Berry Ejection

Gallery: AvianPosted July 2, 2013282 views7 comments

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) photographed in December of last year. I was shooting Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) when a few Robins showed up.

I am convinced that they eject the berries quite on purpose, as opposed to simply dropping their food by accident. There are several shots that show the tongue getting ready to flick the berry. Now, I remember being told: "Don't play with your food"....

The white things around the mouth are icicles from condensed exhalation growing on the facial hair. It was around -20 C that day.

Canon 7D, Sigma 150-500 at 403 mm, f/9.0, ISO 800, 1/400 sec, braced against window of vehicle, natural light, PP in LR5, PS-CC and NIK. Cropped from portrait to landscape (I know...). Reds were desaturated to avoid overpowering berries, based on prior feedback.

All comments are much appreciated, especially around sharpness. Thanks for looking and thanks for all your comments on my other photos. Your comments really help and they do make NPN unique. Roger

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 2, 2013 at 10:56 PM

Great action, Roger. I wonder if they can tell when they get a bad berry? The glare on the breast feathers is a bit distracting-you might try toning it down just a bit.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on July 2, 2013 at 11:05 PM

Thanks Dennis. They seem to handle the berries for a while and then some get ejected. Others get swallowed. The berries would have been mostly frozen on that day, no doubt. Some would probably have fermented. Which ones are they looking for?

I'll work on that glare - I'm on the iPad now. Thanks.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on July 3, 2013 at 8:32 AM

Colorful image with a nice moment captured. Exposure looks pretty good but as noted the breast could be toned down a touch. I wish the bird were sharper. The focus looks like it was on the leaf on the branch just below the beak. In the larger version, I can see nice details in the leaf, but not the bird.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by John Sherman on July 3, 2013 at 11:37 AM

Great timing. That and the icicles make up for the slight softness of the face IMO. Of course we strive for technical perfection, but in the end it's emotional impact and/or striking action that carries a photo and this has that.

Registered on March 10, 2013, 31 Posts, 142 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on July 3, 2013 at 6:37 PM

Interesting action. Excellent timing on your part.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Claude Dagenais on July 3, 2013 at 7:12 PM

Great action shot Roger, very colorful and telling. I think that the a lot of the berries are fermented by then, maybe they reject those that don't contain alcohol

Nice capture beyond the nits.

Registered on April 10, 2013, 56 Posts, 571 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 4, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Wonderful action and colors here Roger, a touch soft on the face I think possibly from the relatively low shutter speed to stop the action, but you didn't have much light to work with here. The back of the bird looks sharp to me.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments