Humber River Trail April 14

[Ally]

What a nice flycatcher, the Phoebe~

[Ally]

I saw a lot of fish in the stream and was wondering when can  I see these tiresome beauties. I think I saw both, but the bank where they used to nest in was ruined a bit by the flood, so I wonder whether they will use the same site. Not that I could ever catch them there or had any chances with the fledglings.

[Shortsighted]

 
Much as I predicted, you are exploding from the threshold of the season with a loud report. I clearly heard a bang. Let me explain. If you groan like that again I will sign-out right now, young lady. Apology accepted.
Both the Eastern Phoebe and the Belted Kingfisher are species that I desperately wanted to photograph when I first got my Canon G9 point-and-shoot camera, after years of not taking any pictures at all due to the cost of film-based photography. Unlike some of the Coolpix cameras, the G9 is not equipped with much telephoto capability, so any image-capture of a bird that I might have achieved required a considerable amount of cropping and that process does not turn out well when the sensor is so tiny. Moreover, even if I got a kingfisher or a phoebe in my sights the bird was so miniscule within the frame of the live-view screen that the AF didn’t really know what subject to lock on to. Also, the live-view AF is painfully slow and spends most of its energy searching, like panning for gold, and draining available energy resources in the process.
I relished the difference that even an entry-level DSLR provided despite the telephoto limits of the kit lens (18mm – 135mm). Nonetheless, I managed to photograph both a phoebe and a kingfisher during that first year in 2013.
Using a 70mm – 200mm lens during the following year made a big difference even though the magnification boost is modest. The Canon L-series lens was sharper (larger objective lens) and faster (f4). I’m satisfied with my phoebe shots taken with that lens although a longer focal length would have produced many more successful captures. After all, 200mm is still half the power of what is recommended as a starting lens for bird photography. As with most hobbies, nature photography requires “gear” and that comes with a considerable cost. The unavailability and cost of supplies and equipment has forced me to walk away from many hobbies and interests over the years. I now have a 300 mm prime lens but I am unable to hit the trail because of care-giving duties that manifest 24/7.
The first time that I managed to get a phoebe to stay in the viewfinder long enough to get a useful image happened not far from Highland Creek at the brink of the ravine. The flycatcher was not nearly close enough and not presented at the best angle but the late-day direct sunlight was sublime.



The first kingfisher shots were also taken in association with Highland Creek because a few of them always patrol the stream within Colonel Danforth Park. They prefer kipping on perches on the far side of the creek where there is no trail. Not so dumb those kingfisher. A 500mm lens would have closed the distance but my G9, or even my Canon T4i with its 135mm kit-lens was not up to the task. The closest approach that I managed to achieve was by hiding behind a bush like an outlaw and using my 200mm lens, well-braced against my audacity, and then ruthlessly cropped in post. I hate doing that, but what choice do I have?


It was not until I used a camo-cloth as cover while staking-out a hot spot that I successfully compensated my shortsightedness with the 200mm and managed to get a more detailed capture of a phoebe. Even so, I almost preferred some of the more distant shots better, such as the shot of a phoebe serenely perched in sunlight against a very dark background and the phoebe shot taken in the rain.

[Ally]

Sorry and thank you?

[Charline]

You both have winner photos!