhh silly me

Excellent job, Jeff. Great composition and perch. The pose is nice and alert alert and the eye contact is perfect.

I like the pose and the setting. Very nice, Jeff.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Comments about the 'shadow' forced me to check other images, so I learned something new. As for the loss of fine detail, I attribute that mostly to the high ISO (800 is high on my D80). I'm sure the 1.7TC is partially at fault too, but in good light (and lower ISO) it is barely noticeable.

Jeff, nice bird and setting. I like the curly vines. Composition and lighting work well. Interesting to know about that marking above the eye.

Great job getting this in open, Jeff - and in a wonderful pose. IThe perch is also very interesting and adds a lot to this image. Great eye contact.

Excellent exposure & colors Jeff, like that shadow line above the eye..gives it a distinctive look (just pulling your leg about the shadow of course)
Very good detail and the perch adds interest IMO.
It's a little beauty, I know how difficult these little guys are to capture.
Well done!
PS - I built my pond rather inexpensively, so convince your wife you'll do all the work yourself

Really nice Jeff. I like the viney perch. The one in my gallery recently also shows the shadow...unfortunately, mine shows a real shadow, too :)

Good work capturing this perpetual motion machine still. I like the perch and BG. None of my photos of blue-grays show the dark streak. Looked in Sibley and the black streak is a characteristic of adult male in breeding plumage.