Here are some of the shots i've been able to get the last month or so, i've been working it pretty hard on the weekends (mostly in my neck of the woods) but a lot of times have left empty-handed, dem's the breaks but there have been some keepers too.
another Rufous from Maplewood, again, kind of high up..
Anna's Hummingbird from Iona
Tree Swallow from Iona
My flash unit (SB900) went kaaput about a month ago and i took it back to Nikon for a bulb replacement ($150) last week, cheaper than a new unit and finally i can say something nice about Nikon Richmond, it only took a week to repair, good work guys.
Because of this i've been shooting sans flash the last while (all these shots are natural light), i don't mind it, the D300 quality is pretty good at ISO 800 in darker situations and Noise Ninja does a pretty good job of lessening grain.
When i go back to Thailand in July it will be rainy season and i will probably be shooting without flash the bulk of the time anyways, besides, over there most of the bird photogs avoid flash usage, it's almost a matter of pride (and skill) for them to get the excellent shots they do in jungle situations without resorting to artificial light.
When in Rome... er Bangkok.
Bushtit - Grouse powerline
i half-joke that this spot is my little secret but i know it's well-known by birders, and dog-walkers, hikers, bikers etc. It's my reliable location for MacGillivray's warbler (there, secret out, enjoy
) along with other species in season.
They are still not easy to see by any means and you kind of have to know which areas they hang out in but others i have mentioned this spot to have had success.
OC warbler is very reliable at Grouse.
Speaking of grouse, a fellow photogs excellent shots of the Sooty Grouse at Burnaby Mountain recently inspired me to head out early Friday morning to see if i could find it myself.
Sun was just up at 6am and i had the whole place to myself, am always looking to better my shots of Townsend's warbler (as i know others are as well) but the area was relatively warbler-free alas. Walking around i finally heard the hooting and eventually spotted the grouse, surprisingly close in a tree.
Eventually it made it's way to the ground briefly and pecked at something, seeds perhaps on the ground. It didn't think much of my big lens though and soon flew back higher up in surrounding trees.
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