Woodcock in Snow

Gallery: AvianPosted March 23, 2011720 views11 comments

This is a sure (and very welcome) sign of spring in Minnesota!!! I scared him out of a pile of brush when I was snowblowing this morning. This poor little guy will find it hard to get earthworms in this weather. Hopefully it all melts next week.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 23, 2011 at 2:52 PM

Love the snow on his bill. I also like the dof you chose for the nicely blurred but still recognizable bg.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on March 23, 2011 at 3:55 PM

Wow, never seen one of these guys in snow before. Nice image, particularly for the habitat, although I could wish the juniper? bg wasn't right behind his beak.

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

Comment posted by Michael W. Bates on March 23, 2011 at 4:18 PM

Keith - Yah, I took what I could get without spookin the little critter. Not much time before he decided I was too close and moved. So... I see you are from SoDak - how bad did you get hit with this snow?

Registered on December 14, 2010, 9 Posts, 11 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 23, 2011 at 7:53 PM

Great to just see one. The head is a bit soft on my monitor. What were your settings?

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Michael W. Bates on March 23, 2011 at 8:18 PM

Rick - I used a EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM stopped to f 10.0, 1/800 ISO800 on a 5DMkII

Registered on December 14, 2010, 9 Posts, 11 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on March 23, 2011 at 9:03 PM

Nice close up image, Michael. The snow on and around the woodcock's beak make this an interesting image.

Was this image cropped? You can try boosting the saturation in this image and also a round of sharpening on the woodcock to make it show up better.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on March 24, 2011 at 12:16 AM

Hi Michael. I like the way he just fits in between the snow bank and the tree on the right, pretty cosy. Some really nice angles created by those design elements too. The snow on that long beak is very esthetic, probably a bit cold for him though. I would try adding some selective contrast to the Woodcock. Rather resembles the Wilson's Snipe?

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on March 24, 2011 at 12:30 AM

Interesting seeing the bird on the snow. I think Govind's suggestions are right on, but even so it is a remarkable photo.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 24, 2011 at 10:29 AM

neat shot, Michael--we don't see this species posted here very often, and especially not in the snow. I especially like the snow on the bill. I agree with the others that a little more processing (possibly adding some contrast to the bird) would give it a little more pop.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Michael W. Bates on March 24, 2011 at 9:34 PM

Thanks all that posted with improvement suggestions. I did tweak contrast and vibrance a bit in PS and have reposted the image on my website for any interested in seeing the improvements.

Registered on December 14, 2010, 9 Posts, 11 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 25, 2011 at 8:10 PM

Love the setting Michael. Would a little more oomph in the bird (sharpening, boost in contrsts) help it stand out a little more?

cheers
Rob

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