CATTLE EGRET

This beauty was at maximum breeding colors and plumage. This period of intensity is short lived and it appears to me not every cattle egret achieves this level of colors. This was late in the afternoon. The sun was going down behind a group of large cypress trees. The background cattails were still being lit by the setting sun. The egret was being lit by a slightly diffused light filtering through the very tops of the cypress trees to my back. I pushed the ISO to 640 on my D200 which is not an ideal range for this camera but I wanted at least a stop and a half of DOF to get the entire egret in focus. I knew this was a golden opportunity and didn't want to blow it. I was forced to make quick decisions as I knew this light would only last for a few minutes and the egret would definetly not keep this pose. Also I was using my non-VR 300mm lens and 1.7TC at 510mm and needed some decent shutter speed. I was right in that the light was gone in less than a minute and only managed 4 shots of the egret and only two in this pose.
FULL FRAME

Date/Time: APRIL 28 @ 7:06pm.
Model: NIKON D200
Flash Used: NEVER
Focal Length: 510 mm (NIKON 300 F/4D AF-S + NIKON TC17EII TC)
Exposure Time: 1/180 sec
Aperture f/11 (STOPPED DOWN 1-1/2 STOPS)
ISO Equivalent: 640
Exposure Bias -1/3
White Balance: MANUAL DIRECT SUNLIGHT
Metering Mode: MATRIX
RAW
Exposure Program: APERTURE PRIORITY