My last field trip at the Potholes and Prairies Birding Festival in Carrington North Dakota was a small van trip with just a few of us on Sunday. It provided some of the best bird photo ops of the trip. It was, as I say, a small van, and the driver was the leader of the trip and an avid and skilled birder, so we tended to stop for birds that a bus would have whipped right on buy on its way to presumed greener pastures and scheduled stops. It was all very relaxed, but it the course of the day we pulled up beside a lot of birds, and stopped long enough for some pics. Even if we could not get out of the van, I was often able to shoot across and out the open window of the driver’s side. For this Vesper Sparrow, when the van was not well placed for a driver’s side shot, I opened my door and stood up, hanging out, clinging somewhat precariously, and shot over the roof. Whatever works!

Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view. My usual modifications to Program. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 400. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity and sharpness.