Aug 20, 2021 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon 1 V3 Hodgepodge
Nikon 1 V3 Hodgepodge | Eastern Kingbird Male This male Kingbird is six to seven feet above the water and to the right of the nest; standing guard. If you get too close to the nest, he will start screeching and dive bombing you. This female Eastern Kingbird is nesting on a branch just a couple feet over the water. For more kayaking images, see Pleasant Lake Kayaking | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story These images took several kayak passes before capturing decent shots. While kayaking toward the nest, you must stop paddling long before you get close to the nest. Then, let the kayak float toward the nest. But, it you get too close, the male stat dive bombing you. So, you must stop a god distance away, if you do not want to disturb the birds. Obviously, a long lens is called for. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Kayaking Pleasant Like |
| Location | Pleasant Lake Michigan |
| Date/Time | 6/28/2019 5:33pm Local Time |
| Weather | Mostly Cloudy | 75°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Slowly kayaking toward the nest with a long lens. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a Nikon FT-1 Adapter & Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR lens |
Exposure
| 300mm (810mm) f/5.6 1/2500s -0.33ev 1000iso (70mm (189mm) f/5.6 1/2500s -0.33ev 1250iso) |
| Post | Background smoothing and a little definition. |
Jun 23, 2020 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Daily Image 2020, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3, Paddling Pleasant Lake
Paddling Pleasant Lake | Male Eastern Kingbird The male Kingbird is usually several feet above of the nest; standing guard. This year, the Kingbird’s usual nesting place appears to have been destroyed. The female and nest were not in sight. Still, it must be very close. If you get too close to the nest, the males will start screeching and dive bombing you. For the whole story with all images, see Paddling Pleasant Lake | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 21, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.4-5.6 PD-Zoom, 10mm MOVO for Nikon 1, 7 Image Stories, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Eastern Kingbird, Great Blue Heron, Insects, Michigan, Nature, Nikon 1 V3, Paddling Pleasant Lake
Paddling Pleasant Lake | a 7 Image Story Paddling along Pleasant Lake’s shoreline will generally yield at least a few decent images. On this day, the boat traffic was a bit heavier than usual, which made numerous waves. Capturing macro images of the water lilies was very difficult due to the extremely short depth of field. Still, the water is generally clear enough to see the water lily stems in the sandy lake bottom.
Beaver’s Handiwork Paddling the Kayak on glassy flat water provides a nice platform to capture both macro water flower images as well as wildlife images. It’s all about paddling slowly and gliding with camera in hand.
Great Blue Heron Paddling slowly toward shore makes it a bit easier to capture nice wildlife images without disturbing the wildlife. This Great Blue Heron still walked behind the bushes, but it did not fly away.
Male Eastern Kingbird The male Kingbird is usually several feet above of the nest; standing guard. This year, the Kingbird’s usual nesting place appears to have been destroyed. The female and nest were not in sight. Still, it must be very close. If you get too close to the nest, the males will start screeching and dive bombing you.
New Driftwood Paddling into calm water with late afternoon light allows creation of a serene photograph depicting the essence of nature on a small northern Michigan lake.
Insect on Lily Pad Flower This macro image was captured using a 10mm extension. The water lily was moving up and down due to waves on the lake. My kayak was moving in reaction to the waves. My arm was moving since it was outstretched to manually focus the camera very close to the lily. With such a narrow depth of field, it’s amazing that anything was in focus.
Feather in the Grass A lone feather blowing in the wind adores the lakeside grass. No telling where it’s from or where it’s going!
Red Lake Door A holiday on Pleasant Lake would not be complete without the red door. This year the red door seems to be pointing us skyward.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Paddling Pleasant Lake.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Jul 6, 2019 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Daily Image 2019, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3, Pleasant Lake Kayaking
Pleasant Lake Kayaking | Eastern Kingbird Male Guarding This male Kingbird is several feet above and to the right of the nest; standing guard. If you get too close to the nest, he will start screeching and dive bombing you. For the whole story with all images, see Pleasant Lake Kayaking | a 7 Image Story.
Jul 5, 2019 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Daily Image 2019, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3, Pleasant Lake Kayaking
Pleasant Lake Kayaking | Eastern Kingbird Female Nesting This female Eastern Kingbird is nesting on a branch just a few feet over the water. The male is close by usually several feet above the nest standing guard. If you get too close he will start screeching and dive bombing you. For the whole story with all images, see Pleasant Lake Kayaking | a 7 Image Story.
Jul 4, 2019 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Daily Image 2019, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3, Pleasant Lake Kayaking
Pleasant Lake Kayaking | Eastern Kingbird Nesting Pair The Eastern Kingbirds were nesting on a branch just a few feet above the water. The male was perched about 5 feet off the water while the female was only 2 feet off the water. For the whole story with all images, see Pleasant Lake Kayaking | a 7 Image Story.
Sep 10, 2018 | 7 Image Story Posts, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Birds, Daily Image 2018, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3, Summer 2018 Hodgepodge
Summer 2018 Hodgepodge | Nesting Eastern Kingbirds nest on a branch just a few feet over the water. A long telephoto lens is really required. If you get too close the male Eastern Kingbird starts screeching and dive bombing you. To all images, see Summer 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story.
Jul 16, 2017 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, Birds, Daily Image 2017, Eastern Kingbird, Nikon 1 V3
Eastern Kingbird How did I get that close with 110mm? On a Nikon 1 V3 with a 2.7 crop factor, 110mm becomes 297mm. Also, I was in a kayak drifting without paddling toward the bird. The branch it’s perched upon is about 5 feet off the water. Its nest is below it, about 2 feet off the water. Yes, I stopped the drift and did not threaten the bird or its nest. This bird looks like an Eastern Kingbird to me. Certainly, I’m not a birder. If you think it’s another type of bird, please contact me.
