Gray Catbird, Little Maquoketa River Valley, iowa
I’m very happy that we see a pair of Gray Catbirds near the house this spring. We always had them in the area but mostly not so close and frequently. They prefer low and dense vegetation and at another property in the neighborhood, where I used to see them, trees and bushes have been removed because a new house will be built. We don’t remove the underbrush in our woods and perhaps the catbirds figured out this would be a better place to live. I think the Gray Catbird is one of the most underrated birds. Most people recognize them by their distinctive “meeow-call”, which obviously gave the bird its name. However, they are also able to perform a song as a mix of notes, squeaks, and imitations of other birds. It sounds beautiful and I recently heard it again during time of courtship display.
I try to get better with my bird photography and have lately more often employed the 1.4x teleconverter when the distance to my subject was too far. This is my preferred method instead of cropping, but can be a challenge if light is very low. The long lens needs good support for its extended focal length of 850 mm, either a stabil tripod or proper handholding.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 850 mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 500