I drove out to the state park this morning and didn't get a shot off. I hadn't taken a picture for over a week, and it was really starting to bother me. I went over to Birdsong's after lunch, sat on the steps of her back deck, and came back with these 2 shots. And to think, I only needed to go 2 blocks.

The cardinal was shot handheld at 1/60 sec at 400mm, which is why it isn't as sharp as the downy. The downy was shot at 1/640 sec. at 220mm. It makes quite the difference.

Sometimes the coolest things are in our own back yards. Nice shots!

Nice work!

Nice! You can count every hair on his chinny-chin-chin. Next time the red-bellied will land somewhere appropriate--he promised. And the red breasted nuttie, as well.

Sarah you are going to have to start cleaning up those birds before Mike gets there so they are more photogenic

Mike that Downy is very sharp-NICE

Excellent. I'm glad you had a talk with them. I could use a decent shot of a Red-breasted nutty especially.

I will look into installing a napkin holder and little tiny paper napkins.

Like the WP!

The second one is so sharp, I almost cut my eyes looking at it. What camera and lens combo did you use? I don't believe it could be any sharper.

Mojo, I used the Canon 50D with the 100-400L lens, on these 2 shots. I have come to the conclusion that if my photos aren't tack sharp, it's definitely not the fault of the equipment.

Thanks, everyone.

Nice shots Mike, especially the woodpecker.

Nice shots.That red cardinal is awesome.