Kiskadees (technically Great Kiskadees) are hard to resist. They are very present and very vocal residents of the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, and I have already posted a set from Sabel Palms Sanctuary near Brownsville. This bird, who posed for a portrait through the spotting scope, was at Edinburg Scenic Wetlands World Birding Center in Edinburg Texas. This shot was taken at an equivalent focal length of almost 4000mm with a Canon SD100HS camera behind the 15-56x Vario eyepiece of a ZEISS DiaScope 65FL spotting scope. The extreme magnification yields fine feather details, but also creates a attractive bokah behind the bird. Indirect lighting also helps maintain detail. The catch light in the eye is a bonus!

1/100th second at ISO 500. f11 effective (limited by the 65mm aperture of the scope). Program with –1/3EV exposure compensation.

And, just for interest, a little googling shows that there is indeed a Lesser Kiskadee, resident in South America and the Caribbean islands. Who knew?

And a few bonus shots.