Seaside Sparrow

Gallery: AvianPosted July 15, 2010124 views14 comments

A trip to Tern Island turned fruitless as the birds apparently all fledged last week... whoops. But on our way we found a shearwater very much inland (see my latest bird photography forum query)

After we left the island we headed to the adjacent island to see if any straggler terns were around (none were) but there were a handful of these Seaside Sparrows and this one was the boldest of them all. I can only imagine how well I'd do with some time on my hands and a blind.

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC HH
f/8
1/1000s
ISO 1000

Cropped to 80%, Sharpened, Noise reduction on BG, cloned OOF reed

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on July 15, 2010 at 10:57 PM

Nice shot Luke. I like the pose and lighting, and good exposure. Not sure what I'd change, but it feels to me like there's too much space on the left. I like the green background, though.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on July 15, 2010 at 11:00 PM

Fine pose and head turn Luke. Not a species I have really heard about, cool sparrow with the yellow stripes. I'm liking this a lot. I suspect someone may suggest cloning out the smaller grass below and to the left of the sparrow and they might be right. On the other hand I would leave it because it fills the space between the bird and the far left vertical stem.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Graham on July 16, 2010 at 12:19 AM

nice detail and pose, Luke

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on July 16, 2010 at 4:58 AM

Great capture on this one Luke. Sharp and great colors! This would also work well as a cropped vertical shot. Looks like you managed your lack of terns well!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on July 16, 2010 at 5:46 AM

Like your comp and background Luke - funny looking sparrow

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Darren McKenna on July 16, 2010 at 9:17 AM

A beauty, very good clean BG, you could crop a tad tighter but this is well presented in his habitat.

darrenmckenna.com

Registered on October 28, 2008, 31 Posts, 214 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on July 16, 2010 at 10:04 AM

I love Sparrows and would love to see one of these some day. A real nice habitat shot with a great BG Luke.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 16, 2010 at 10:56 AM

nice comp Luke. I am glad you kept the habitat and think the vertical reeds really ad to this shot.

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

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on July 16, 2010 at 12:41 PM

Very nice image of a sparrow I've only seen in books. I like the pose and the colors but find the reed to the far left distracting. I would crop that out but no other nits.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on July 16, 2010 at 12:54 PM

Luke:
I'm enjoying this shot of a bird I haven't seen. Detail in the bird is very nice for ISO 1000. Good work on BG noise.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 17, 2010 at 11:44 AM

Luke,

I like everything about this image, the lovely colors, background and the grasses give the image a nice dimensional feel.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on July 17, 2010 at 11:51 AM

This is beautiful Luke. I really like the comp and inclusion of the grass on the left of the frame. I have never seen one of these sparrows and it is very pretty. Thanks for posting it.

I see a return trip in your future with a blind.

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on July 17, 2010 at 12:50 PM

Congrats on such a nice image of this difficult species. You've brought out the subtle beauty of a bird that few people bother to ever see well in their coastal marshes. The reeds are an important part of this composition.

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on July 18, 2010 at 10:59 AM

Fine view of this bird, Luke. This comp works but a vertical crop would focus the image so much more on the bird.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments