White-winged Dove

 1/1000 | f/5.6 | ISO 320 | Fill Flash

1/1000 | f/5.6 | ISO 400 | Fill Flash

It has been a while since my last post, my apologies to any readers that I might have left! I have not done nearly as much photography as I would have liked over the last couple of months, there just hasn't been the time with so much work and other stuff going on. I am really hoping that I can change that soon, I seriously miss going out to photograph birds! Today I was able to make a quick setup in my backyard for the White-winged Doves that are always present in my yard. I was hoping for some flight shots, but the doves did not cooperate, so I settled for some perched images. Both of these images were shot from the comfort of my bedroom window under overcast skies this afternoon. Enjoy.

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American Goldfinch III

1/125 | f/8 | ISO 800 | Fill Flash

Just a quick post of another Goldfinch. This one was photographed earlier this week on a cool and rainy morning when the Goldfinches were out in numbers at my feeders. I am hoping to do some more backyard setups this weekend, so be sure to check back for updates!

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American Goldfinch II

1/250 | f/8 | ISO 800 | Fill Flash

Here is another Goldfinch from the backyard taken on the same day as the last post. I had to clone out one of heads of the stalk since it was coming straight through the birds head. 

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American Goldfinch

1/500 | f/8 | ISO 160

I am sorry that I have not posted here at all this month, I have not been out doing photography as much as I would like to. But, I have been working on some backyard setups over the last few days trying to get some new images of the American Goldfinches in my yard. This morning was my best try so far. I found this dead Sunflower stalk at the neighborhood park yesterday, so I snipped it and brought it home, attached it to an old plastic tripod with zip ties, and placed some thistle seed on the heads of the stalk. I placed the perch next to a low hanging sock feeder knowing that the finches would perch on it on their way to the feeder and I sprinkled the seeds on top to encourage them to stay perched on it for a few seconds so that I could get some shots off. It worked fairly well and this image is the best one that I got from the morning, though the light was a tad  strong. I am going to try again tomorrow and will also use some other perches as well, so be sure to check back!

Thanks for having a look.

click image to view larger size.