Tufted Titmouse, Little Maquoketa Valley, Eastern Iowa
A simple click in the front yard last week. The new Nikkor Z 600 f/6.3 VR S lens is so much easier to handhold and allows to move around quickly if a bird, like this Tufted Titmouse, changes location and peels off the shell of a sunflower seed.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S
Male American Goldfinch on a Purple Coneflower
It is the perfect season for American Goldfinches because food is here in abundance. They are real vegetarians in the bird world, preferring strictly a vegetable diet. They breed later than most birds, starting not before June or July when plenty of seeds are available to feed their young ones. Most of our purple coneflowers are fading away at the moment but we still leave them standing until the seeds are gone. As you can see the American Goldfinches love them and we can see them often at other places hanging on thistles or wildflowers that produce seeds.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head. @600 mm, 1/3200 s, f/8, ISO4000, cropped
American Goldfinch
I was out on the porch today with the camera for several hours and tried to capture hummingbirds in flight. My attention was suddenly pulled in a different direction when I saw this American Goldfinch feeding in our bed of wild flowers. The purple coneflowers have passed their prime but we let them stand a little longer because some birds, and in particular the goldfinches, like to feed on their seed heads. American Goldfinches breed later than most other birds. They wait until many plants have produced their seeds and there is food in abundance for their offspring. Unlike most other birds goldfinches are strict vegetarians and hardly ever swallow an insect.
It is a photo I wanted to make in our front yard since a long time. This time it came all together, light, gesture, color, and a smooth background.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Impact Quikbox Micro Softbox, @ 600 mm, 1/640 s, f/8, ISO 500, image slightly cropped
