Purple finch

PURPLE FINCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 5, 2016

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with 1.4x Pentax extender (420mm)
1/500 sec. f8, handheld
ISO 1600

I had been trying to use the 420mm lens-and-extender combination on a tripod for sharper shots, but training the bulky rig on a moving target was just too difficult. Handholding in the shade became possible at a high ISO that allowed a fast shutter speed to avoid motion blur. In-camera shake reduction, a feature of Pentaxes, helped as well.

Nutch

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 5, 2016

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with 1.4x Pentax extender (420mm)
1/500 sec. f8, handheld
ISO 1600

The white-breasted variety of "nutch," as it's often called in the Upper Peninsula, has been more common than the red-breasted in the last couple of years. It was nice to see a specimen of the latter at our feeders. They are just as snatch-and-grabby as their cousins.

Upside Downy

FEMALE DOWNY WOODPECKER, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 5, 2016

Pentax K-3

Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with 1.4x Pentax extender (420mm)

1/500 sec. f8, handheld

ISO 1600

I've taken lots of shots this summer of this Downy Woodpecker on the suet feeder in our back yard, but only today did it assume a fetching pose.