jak86094

I spent several days last week in central Arizona (Tucson, Green Valley, Madera Canyon, Patagonia, and environs). While its vistas don't compete with some other parts of the state, we were birding and I was lucky to capture a number of life firsts and other beautiful bird photos, of which I share a few here. All were shot handheld using a Nikon D500 and Nikkor 200-500 superzoom lens. Hope you enjoy a few of these.

jak
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Female Hepatic Tanager

(Download)

Bridled Titmouse

(Download)

Wild Turkey

(Download)

Yellow-eyed Junco

(Download)

Male Hepatic Tanager

(Download)

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

(Download)

White-eyed Vireo

(Download)

Cactus Wren

(Download)

Arizona Woodpecker

(Download)

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

Beautiful set! And WOW, hand held!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Great set! Always fun to see new species of birds.

CindyHouk Loc: Nw MT

Nice set ...love the Titmouse shot!

jak86094

Thanks very much, Doug. I had a wonderful time taking them and am happy you enjoyed them. Handheld in the sense that the camera is not fixed to a tripod, but I lean against walls and trees, use branches and fences and even my birding scope to steady the lens. Many of these shots were near feeders which allowed me to be quite close to the subjects…a huge help in getting sharp pics. Have a great week. jak

jak86094

Steve, agreed. Most of these. We’re new species for me. That stimulates me to try hard to snap nice poses and decent backgrounds. Thanks for the kind words. Have a great week. jak

jak86094

Thanks, Cindy. I’ve enjoyed several of your recent submissions but trips to Panama and Arizona with multiple bird surveys have kept me really busy taking, culling and processing thousands of photos of which these are just a few. It’s been a stimulating few months but has limited my time communicating on UHH. Thanks for the kind remarks. The Titmouse is ine of my favorites too. jak

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Well done series.

jak86094

Thanks, Karin. Fun taking them, fun sharing them. Have a nice week. jak

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Great set of birds that are all new to me.

jak86094

Thanks, kpmac. Many of them were new to me. I’d seen the Tanagers, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Cactus Wren before, but not often. The White-eyed Vireo was a rarity and my first sighting. The Junco, Bridled Titmouse and Arizona Woodpecker were all new to me. Glad you enjoyed them. jak

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

A wonderful result from hand held shots with that big rig, jak! Even with bracing and better distances, it takes some expertise to get this quality. Thanks for sharing.

jak86094

Thank you, Mike. Nice to hear from you. I’ve viewed many of your recent posts but not written. I went to Panama in early December for 2 weeks but came home to a full hard drive. Just about finished dealing with Panama and went to Arizona for a week. Keep sharing and watching…I’m sure I’ll post more from my travels.

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

Dan Thornton Loc: Corpus Christi, Texas

Nice shots, I've never seen a bridled titmouse.