Posts in Category: OM-1 & 100-400mm
Costa Rica! Big foot!
Large-footed Finch: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Take a look at those feet! The Large-footed Finch is aptly named (though it is not a finch at all…but a large sparrow) and a speciality of the Talamanca mountains of southern Costa Rica and Northwest Panama. Miriam’s is low for this bird. It is more commonly seen in the area on Cerro de la Muerte another 2000 feet almost straight up from Miriam’s. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 614 and 552mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Mockingbird
Northern Mockingbird: Helen and Alan Cruickshank Reserve, Rockledge, Florida, USA, January 2024 — I had a workshop to present just after noon at the convention center in Cocoa Beach on my second full day in Florida for the rejuvenated Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival, so I needed somewhere relatively close by to bird and photograph in the morning. The Helen and Alan Cruickshank Sanctuary, with its ready population of Florida Scrub Jays, was the obvious choice since it is right across the causeway from Cocoa. I got there early early as the clock was ticking and I still had to find my presentation room and get my AV set up when I got back to the convention center. My first birds were not Florida Scrub Jays…they were Mockingbirds, making fun of my early efforts. There were lots of Mockingbirds at the Sanctuary, and I saw lots before I found my first Scrub Jay. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! shades of Talamanca
Talamanca Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There were probably only a few male Talamanca Hummingbirds at Miriam’s when we visited, but they were aggressively defending the feeders and their territories, so it felt like a lot of birds. I have grouped shots here of males, to show off the various shades of violet and blue that the changing light brings out. Each photo is worth a look on its own for the details. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Last shots
Great Egret: Blackpoint Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — These are the last two shots I took on my first full day in Florida in January, on my second loop around Blackpoint Drive. Late afternoon. The Egret was fairly close, along the road, and I could not resist. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 506mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -0.7 EV. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Talamanca Hummer
Talamanca Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The problem at Miriam’s is not that the Talamanca Hummingbirds are too far away…it is that they are too close. They were literally buzzing around our heads and often landed behind us under the eaves at the back of the deck. The Talamanca is among the largest hummingbirds in Central America and used to be called the Magnificent Hummingbird, before the species was split and the Central American birds were renamed after the mountain range where they dwell in Southern Costa Rica and Northern Panama. I had my OM System OM-1 on my birds-in-flight program but the 1/1600th of a second was still not fast enough to completely still the wings at this close distance. 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. -0.3 EV. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Strike one
Little Blue Heron: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — This is a particularly “reddish” looking Little Blue, and if not for the beak color might be mistaken for a Reddish Egret. While both Reddish and Little Blue are fearsome hunters, both miss more often than they hit…swing and a miss for a strike…and are left looking at the expanding ripples. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 200mm equivalent (this bird was close!). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Flame
Flame-colored Tanager: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Someone in the comments on my recent Acron Woodpecker post, images taken at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Geraldo de Dota, sang the praises of the Flame-colored Tanager…a common bird at the feeders at Miriam’s. One of the brighter of the mountain birds of Central America (and that is saying quite a bit considering the competition), the male and female, while different shades of flame, are both brilliant. These shots, both on the same perch in the partial shade, show off the colors. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Immature White Ibis
White Ibis: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Certainly one of the oddest looking birds in all bird-kind, at least to my eye. It will come into its pure white plumage in good time, but this is the awkward stage we all go through. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 628mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Acorn at Miriam’s
Acorn Woodpecker: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We drove up to the top of Buena Vista Mountain as it is named on the maps, or Cerro de la Muerte as it is commonly known, but the mountain top was shrouded in dense fog, hiding the vistas, so we returned to Savegre for a morning of photographing silky water in the stream below the hotel. Then for lunch we drove back up to Miriam’s Quetzals, a small family owned restaurant/coffee shop/gift shop half way back up to the Panam highway, perched on the side of the Savegre canyon, with a wonderful deck and feeding station which draws all the common birds at its cloud forest elevation, approaching 9000 feet. In the year since my last visit they have improved and enlarged the deck and it is an even better perch for photographing birds. Acorn Woodpeckers are among the dominant species, and though we can see them in the Western US, they are always a treat to see in the mountains of Costa Rica. The deck at Miriam’s provides close up views. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Handsome
Wood Stork: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — The Wood Stork is not, to my eye, beautiful…but it is certainly handsome. I will never forget my first encounter with one after a long hike in Georgia, but they are common along Blackpoint Drive these days. This one was very close to the road and totally unconcerned as I walked up for some photos. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.