The Eastern Bluebirds will hopefully stay here all winter long.
Today I had my first real field day with the new mirrorless Nikon Z6II camera. It started in our front yard this morning with three Eastern Bluebirds taking advantage of the water in our bird baths. But the real challenge was a trip to the Green Island Preserve, the wetlands along the Mississippi River south from here. It isn’t the season when wildlife is present in abundance but a few raptors, a bunch of American Coots, and a few sparrows gave me some good opportunities to practice with the camera and to develop some muscle memory for the shooting workflow that comes with an Electronic Viewfinder. I do not like shooting with my glasses but the EVF allows me to shoot without them. The new challenge is to keep my eye at the viewfinder after a click and evaluate the results or make changes in the settings menu just right in the viewfinder. As soon I move my head away from the eye piece and look for the brilliant screen in the back of the camera, well, I need my glasses again. It may take some time to memorize not to look at the screen, at least during wildlife photography.
All images: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter
American Coots busy feeding on aquatic plants in the Green Island Wetlands, Iowa
Beside Bald Eagles and a pair of Northern Harriers, the Red-tailed Hawk is another raptor that finds food in the wetlands during winter time.