Golden Fronted Woodpeckers

Maestro

All of these images are as I found them in the wild so to speak even though all of these shots were either shot near ranch houses or, believe it or not, a college parking lot.

There is one exception. The juvenile GFW was shot at blind #3 at the Martin Refuge and it was the only GFW to visit the blinds even though I heard them nearby the blinds all day. The first two are from a dead palm located near the ranch house of the Martins at the Martin Refuge.

One adult after feeding the chicks...


The other adult, or perhaps the same one, bringing in more prey. I think it found a wasp.


Juvenile


I found an active nesting cavity on the grounds of the Univ. of Texas, Brownsville so my wife and kids and I staked out the joint. Soon I spied this guy with what looks like a wasp again.


Then I got a few better images as it went back and forth on hunting trips.


Near the hole with what looks like a cheetoh, but I have no idea.


It went inside and then came out about a minute or two later.

dlplumer

Really great set Stephen; sharp, great color balance

Ric Grupe

That first one is a humdinger, Stephen!

I might lose most of the area to the left of the tree and make it a verticle crop.

That young one is very cool too.

spechtal

beautiful

BigAl

Very nice set Stephen! Well done on the effort to get them too!

Harv

Great set, Stephen. The first three images are stellar.

dbaker1221

excellent set Stephen. :ivar really like the first 3 shots

Maestro

dlplumer wrote:

Really great set Stephen; sharp, great color balance

Thanks Dan.

Maestro

Ric Grupe wrote:

That first one is a humdinger, Stephen!

I might lose most of the area to the left of the tree and make it a verticle crop.

That young one is very cool too.

Thank Ric and thanks for the suggestion on the vertical crop.

Maestro

spechtal wrote:

beautiful

Many thanks Angela

Maestro

BigAl wrote:

Very nice set Stephen! Well done on the effort to get them too!

Thanks Al. I was obssessed with getting a few decent pics of the on my trip.

Maestro

Harv wrote:

Great set, Stephen. The first three images are stellar.

Thanks Harv. The juvenile came out better than expected.

evil eggplant

Nice. Curious about lens..
Nicely done. I tried to get one too, but lacking shots as good as yours, my shots have been relegated to the recycle bin:cry

I see you're shooting a 40D at 500mm. I'm curious about the lens you're using. Thanks..

Maestro

evil eggplant wrote:

Nicely done. I tried to get one too, but lacking shots as good as yours, my shots have been relegated to the recycle bin:cry

I see you're shooting a 40D at 500mm. I'm curious about the lens you're using. Thanks..

Thanks evil eggplant (love the name btw ). I was shooting with a Sigma Prime 500mm on a tripod with a Wimberly Head II.

hanseat

Wonderfull!

Maestro

dbaker1221 wrote:

excellent set Stephen. :ivar really like the first 3 shots

Thanks Dave. I was pleasantly surprised with the first two. I thought the light was just be too harsh and it was but not overly so.

WildWally

the third and last shots are AWESOME !!! Well captured ..

evil eggplant

500 f/4.5? (I'm thinking about that lens) Thanks again.

Maestro

evil eggplant wrote:

500 f/4.5? (I'm thinking about that lens) Thanks again.

Yes, that is the one. I must admit that I do miss Image Stabilization, but for a 1/2 stop and IS I just couldn't justify spending the extra dollars at the time. I do always use a tripod with that lens. It is unforgiving hand held unless you have the luxury of enough shutter speed. As far as the IQ goes, I think it is excellent. Any shots that do not turn out are always my fault.

Maestro

hanseat wrote:

Wonderfull!

Thanks Jan.

Maestro

WildWally wrote:

the third and last shots are AWESOME !!! Well captured ..

Thanks for looking in Wally. I appreciate the comments.

raptorcaptor

Nice set Stephen! Like the "juvie" shot best.
I think if you cropped the sky out of the last shot it would make it have more impact!

evil eggplant

Thanks, I appreciate the information. Like you, I'm willing to give up a half stop and the IS to save the $$$. Image-quality wise, your lens looks like a real winner.

Thanks again.

Maestro wrote:

Yes, that is the one. I must admit that I do miss Image Stabilization, but for a 1/2 stop and IS I just couldn't justify spending the extra dollars at the time. I do always use a tripod with that lens. It is unforgiving hand held unless you have the luxury of enough shutter speed. As far as the IQ goes, I think it is excellent. Any shots that do not turn out are always my fault.

Maestro

raptorcaptor wrote:

Nice set Stephen! Like the "juvie" shot best.
I think if you cropped the sky out of the last shot it would make it have more impact!

Thanks Glenn. I will probably go back and take the sky out. It wasn't a very pretty sky to begin with.

Harryb

#3

Osprey Whisperer

Nice series of woodies, Stephen.

Maestro

Harryb wrote:

#3

Thanks so much Harry. The juvie is stealing the show!

Maestro

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

Nice series of woodies, Stephen.

Thanks. I've always liked my woodies! (If your mind is in the gutter, yes, there is a double entendre there)