Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, USA
Any comments/critiques appreciated.
Is this a composite: No
Canon 7D, 300mm f/2.8 + 1.4x, 1/100sec @ f/4, ISO 400
Excellent, David. The side lighting (and your processing) really brought out the texture in the blacks. I like the classic perch and somewhat belligerent looking pose. You don’t mention a crop, but I think a touch more room on the left and top would be nice.
Beautiful portrait, David! Redwings can be hard to capture, especially with a nice background like you got! There always in the grasses. Awesome!
Really excellent pose here. Great job on the plumage color and background. A tough shot at 100th of a second.
@Dennis_Plank, @Vanessa_Hill, @David_Schoen, thank you for the nice comments.
Dennis, This was full crop (crop sensor of 7D and 300mm with 1.4 extender. 16 feet away from the car, So, no additional room. 
David, I haven’t been to Ridgefield in a while, wondering if the water levels are improved from a couple of years ago…
The perch is so typical of their behavior - they’re so acrobatic and territorial. I love them. Blacks are tough and you nailed them. Nicely done.
@David_Bostock They got the pumps fixed, I think. Water levels last winter were some of the highest I’ve ever seen there. I suspect this summer’s drought has brought them down considerably.
