American woodcock - finally

This is great Wil. Such an elusive bird. Great team work with your wife. I might crop some dark off the top.

Wil, this is a rare photo in my book. The feather detail is wonderful. Wonder what the image would look like if the exposure of the Tiff (16 bit) file got reduced a third or a half in CS 8 and then individual parts brought up in Curves?

Nice looking bird Wil, glad you managed to photograph it.

I agree, great capture of a very elusive bird, if possible a back flash would have helped to isolate the bird , but I know it is not always possible!! Congrats on a lovely catch!!!

Oh, how I love these birds. This is an awesome shot of photographically elusive bird!!! Congrats!

Well done Wil. I have never gotten a clear shot of one of these.

Great going Wil that will be a shot you will remember. Nice teamwork.

Clearly some good field work has been justly rewarded with a great pic. Was the bird just roosting here or in the process of feeding?

George

What a beatiful image of this bird. Excellent detail on the feathers, great photo.

George McCarthy wrote:Clearly some good field work has been justly rewarded with a great pic. Was the bird just roosting here or in the process of feeding?

George

Hi George,
In this particular area they were displaying, which only lasts 15-20 minutes, then they move out onto this short grass area where they feed. This bird was feeding. While they are feeding some of the birds are much more approachable than others. If my flash would have had more reach I would have gotten some photos of a bird "peenting." I guess that will be my next challenge

Way to go Will!

I know how hard these guys are to get. After years of trying, I got my first just two days ago.
Anyway, this one is great. I would be interested to know how you got the shot. I have been trying to hunt them up during the day, but I see you are working at night.

aj

ajhand wrote:Way to go Will!

I know how hard these guys are to get. After years of trying, I got my first just two days ago.
Anyway, this one is great. I would be interested to know how you got the shot. I have been trying to hunt them up during the day, but I see you are working at night.

aj

Aj,
I have lead birding trips to this area for five years just to see the woodcock. We have always gone in the evening to witness the display. Every year when we are walking out we find a few of the birds on the trail feeding well after the displaying is over. In fact, it is very dark at this time. I used this experience to try to set up a blind in the area where we usually find them. During the display there were lots of birds around me in the taller grass but none would come out onto the short grass trail. I tried this several times to no avail. So I thought that we should try to replicate the same thing that we do with the birding groups and just watch the displays and then walk carefully out and see what we find on the trail. It is too difficult to try to carry the camera and use the spot light at the same time. My wife, Donna, loves being outside and really enjoys the woodcock walks so she agreed to be in charge of the light. We walked carefully using the light to scan a head of us and sure enough we found several birds feeding on the trail. Only two allowed us to get with in range. The bird in the photo was particularly tolerant and provided the most pleasing poses. This is the only technique that seems to work for this situation. If I could find a nest I think that a careful belly crawl approach would result in some fantastic images. I can't wait.

Wonderful exposure of this bird not often seen here! No nits.

Great team work, Wil. This is an outstanding result for your effort.

Wil,

Your efforts were rewarded with a fine image. Well done.

You can't beat a good partnership Wil!! Excellent result for all your efforts.

Wil, Sincere congrats on this accomplishment!!! Great teamwork and planning have prevailed in capturing this phenomenal and rare image!!!! It is positively sensational and an honor to view this gem!!!