Common Grackle

COMMON GRACKLE, GREEN, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with Pentax 1.4x converter (420mm)
1/160 sec. f6.7
ISO 1600

A flock of about 20 noisy grackles invaded our back yard this morning, bullying all the songbirds into fleeing. I hope they don't return.

Female rose-brested grosbeak III

FEMALE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 11, 2018

Pentax K-3
Pentax-f* 300mm f4.5 with Pentax 1.4x extender (420mm)
1/3200 sec. f6.7
ISO 1600

Turned up this one while reviewing old frames from a month ago. As with the female grosbeak in an earlier post, the camera was set for photographing in deep shadow when the sun suddenly came out.

Nuthatch II

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JULY 28, 2018

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with Pentax 1/4x converter (420mm)
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 1600

This photo, more than any of the hundreds I've taken at our cabin's backyard feeders, best demonstrates the acrobatic appeal of the quicksilver little nuthatch.

Female rose-breasted grosbeak II

FEMALE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 11, 2018

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with Pentax 1.4x extender (420mm)
1/3200 sec. f6.7
ISO 1600

Another shot from three weeks ago. The lighting on this one was serendipitous. The high shutter speed comes from the camera being set to photograph in deep shade and the lens wide open. Had I thought of it, I would have reduced the ISO to 400 or even 200 for finer image quality, but this seems adequate for Internet use.

Rose-breasted grosbeak, first summer

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, FIRST SUMMER, GREEN, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with Pentax 1.4x converter (420mm)
1/320 sec. f6.7
ISO 1600

We'd seen one or two female grosbeaks at the feeders regularly all summer, but not a male. Until today. This very young grosbeak looks almost like a hybrid of male and female, but over the winter its colors will change until its head is mostly black and the rosy red spreads almost all over its breast. I just wish I hadn't left the car in the driveway in the rear of the shot.