Western Kingbird

I just happened to look out my window (try to do that fairly often, and keep my camera ready), when I saw this bird in the top of our tree. I managed to get 3 clicks off and he was gone. I didn’t get a change to up my exposure just a little to override the metering on the sky in the background. Since I had no idea what kind of bird he was I looked him up, and found that he was really out of his territory here in North Carolina! His GPS must be on the blink! :grinning:

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Canon 7D Mark II, Sigma 150-600 mm C, at 516 mm, settings manual except ISO auto, f8, 1/1250, ISO 400. Edited in LR and Topaz AI Clear.

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Great capture Shirley, so quick on your feet to see him. I do like the composition with the tree limb off to the left and the bird on top. Also, like the soft blue background, I think this helps to emphasize the bird. Wonderful photo.

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A very nice capture Shirley. Well positioned in the frame, good detail, and an interesting perch. Looks to me like you could use a little better light as it appears somewhat cloudy. You might be able to brighten up the facial area a little bit to make the image pop.

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Hi Shirley,

This is a nice photo of a great crested flycatcher. You can see some rusty color in the wings and tail which Western king birds lack. This species prefers to stay in the tree tops and you were lucky to get this one perched in a shorter tree. I like the comp as presented…Jim

I agree with Jim about the ID. Definitely not a western kingbird. Great crested flycatcher looks right to me.

The light didn’t do you any favors on this one. Oh well, sometimes you take what you are given.

Thank you, Jim Zablotny and Keith Bauer for the ID on this bird. So maybe his GPS wasn’t on the blink after all. Yes, the lighting wasn’t good, and, I only had a few seconds to shoot as it turned out, because he flew away, so I didn’t even have time to change any settings on my camera to improve the shot. I have never seen a Great Crested Flycatcher before, so when I found the Western Kingbird in my field guide, I thought that was it, but I see what you mean about the rusty color on his wings. I sure appreciate the ID.

Thank you, David and Linda for your kind comments as well.