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Nesting Killdeer

V

Vivek Khanzode

New member
Went looking for the nesting hairy woodpecker in the woods south of Cupertino, CA this past weekend and ran into a nesting killdeer on the shores for the Stevens Creek. The bird was so well camouflaged that I did not even see her till I was about 5 feet from her. She did the classic "spread feathers" display since we were apparently too close to her nest. After a few minutes she left the nest to get some food while the male approached the nest. I got the shot of the eggs during this change of guards!

Finally found the hairy woodpecker further down the road. Saw both of them fly in and out of the nest several times getting food for the babies (which were unfortunately not visible). I will post these shots on a separate thread later.

Also, if you know of any photoshop actions for the frames as well as signatures, I will greatly appreciate the links and tips. Also my photoshop skills are that of an amoeba and I am still very much a newbie, so you can be liberal with all the tips ;)

Thanks for looking and hope you like the pictures.

-- Vivek

Here are the photos:

Killdeer:
2488133357_8d55a4cd75_o.jpg


Killdeer eggs:
2488133243_a55331e12c_o.jpg
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Vivek,

This is splendid! What final distance where you and what lens and aperture did you choose?

Have you sharpened the eggs or the bird?

Asher
 
V

Vivek Khanzode

New member
Asher,

Both taken with 1D MarkIII and 400L with 1.4X extender. Both processed with DPP with curves applied and default sharpening, then resized for web posting. The rest of the EXIF is on my PC at home.

The distance to the bird was about 8-10 feet or so...

-- Vivek
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Vivek,

Have you met Mike Spinak? He's currently following a nesting pair with chicks here.! He's close to you so maybe you could share your finds. Hmmm! Maybe I'll fly up!

Asher
 
D

David A. Goldfarb

New member
Nice shots and impressive that you could get that close. I'm usually going for 12-15 feet in the open (as opposed to in a blind or from a car or in a situation where there is a feeder set up).

They're fine without frames. I always find PhotoShop frames a distraction.
 
V

Vivek Khanzode

New member
David A. Goldfarb said:
Nice shots and impressive that you could get that close. I'm usually going for 12-15 feet in the open (as opposed to in a blind or from a car or in a situation where there is a feeder set up).

They're fine without frames. I always find PhotoShop frames a distraction.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments David, I appreciate them. Actually, I kind of ran into them. I might visit them again this weekend to see if there are chicks now...Actually the frames is an excuse to learn the Photoshop layers.

Asher, you are always welcome to come over. I'd love to go shooting with you.

-- Vivek
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Vivek Khanzode said:
Went looking for the nesting hairy woodpecker in the woods south of Cupertino, CA this past weekend and ran into a nesting killdeer on the shores for the Stevens Creek. The bird was so well camouflaged that I did not even see her till I was about 5 feet from her. She did the classic "spread feathers" display since we were apparently too close to her nest. After a few minutes she left the nest to get some food while the male approached the nest. I got the shot of the eggs during this change of guards!

Finally found the hairy woodpecker further down the road. Saw both of them fly in and out of the nest several times getting food for the babies (which were unfortunately not visible). I will post these shots on a separate thread later.

Also, if you know of any photoshop actions for the frames as well as signatures, I will greatly appreciate the links and tips. Also my photoshop skills are that of an amoeba and I am still very much a newbie, so you can be liberal with all the tips ;)

Thanks for looking and hope you like the pictures.

-- Vivek

Here are the photos:

Killdeer:
2488133357_8d55a4cd75_o.jpg


Killdeer eggs:
2488133243_a55331e12c_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi Vivek,

I looked again at your photographs and was surprised to see the date. These are so fresh. The eggs look like they had just been laid. The coloring of the bird and the eggs is spectacular.

Asher
 
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