Red-headed woodpecker

[Shortsighted]

I spotted a RHWP way up on a dead tree in the woodlot across the street; a woodlot here in western Pickering that I consider as part of my backyard, even though it's actually opposite the front yard, and perhaps might have been posted on 'Backyard Birding' because it would be suitably pretentious to do so and that level of indulgence suits me just fine. The WP was about 70 - 85 meters away from the driveway and 20 - 25 meters high. I had a good look with 8 x 50 bins and wouldn't it be great if they were equipped with a range-finder. Alas, they are cheap bins from the 1970's but the image is bright and clear, just no high tech features. The WP flew away toward the Rouge but then returned a number of times, always to the same dead tree as is its necrophile habit. A juvenile bird but with that unmistakable white wing patch. I took a few shots of it with the 300mm + 1.4x TC attached but at that distance I'm not expecting much. I'm not especially eager to off-load it because of the likely disappointment entailed with said task. I may post a shot later if it worked out well enough to ID, not that I have to prove anything. No, ... wait, ... Charline is going to ask me to prove it again.

[Charline]

Watch out, Ali and I may show up to prove it, 😂

[Shortsighted]

I think Ally is off-world right now so I doubt it. I've been thinking, even though it hurts, that if you are dissatisfied with the timbre of your voice, and let's face it most people don't like their own voice, there may be a way to augment it. I mean augment your voice, not your dissatisfaction. The microphone in your camera is likely omnidirectional (picks up sound equally from all directions) and therefore is relatively immune from "microphone proximity effect". If you were to plug in a small, cheap dynamic mic which features the usual polar pattern of most microphones, whether cardioid, hypercardioid or supercardioid, then getting your mouth really close to the mic will boost the bass portion of the lower midrange of your voice, which you feel is lacking, and thereby give your voice more bravado, more body ... a fuller sound. There is probably an 1/8" jack for an external mic somewhere on your camera body. You could even get a mic with a headset so that you don't have to hold it, just bend the business end close to your lips. Proximity effect in photography leads to highly detailed images and proximity effect in audio recording gives a woman a more robust voice. Just a thought. I do have them from time to time. The rest of the time I'm just lame.