Birds on a Wire

Hi all! This is the third installment in Jenaya's and my pictures from our encounter with a large transient flock of European Starlings last month. This frame was taken a few moments after Jenaya's recent posting of the birds flying in towards this fence. I just could not get over how they covered every strand of barb wire and were packed in like sardines. Then to have every post with a starling perched was too much to ignore, so I tried several angles and several aperture settings hoping one would stand out. I'm not sure this one was particularly more impressive than many others, but I liked the SINGLE bird coming in with outstretched wings as a unique focus point so thought it was as good as any to share with you, and I think the narrow DOF works to help the endless numbers just kind of fade off in both directions. (Where was this guy thinking he could land, anyway? I think the two birds under him were wondering the same thing!)

Please view the large version just to get a better view of all those crammed starlings! CRAZY! Anyone care to try for a count?

The spots above the birds are raindrops.

As always, thanks for your comments and suggestions.

Nikon D300
Nikkor AF-S 200-400mm f/4G VR IF-ED lens @ 380mm
ISO 640
1/640sec @ f/4
-0.7EV
monopod mounted

Processing Notes:
Converted from RAW using Phase One Capture One Pro 7
Minor tweaks to tone and contrast using Nik Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4 in PS5
Cropped to about 90% of original full-frame width
(Very) selective sharpening