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Varied Sittella

Varied Sittella (Image ID 46567)
Photographed byJim Schultz on Fri 4th Jun, 2021 and uploaded on Sat 5th Jun, 2021 .
Resolution1400x1089
Viewed538
ID46567
CommentThe depicted birds are of the southern, Western Australian subspecies Daphoenositta chrysoptera pileata; it’s a female to the right and a male to the left, in flight. While standing in shrub by the side of a bush track hoping for some Red-capped Parrots to appear a small party of five Varied Sittellas flew in quite unexpectedly. I had not even heard this species before in that area, so I was taken quite by surprise. They all settled near the top of a dead tree above me and started foraging here from the top down. Moments later a Grey Butcherbird flew in, and the sittellas made sure they kept a respectful distance just shifting to another branch further away from the butcherbird, as seen here, when I more or less accidentally managed to catch one of the sittellas during the brief flight. Unfortunately I had only brought my 80-400mm zoom lens that day and even in DX Mode I did not quite have the reach, but still I submit this image, as I have not seen many images of a sittella in flight. The two birds are a bit far apart, too, but other than (learning to) cut out the bare skies in the middle and stitch the canvas, I don’t know how I could better present this for me unique image. And in any case, if one were to stitch canvasses in wildlife photography, I think that we might leave the world of nature and enter the world of art. But your thoughts are invited on this issue? Time of capture 10:05
EquipmentNikon D850–DX Mode; GPS mounted. Nikkor AF-S 80-400 f4.5-5.6G ED VR IF N lens.
Technique: Camera rig support Velbon Neo Carmagne 640 tripod with Manfrotto Article 498RC2 tripod ball head; standing tall rather in the open
Exposure Mode: MANUAL 1/2000 sec at f7.1; ISO-320. Metering Mode: Center-Weighted; Focus Mode: AF-C & AF Area Mode: Dynamic, 9 points.
Post Processing: Nikon ViewNX-i for viewing, selecting file and Tif conversion; Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw/CC 2021 for resizing and cropping to 111%, selective sharpening and general post-processing inclusive of removal of most irritating halos; Topaz Pro plug-in DeNoise was used for blanket sharpening and mild noise control. ‘Australian Bird Guide 2019’ for subspecies’ distribution confirmation, supplementary data and colour checks.
LocationOrange Grove, Western Australia
Keywordsmale, female, in flight, adult
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