Cedar Waxwing, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, @ 600mm, 1/800s, f/6.3, ISO800, DX crop
I shot this photo yesterday morning, just before I went on my hopefully last business trip for this year. There is only one big reason why a few Cedar Waxwings show up at our heated bird baths during this time of the year. We must have a good crop of juniper berries on the red cedar trees here on top of the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. Most of the time the waxwings are in company with a number of American Robins. Both bird species love to eat the berries and between feeding frenzies they drink a lot of water. Last winter we haven’t seen a single Cedar Waxwing here, because there was obviously not enough juniper berries available. It is so good to see this beautiful bird back again!
I’m very impressed how good the new Nikon Z6II deals with luminance noise from shooting with higher ISO settings. With my older cameras I would not stretch the ISO settings up to 800 in my bird photography. I always found the necessary noise reduction in post process would remove way too much detail in the bird’s feathers. With the Z6II it becomes a totally different game. It allows shooting in low light, as we had yesterday morning, and a sharp image with all details still intact becomes more likely under these conditions. Another reason I wanted the Z6II. 😊