Not just in winter! (pics included)

[Steve Foss]

I know, I know, I'm the same way. In summer, we tend to ignore some of the bird species that stay year around because the migrants are so smashingly colored.

But here are two familiar 365-day-a-year Minnesota residents who always dress in formal black and white, regardless of the season.

All with Canon 1D MarkII, Canon 400L f2.8 (non IS), Canon 1.4 TC, from Gitzo tripod and Studio Ball ballhead.

white-breasted nuthatch, iso200, 1/1600 at f4

iso200, 1/1600 at f4

hairy woodpecker, iso200, 1/800 at f4

[Tom Wilson]

Steve,

These are nice. The sharpness on the nuthatch is nice. I often find that Nuthatches require more shoutter speed than the average bird. I had a couple hours of free time last night, so I was sitting on the deck enjoying a Vintage Cameroon, and taking a few pics. It was very dark, as the clouds were heavy, and I was having to use flash. I was averaging between 1/200 and 1/60th and on at least 3/4ths of the photos the nuthatches were able to not only move, but get their wings up between the initial sound of the shutter and the time the shutter closed--they are extremely quick little birds.

[Dbl]

Those are some cool captures. Thanks for reminding us of the birds we take for granted.