Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Western Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
Place: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date: September 2002
Equipment: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (600/5.6 equiv.), SB28, tripod
Film: Fujichrome Sensia 100
Exposure: aperture priority matrix metered, no compensation, fill flash @ -1.7
Scan: Minolta Dimage, 100% of original frame, flash catchlight deleted

Commentary: A companion to this image.

In order to use my 2x instead of the 1.4x of the companion image, I decided to add a little fill flash to compensate for the loss of light. I was worried about doing this as both camera and flash were inside, the bird was outside, and there was a huge glass window between to cause flare from the flash. It was also necessary to switch to manual focus since the N90S changes from a wide AF sensor to a very narrow one when flash is activated.

Empids are small birds (5.5 inches) of high activity, darting out from their perch to grab various small insects. Keys to ID are the shape and color of the eyering, the color of the wingbars, the shade of yellow or green or buff on the breast, belly, and back, the length of the tail, the color and shape of the lower mandible, the amount of primary extension of the wing, and perhaps even the phase of the moon.This migrant spent five days in our yard, on a number of perches at thirty second intervals.