Red-breasted Nuthatch

Gallery: AvianPosted December 6, 2017181 views9 comments

I made a new feeder a week or so ago by taking a piece of bark with a knot hole in it and screwing an entire piece of similar shape on the inside. There's sufficient gap between the two for stashing quite a few peanuts and both species of Chickadees and the Nuthatches seem to like it. I finally went out this morning with overcast skies to see if I could catch some birds on it. The Chickadees are difficult as they use a grab-and-go technique, but the Nuthatches land face downward above the hole and work down toward it with a bit of hesitation that gave me a few seconds of opportunity.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600 C @ 421 mm, Jobu Gimbal mounted to blind window, f/8, 1/125, iso 2000, aperture priority, pattern metering, -1/3 EV and fill flash at -2 EV. Noise reduction in DxO PhotoLab, all other processing in LR & PS CC. I cloned a few peanuts out that were showing in the hole. Cropped to 12 MP. I wasn't very happy with the looks of the Nuthatch until I moved the color temperature up +5 in LR. It seemed to make an amazing difference with the tones in this image. Taken at 9:11 am today.

Your comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on December 6, 2017 at 8:45 PM

Wonderful image Dennis. One of the best RB Nuthatch photos I have seen. Great sharpness, perch, light, pose, and background. Excellent work.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on December 6, 2017 at 9:50 PM

Dennis: excellent capture of the bird in a very typical pose. The soft light, muted background and the composition make the bird really stand out in the frame. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Paula LeVay on December 6, 2017 at 10:39 PM

Dennis, you've aced this one! The Nuthatch's feather detail and color is amazing. The faint image of a tree branch in the background works nicely to round out the image.

Registered on July 29, 2016, 66 Posts, 270 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on December 7, 2017 at 10:23 AM

A beautiful look at the nuthatch in a classic pose. The detail is excellent. Would make a great print.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on December 7, 2017 at 12:29 PM

I like almost everything about this image Dennis. I wish it was a tad bit brighter and I wish the background or a tad more uniform. Otherwise the pose is terrific and the detail is amazing. The overcast skies in our area have been really dark and even at iso 2000 and with fill flash, it is a struggle to get a well-balanced image.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Norma Tareila Matl on December 7, 2017 at 2:03 PM

Nice image, the nuthatch looks great in his environment. The new feeder works well ...

Registered on October 27, 2016, 229 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 7, 2017 at 3:11 PM

Excellent image - perfect pose, natural colours and tack-sharp.
Dark eyes against dark feathers sometimes get lost - a little selective work on the eye with "levels" might bring out definition in the eye a bit more.
Sweet image!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on December 8, 2017 at 10:27 AM

What a nice setup Dennis. Classic pose and I like the hint of conifer needles in the background. I rarely see one of these with this striking of markings. Well done.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on December 8, 2017 at 9:55 PM

Classic pose form the Nuthatch Dennis, so very nice timing! I do find myself wishing the bird was a bit brighter. I think it's mostly because of the BG being so light. I wonder if you selectively bring up the exposure on the bird how that might look?

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