Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Place: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ, USA
Date: April 2003
Equipment: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (= 600/5.6), tripod
Film: Fujichrome Sensia 100
Exposure: Aperture priority matrix metered, cloudy bright, fill flash @ -1.7
Scan: Minolta Dimage, 80% of frame

Commentary: I've always had trouble getting within photo range of this common western bird. This one has a nest under the roof of a gazebo nest to the only permanent water at this state park, and flies in and out of the nest as visitors stop to sit in the shade. I set up in the open near a tree the bird often used in transit, and got off a few frames.