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Pileated Woodpecker family


Posted by Isaac Grant on Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:27 pm

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This is a shot I have been after for a long time. I found the first Pileated Woodpecker nest found in New York City in almost 100 years but the nest hole was high up and far away and photos were not good. Since then I have been hoping for another opportunity that finally presented itself this year. Happy to say that all three babies fledged and are doing well. 

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by Ron Day on Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:41 pm
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Isaac, this is an absolutely wonderful image. The interaction between the chicks and parent is excellent, and the sharpness and detail are first-class. Congratulations on finally getting the shot you were after. What a pleasure to view!
 

by SantaFeJoe on Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:30 pm
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Ron Day wrote:Isaac, this is an absolutely wonderful image. The interaction between the chicks and parent is excellent, and the sharpness and detail are first-class. Congratulations on finally getting the shot you were after. What a pleasure to view!
Ditto what Ron said.

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by unozig on Sat Jun 20, 2020 9:29 pm
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What a gem of an image ! No food?
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by Isaac Grant on Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:06 pm
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Ounozig wrote:What  a gem of an image ! No food?

The parents land at the nest and spend about a minute just in front of the nest. Then they choose which baby to feed.  I have plenty of images of the grubs and bugs that the adults regurgitate and feed the babies. When they feed the babies the turn their heads about 90 degrees sideways. This nest was very close to a path and a lake is directly behind the path so there is no way to back up.  When they turn their heads to feed the babies there is no way at that close distance to get the full body of the adults and the babies in focus as their heads are angled to the side.  Even if I took the converter off and shot at 600mm the full birds and heads when turned to the side were not all in focus. This shot was taken early morning and was shot 840mm vertically with only a slight crop. I chose this one because all of the babies are angled towards us and all have mouth open as well. Plus the adult female was looking my way which happened very infrequently.  Getting all 4 large birds at close range in sharp focus was not easy as the adult had to land in just the right spot of the tree. 
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by KK Hui on Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:41 am
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Just awesome, Isaac!
Beautifully done and love the intense look of those chicks ...
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by Debapratim Saha on Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:58 am
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Wonderful shot in every way,congrats on this well deserved EP Isaac!!
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by clement on Sun Jun 21, 2020 1:07 am
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Spectacular frame.. everything is so so awesome looking..
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by Tusar Bhowmik on Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:23 am
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This is an absolutely wonderful photo....!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS
 

by Carol Clarke on Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:16 am
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Fantastic image, Isaac! First Class in every way. Love it!

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by david fletcher on Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:59 am
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All been said Isaac so just adding my congratulations. Nice one!
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by himadri roy on Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:36 pm
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Massive hit picture. CONGRATS.
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Sun Jun 21, 2020 8:44 pm
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Oh, wow! I've been waiting to get this too, and wonder if I ever will. Terrific shot-I'm so pleased for you that you found them and got such a great view. Nice to hear they are doing well too! Congratulations!
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by unozig on Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:52 am
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Isaac Grant wrote:
Ounozig wrote:What  a gem of an image ! No food?

The parents land at the nest and spend about a minute just in front of the nest. Then they choose which baby to feed.  I have plenty of images of the grubs and bugs that the adults regurgitate and feed the babies. When they feed the babies the turn their heads about 90 degrees sideways. This nest was very close to a path and a lake is directly behind the path so there is no way to back up.  When they turn their heads to feed the babies there is no way at that close distance to get the full body of the adults and the babies in focus as their heads are angled to the side.  Even if I took the converter off and shot at 600mm the full birds and heads when turned to the side were not all in focus. This shot was taken early morning and was shot 840mm vertically with only a slight crop. I chose this one because all of the babies are angled towards us and all have mouth open as well. Plus the adult female was looking my way which happened very infrequently.  Getting all 4 large birds at close range in sharp focus was not easy as the adult had to land in just the right spot of the tree. 


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by Jan Wegener on Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:02 am
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awesome image Isaac
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by Isaac Grant on Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:39 pm
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Cynthia Crawford wrote:Oh, wow! I've been waiting to get this too, and wonder if I ever will. Terrific shot-I'm so pleased for you that you found them and got such a great view. Nice to hear they are doing well too! Congratulations!


Good luck Cynthia. These woodpeckers are pretty common everywhere but New York CIty. We only have 2 confirmed breeding pairs in the whole city and they only have been documented breeding in the last 5 years. There was suspicion of breeding very close to this nest hole in the 1980's but babies were not confirmed. They typically choose holes in large dead trees that are high up and secluded. The last hole I found was like that. So easy to see and get a very distant photo but that is it. This hole was in a much more travelled area and as luck would have it there is a steep ravine just off of the path so the hole is probably 40 feet off of the ground, but maybe only 15 feet above eye level from the path where I shot this from. Unless these birds breed here again I am not sure I will have another opportunity like this ever again. But keep looking because you never know. And good luck!
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by Robert Sabin on Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:16 pm
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SantaFeJoe wrote:
Ron Day wrote:Isaac, this is an absolutely wonderful image. The interaction between the chicks and parent is excellent, and the sharpness and detail are first-class. Congratulations on finally getting the shot you were after. What a pleasure to view!
Ditto what Ron said.

Joe
 

by David Salem on Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:16 pm
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This is deluxe Isaac!!
Couldn't ask for a better family portrait with everybody facing the camera.
What a beautiful adult this is.
The nest cavity and the background take this to the next level and the details are stunning.
Killer frame!!
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by enrique patino on Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:24 pm
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incredible shot. Would look great printed large on some sort of museum-quality textured matte paper, I think. Something that would make them pop!
 

by Robert Sabin on Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:42 am
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KK Hui wrote:Just awesome, Isaac!
Beautifully done and love the intense look of those chicks ...
 

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