Thickson's / Cranberry

[Joe]

Went to Thickson's and Cranberry Marsh in search of the Barred Owls that have been reported.  Did not find them, but weren't disappointed.  Still got some nice shots.

Great Horned Owl
http://juliansbirdwatchingphotos.fotopi ... 64275.html
http://juliansbirdwatchingphotos.fotopi ... 64274.html

American Tree Sparrow
http://juliansbirdwatchingphotos.fotopi ... 64272.html

Blue Jay
http://juliansbirdwatchingphotos.fotopi ... 64276.html

Rented a Nikon AF VR Zoom-NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED from Vistek for the weekend.  Liked it, but I expected an astronomical improvement over my 70-300G (yeah, the cheap one).  Can't say it was THAT much better.  Maybe I've got a lot to learn still.  http://www.nikondigital.org/articles/li ... 80_400.htm  Good article that reflects my experiece.

Joe

[RobMcKay]

Nice ones Joe!
The 80-400 VR is soft, especialy at 400mm. Next time try the 200-400mm VR, this lens will blow you away, and it should as its around $5,000!
Also, try the 300mm 2.8, talk about sharp! If you have a tele-converter stick it on, amazing lens.
Rob