Nesting Stilt

Gallery: AvianPosted April 17, 2013150 views7 comments

I found this nest Black-necked Stilt at Wakodahatchee. There were a few others - but this one was quite close to the boardwalk and facing the right direction. I'm happy that i had overcast lighting because it allowed for nice details in the blacks and whites. I had no idea they had iridescence.

Nikon D7100 300mm f4 + 1.7X TC HH lying down on boardwalk
f/6.7
1/640s
ISO 1000

Full Frame, adjustments in LR4 and CS5

- Luke

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 17, 2013 at 9:03 PM

Nice being able to get this close - here in AZ the nests are quite far from any camera position.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 18, 2013 at 4:32 AM

Next time I'm near one of these, (which will be in a couple weeks) I'll be looking for the iridescence feathers more closely, never noticed it before. Sweet photo of this lady taking care of her soon to be family. I love seeing the details of the nest.

Nice Work Luke!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Dunn on April 18, 2013 at 4:56 AM

Nice exposure Luke. Managed to keep the blacks and whites under control. The leg sticking out back looks odd, but I guess they've got to put those long legs somewhere.
I see you've got yourself a D7100. What do you think of it so far?

Registered on February 20, 2013, 198 Posts, 1011 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on April 18, 2013 at 3:19 PM

Well done, Luke! I have never gotten this close to one in this kind of light. Beautiful and natural comp! From what I have heard of Wakodahatchee, the birds are well acclimated to humans.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on April 18, 2013 at 6:21 PM

Great capture Luke, great pose and habitat/nest!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on April 19, 2013 at 12:33 AM

Nice capture Luke...hope you got to stay on the boardwalk, because it sure looks muddy! It might be my eyes playing tricks on me, but looks like it might need a very small (2-3%) CW rotation? Could just be the angle of the nest causing me to see that.

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

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on April 20, 2013 at 11:08 AM

Thanks for tall of the comments - yes the birds @ wako are really adapted to humans (check my latest Environmental PJ post for proof) but with this bird it just happend to nest close to the boardwalk. There were several other nests considerably further away, I think they would rather be closer to humans than the gators...

As for the D7100 I love it. It's lighter and quieter than my previous D300s, the AF is much better, ISO is better and the extra MPs really help out

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