Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Place: Gilbert Water Ranch, AZ
Date: February 24, 2017 10:22 am
Equipment: Nikon D7200, AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR @ 410mm, G1325, RRS BH-55
Exposure: ISO 800, Aperture priority matrix metered, 1/1000th @ f/11
Raw, PS CC 2017 on Mac, full frame

I’ve retired my faithful 300/2.8 and TC20E and replaced them with the much lighter and more versatile 200-500/5.6. It arrived on Thursday, and this image is from my first field session on Friday. I am quite impressed and very happy with this lens.
This dove is nesting in a large saguaro cactus near the main parking lot at the Water Ranch, where scores of people pass by every day, with most of them not even noticing the bird or nest.

As with the majority of my images this is as much about the habitat as it is about the bird. I could have easily shot tighter at 500mm, moved in closer to this conditioned dove, or cropped the image. But I like seeing so much of the nest and the interesting folds of the cactus. I hope you like it as well.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Larger image provided for judging image quality.