Backyard bird photography setup & surprise

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Photo 1 (above): Swainson's Thrush in my backyard, Tobermory, Ontario. EOS 1Ds mark III, Sigma 300/2.8 lens & Canon 2x teleconverter; ISO 800, 1/80s @ f/5.6

I was sitting out in my blind the other day photographing White-crowned Sparrows, when I was pleasantly surprised to have a Swainson's Thrush drop in on my perch settup for a few moments.


Photo 2 (above): Here's the view of my blind (with me in it) from the old stump that I have scattered seed  around to attract sparrows. I triggered this photo remotely from inside the blind using Pocket Wizard radio remotes. I wanted to get a photo with a bird on the perch, but they wouldn't come in with the remote camera setup so close to the stump.


Photo 3 (above): White-crowned Sparrow (immature) in my backyard, Tobermory, Ontario. EOS 1Ds mark III, Sigma 300/2.8 lens & Canon 2x teleconverter; ISO 640, 1/80s @ f/5.6

White-crowned Sparrows have been migration through the Bruce Peninsula by the thousands over the past two weeks!

Monarch Butterfly Migration at Point Pelee National Park

I stumbled across good numbers of roosting Monarch Butterflies yesterday morning at the tip of Point Pelee National Park while leading a private photo workshop. There were easily a thousand monarchs, including some groups nearing 100 individuals. It was a sunny morning, the monarchs were low.... what more could we ask for!


Photo 1: Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; Exposure: ISO 400, 1/80s, f/14


Photo 2: Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; 580 EXII flash (fill set at -2/3); Exposure: ISO 400, 1/125s, f/11

Photo 1: Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 70-200/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; Exposure: ISO 400, 1/60s, f/8