Description: Eastern kingbirds nest in trees along the Duck Pond. Oddly enough, green herons always nest in the same tree which is an odd and dangerous combination for either species. Then, I realized how this worked. I heard one of the green herons giving the alarm squawk after a grackle was observed trying to steal a nestling. Both kingbirds swooped in and attacked the grackle which abandoned the heron nest. Thus, even in the avian world, a good neighbor can be a must have for survival.
Specific Feedback Requested:
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
D500 600mm f4 (1/640 sec at f7.1, ISO 1000), Levels, Brightness & Contrast, crop for comp, rubber stamped out orphaned tip of stick in LLH corner…Jim
Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)
If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
What a great story! I love King birds. They are so fun to watch, but I haven’t gotten many good photos of them. Not like this. That head turn is so sweet and the light is truly lickable (and so is that background!). Good job with the wide dynamic range of the bird - the dark plumage looks terrific. You might try a small radial gradient round the eye to bring it up a little. I do this with most of my bird and animal photos and it works nicely to improve engagement with the viewer.
This is fascinating, @Jim_Zablotny . I think I may have had a similar situation early this week. A Bewick’s Wren (I think that is what it is) had built a nest in a butterfly vine bush. And had apparently laid some eggs. Along came a Scrub Jay who appeared to be trying to get at the nest. The came 2 or 3 cardinals who appeared to be harassing the Jay. Is this even possible? I’ve never seen that type of behavior before. Just curious. Thanks for posting this event.
A beautiful image of the Kingbird, Jim. Also, an interesting story. I’m sure our feeder birds benefit from the swallows we have in our boxes as they are great harassers of raptors that drift into the yard (including the resident Sharpie).
