Indigo Bunting , male, winter plumage.

Indigo Bunting , male, winter plumage.

A little update. The DOF is not quite that shallow but, still, is only 4'. On the D800E, try setting the camera to 3D tracking and in custom setting a3 enable "focus tracking with lock on". That may help, also.

What focal length lens did you use? How far away were the birds. By the way, these are nice shots!

With all due respect, DOF IS a factor. The OP doesn't specify the focal length of his lens but I have assumed it to be 400MM or so. Get a DOF calculator and you will see that, for a full frame camera, which the D800E is, a 400 mm lens has only about 3' of DOF at 60 feet at f/8! The calculated hyperfocal distance would be 2187'. The birds would be undecipherable blobs.

I don't know what Nikon calls it but set your camera to use "expanded central spot". That uses about 9 focus points near the center of the viewfinder (or wherever you move them) to focus. Single point to too hard to keep on the subject and, as you have found out, using full frame can confuse the camera. Manual on infinity is not the answer as depth of field is very limited with a long lens. A 400 MM lens, at f/10 on your D800E at 60 feet has only about 5" of DOF! Also, check to see if your lens has a focus limit switch. You may be able to help the lens if it doesn't have to run through the entire focus range from minimum focus distance to infinity.....something like 30' to infinity....

This is NOT a Rose-breasted Grosbeak which do not breed in New Mexico where the poster is from. It IS a male, immature Red-winged Blackbird. The eye stripe and pale wing bars are typical. The Hint of red on the shoulder is diagnostic. Marsh reeds are also a preferred habitat

That’s an immature Red-winged Blackbird.

The band on the right leg is the federal band and is virtually unreadable unless the bird is in hand. The left leg band is the local bander’s ID and should be readable as the letters and or numbers are large and are repeated around the band. The bands are also two colors and are reported, for example 40AC, black over green.

Great falcon shots! If you have shots of the adults and can read any of the band number/letters I encourage you to submit them to the bird banding laboratory at www.reportband.gov.

Exceptional! Especially the tree swallows as I know how hard they are to lock on and follow.

I think you have captured a great photo of a Wood Stork landing. The symmetrical position of the wings is very interesting. I, too, think the shot is oversaturated. Generally, I prefer photos of natural objects to have a natural color profile. However, if this was your artistic intent, then I respect that.

For all of those out there who struggle with post processing photos like this, here are some of my thoughts: 1. A calibrated monitor is the first step to accurate color. If your monitor's brightness, saturation and color profile is off, you will never be sure what your prints will look like nor what others will see on their monitors when they view them online. If your prints don't look anything like what you see on your monitor, then it is calibration. 2. In Lightroom, as in several other post processing programs, you have the choice of either a saturation or vibrance slider. Understanding how they work is important. Saturation works globally and will increase the intensity of all colors so that a color that is already properly saturated can get over saturated. The Vibrance slider works differentially. Less saturated colors are affected more than already saturated colors resulting in a more balanced look. Note, it is still possible to overdo this slider! 3. In this photo, the sky looks to me to be unnatural. If you wanted to adjust only this color, in Lightroom, you can use the HSL sliders and reduce just the saturation and/or luminosity of the blue channel. this would leave the greens alone. Hope this helps and starts a discussion about post processing bird photos!

I spent the day last Thursday at Bombay Hook NWR. The variety of accessible birds was a bit low but I did get some shots of a Great Blue Heron fishing. I also spent some time near the Purple Martin nests practicing shooting these little birds in flight. I highly recommend this kind of practice as you get many opportunities as the birds come and go feeding their young.

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The Shovelers were shot with the 7D Mk II and the 500mm F/4 MkI. The Ospreys were shot with the R6 and the 500 MM f/4 with the 1.4 TC Mk III. The Glossy Ibis with the R6 and the 100-400 F/ 4.5-5.6 MK II.

Great shot of a backyard bird! It shows that you don't have to go far to get birds in flight!

Nice sharp shot!