Posts in Category: Sony A6700 with Tamron 50-400Di iii
Costa Rica! Shiny again
Shining Honeycreeper: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The after the Vultures version of the Shining Honeycreeper. 🙂 Such an amazing bird. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! More Euphonias
Yellow-throated Euphonia: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — after the Vulture Blind, the sun was full out on the feeders and perches by the covered patio down by the house, and the colors on the honeycreepers and euphonias really popped! Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. -0.3EV. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Passerini’s no more
Scarlet-rumped Tanager: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — There used to be two tanagers in Costa Rica with red rumps…the Passerini’s and the Cherries, one basically on the caribbean side and one on the pacific. This would have been the Passerini’s. They were recently lumped into a single species…the Scarlet-rumped. The males were never really distinguishable, and the females differed only enough to notice if you had the two side by side. The Passerini’s name is still out there, and still in use by some authorities. We will go with Scarlet-rumped. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Though it is a common bird, these are somewhat rare shots in that you can see the feather detail in the black…the light was just right.
Maine! Denisons under the deck
Carolina Wren: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — Yesterday we woke to six inches of snow in the yard, like most people in Southern Maine (some had more) and after clearing the drive and cleaning off the car and removing the snow from the shed roof I went looking for birds. We see these two wrens about once a week up on our back deck after the spilled meal-worm crumbs, and occasionally on the meal-worm feeder itself after a whole worm, and I know they spend considerable time under our deck, in the jumble of old flowerpots that have accumulated there. I think they actually nest a few yards over but they visit us. We see them often in the summer and I know they have been recorded on the Christmas Bird counts in Southern Maine, but this is the first winter when we have seen them regularly. I am always happy to see them. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Neighbors
American Robin and European Starling: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — I always look for the neighborhood flock of Robins this time of year, in hopes that there will be Cedar Waxwings with them. This year, so far, I have only found Starlings with them…not the same at all…but actually a bit rarer in Southern Maine than waxwings. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! What do you want to be when you grow up?
Red-legged Honeycreeper: Adult and Immature males. Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — There is no bird that I know of where the immature male is so obviously caught in the act of becoming the adult than the Red-legged Honeycreeper. The almost identical poses, both captured after we returned from the Vulture blind at Mirador El Pizote, make it just that much more obvious. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! We don’t like Starlings
European Starling: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — We don’t like European Starlings much here in the US…and there are lots of good reasons not to like Starlings…invasive…aggressive…noisy…messy…voracious eaters of our seed…but, seen dispassionately (and in someone else’s yard) I, at least, can not deny that they have certain elegant beauty, and when the light on them brings out the iridescence…even an opaline splendor. I actually don’t see many starlings here Southern Maine. The few hanging with the local winter flock of Robins this year are the first I have seen, or at least noticed, in several years. I would not want to see it become a trend, but I don’t mind seeing one once in a while (in someone else’s yard). Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Kings about their business
King Vulture: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Carrion is the business of vultures, of course, and the Kings are no exception. The bare head is an adaption specifically for carrion eaters to allow them to dig deep into a carcass. Of course I am not sure why the bare head has to be so brightly colored. I mean what is that bold yellow stripe in line with the spine about…or why the outrageous carbuncle…but I as not consulted on Vulture design. Good thing. Leave that to the true artist. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 375 and 600mm equivalents. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! January Song Sparrow
Sony Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — Besides the Pine Warblers hanging out with our wintering Bluebirds, there are several Song Sparrows that have neglected to go south around town. At least a few along the dunes in the beach rose, and 3 or 4 in a local park along the river. (And probably more that I don’t know about.) They seem perfectly happy and have already survived the few snow storms and the low temperatures of the past few weeks. We will see how they do when it gets really cold next week. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Kings rampant
King Vulture: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Immature and Adult. The King Vulture is the largest New World Vulture except for the Andean Condor. They can weigh up to 8 pounds and have a 6 foot wingspread. They dwarf the Black Vultures they hang out with at Mirador El Pizote. The immature that showed up while we were at the vulture blind seemed even larger than the adults, but that might just be because it lacked the distraction of the bright head and carbuncle. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 517 and 313mm equivalents. (And that, right there, tells you something about the size of these birds!) Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.