The piping plover is a small shorebird, reaching approximately seven inches in length. The piping plover is listed as endangered in some interior areas of Canada and United States and threatened along the East Coast of both countries. The birds' habit of nesting on the open beach leaves their eggs vulnerable to construction and human activity.

Piping Plover by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The images shared in this post come from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois in April 2019. The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM was extended by the Canon Extender 2x III creating a 600mm, IS-enabled, f/5.6 configuration. All images were captured in RAW using a Canon EOS 5DIII mounted to a tripod. The image files were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Topaz DeNoise v6.

The Inca tern has a dark gray body and a red beak and legs. Moustache-like tufts of white feathers on each side of the beak signal maturity in males and females.

Inca Tern


The Canon Extender 2x III is a high performance teleconverter for use with Canon EF telephoto lenses. The 2x Extender multiplies the focal length by 2x and closes the effective aperture by two stops. Canon calls the equipment "extenders" where the same tools are called "teleconverters" by Nikon and other manufacturers.

The Bactrian camel has a thick brown coat that changes with the seasons. During winter, the coat thickens to provide added insulation against the cold. As tempertures increase in spring, large chunks of fur are shed to keep the animal cool. Both male and female Bactrian camels have two large humps on their backs.

Bactrian camel


The jambu fruit dove has green markings on the back, wings and tail, with a bright orange beak. The species is sexually dimorphic (males and females differ in appearance). Males have a crimson face and white chest displaying a pink patch near the throat while females possess a light purple face and green chest.

Jambu Fruit Dove


The images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html

The piping plover is a small shorebird, reaching approximately seven inches in length. The piping plover is listed as endangered in some interior areas of Canada and United States and threatened along the East Coast of both countries. The birds' habit of nesting on the open beach leaves their eggs vulnerable to construction and human activity.

Piping Plover by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The images shared in this post come from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois in April 2019. The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM was extended by the Canon Extender 2x III creating a 600mm, IS-enabled, f/5.6 configuration. All images were captured in RAW using a Canon EOS 5DIII mounted to a tripod. The image files were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Topaz DeNoise v6.

The Inca tern has a dark gray body and a red beak and legs. Moustache-like tufts of white feathers on each side of the beak signal maturity in males and females.

Inca Tern


The Canon Extender 2x III is a high performance teleconverter for use with Canon EF telephoto lenses. The 2x Extender multiplies the focal length by 2x and closes the effective aperture by two stops. Canon calls the equipment "extenders" where the same tools are called "teleconverters" by Nikon and other manufacturers.

The Bactrian camel has a thick brown coat that changes with the seasons. During winter, the coat thickens to provide added insulation against the cold. As tempertures increase in spring, large chunks of fur are shed to keep the animal cool. Both male and female Bactrian camels have two large humps on their backs.

Bactrian camel


The jambu fruit dove has green markings on the back, wings and tail, with a bright orange beak. The species is sexually dimorphic (males and females differ in appearance). Males have a crimson face and white chest displaying a pink patch near the throat while females possess a light purple face and green chest.

Jambu Fruit Dove


The images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html

I was guessing you maybe took more than one camera, lens, converter and tripod. But you prob. have planned what you want to try that day. Nice you are so close. I'm 2 hours from STL zoo, so it is a full day to go. I looked thru again, and was amazed the IQ you achieved shooting the birds at ISO1600, 2500 and 4000. Anyone thinking you can not get greatt results with higher ISO's need look no further than these shots. How much noise was in the shots before you used Topaz Denoise 6? A little, moderate or a lot?