Excellent! Thanks. They are the most badass birds. I got a photo once of one flying overhead. It had caught a pigeon and was eating it while it flew.

Beautiful shot of a beautiful bird. He looks very much like the Belted Kingfishers here in San Diego...except ours don't shiver all winter.

This type of problem is an illustration of why I hate Lightroom and Adobe...Lightroom controls your albums and locations in an idiosyncratic and not very transparent way. Over and over I've had to spend hours finding Lightroom files that Windows and other photo processing programs had no problem finding and manipulating. I'm moving all processing of new photos to PaintShop Pro and AfterShot. They aren't nearly as powerful as Lightroom and Photoshop, but they're fine for photos that don't need much processing, and the location of all you've worked on is transparent, meaning you can find and manipulate your processed photos with ease.

As the zen adage says, "You can't cross the same stream twice". For each sunset photo you're standing in a different place at different altitudes, holding the camera different and at different heights from the ground, the sun sets at a different part of the earth, the camera settings aren't quite the same, the surrounding landscape is different, and the atmosphere has differing amounts of moisture that are arranged differently in relationship to the ground and to the exact spot you are at...etc, etc. Also, I agree with the comments that sunsets are beautiful, each in it's own way. If you photograph thousands it's a worthwhile and beautiful thing.

Beautiful captures of beautiful birds. No apology needed for the poor light...that's just something we bird photographers have to live with at least twice a day, more on overcast days. I didn't know about these birds on the big island but now I do, so many thanks.

Beautiful capture of a beautiful bird.

Thank you for the "heads up". I've bought a lot from Walmart, but will be VERY careful from now on with hi-tech products. As for your question about why buy a camera from Walmart?, the answer is convenience, low price, and availability, and Walmart being ethical. That's assuming that what you see is what you get. I wouldn't have thought of gray market faulty goods. On the positive side, my sister worked at Walmart for years, and she never mentioned an instance of them being unethical. She would have been outraged and would have told me if she had ever witnessed her store screwing a customer.

If you still have the store receipt and replies from repair facilities, I recommend going to the store's Customer Service desk and politely but firmly asking for your money back. You may have to end up talking to the store manager on this one but I'd bet they give you your money back.

Please keep us informed if the store did the right thing for you.

Thanks for the photos. Location information would make it much easier to identify the hawk.

Beautiful capture of a beautiful animal. Thanks. I live for birds and other wildlife and to photograph them. You hit the jackpot here.

I have a crop-sensor camera, my second heavily used Nikon D7200. I love this camera, my trusty and dependable hiking/nature photography companion for about 15 years. I must be living in a fool's paradise but please don't wake me up. Too soon, Nikon will force us fools to completely change the nature of our beloved cameras. BTW, these photos are much brighter and dramatic seen full screen on a computer.

As the '60s song said, "He's not heavy. He's my brother."

Very cute and funny. They look pretty cuddly. Do you ever sleep with them?

Agree with the backpack advice. This kind of lens isn't made for convenient light weight general use. But if you can hike into a special place and park yourself there for a time, you'll be able to get some stunning captures.

Also, you may find special places near where you live that will justify this lens. Here in San Diego, the Ocean Beach Dog Park is an estuary of the San Diego River and is replete with many species of local and migratory waterfowl. I'm happy with my Nikon 18-300 zoom lens, but most days when the tide is right I usually see photographers with very long lens and a tripod taking photos I couldn't hope to get.

I've had this combination since the D7200 and Nikor DX 18-300 came out. The camera is superb: very capable, tough, flexible, and easy to use. The lens is great for travel. Like another poster above, I almost never use filters.

Being retired for years, I get out and take photos most days. I mainly shoot birds, scenery, wildlife and anything else beautiful and/or interesting. I also love taking close ups of flowers, insects, spiders, lizards, etc. The lens takes great closeups...at full zoom it's almost as good as a macro lens. It's like having a camera bag of lenses all in one lens. The lens isn't perfect, but it is quite wonderful.

Note that the lens does not gather as much light as prime lenses so you'll have to juggle camera settings for shots in poor light. Also, note that while the camera is sealed against moisture such as light rain, the lens isn't. I always have a plastic bag and rubber band in a pocket to protect the lens from moisture if needed. If the lens gets water in it, kiss it goodby...or look at an expensive repair bill if you're lucky.

I hope you have many years of pleasure from this camera/lens combination like I've had. Over the years Nikon repair has been excellent keeping both camera and lens working like new for a reasonable price.

Without getting into technicalities, I'm in love with the cat. We have one who looks like it, a rescued feral tom cat who is about 15 years old. Whatever you are doing to process your photos, it is working very well! Thank for sharing your procedures and photos.