Killdeer

[jeeperman]

Tough little bird to capture as they are always on the move and not very large. Puts my little budget 300mm to the test. lol

[Bobobird]

That is for sure. They have a mental distance meter in them and stay just out of reach of our lens.

[dje]

Nice sharp image Paul. What sort of lens ?

Dave

[jeeperman]

Thanks Dave, this was shot with a basic kit zoom, Sony 75-300. I hope to upgrade to the 70-400G by this summer.

[Donald]

Puts my little budget 300mm to the test.

But it's certainly came up with the goods on this one. It has captured the texture of the feathers of the bird and on the wood very well.

[jeeperman]

Thanks Donald, it does a fine job up to a point. However past that point loses sharpness and has a bit of CA. It is a great lens for the $$, but if I am chasing birds I want more and better.

[Nat]

I want more and better

morebetter! I understand that! Me too!
I like your capture. Sharp and nice composition. It posed for you. I love this bird. Somewhere in my files I have photos of it going thru its antics of playing broken wing etc to get us away from the nest....Even both male and female trying to "lure" me....LOL!

[Dave Humphries]

Very nice Paul,

I do wonder whether it would have been worth cloning out the background stone that has positioned itself between the beak and chest?

Cheers,

[rpcrowe]

Nice image! But, how did this little bird get that imposing name?

[Jim B.]

Nicely done. Here's an explaination of the name.

Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. Eighteenth-century naturalists also noticed how noisy Killdeer are, giving them names such as the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover.

I don't know if they are nesting now in your area,but you might want to walk along the bank where all the stones are.If they are nesting and you get near the eggs the bird will try and draw you away by acting injured.

[jeeperman]

Dave, you are correct sir. I meant to do that before posting and it completely escaped me.

Thanks Jim, I will be on the lookout. Thank you Nat and Richard as well.