A Couple Of Recent Juncos

Dark-eyed Juncos are a common winter feeder species but I prefer to photograph them in as natural a setting as possible.

 

dark-eyed junco 0679 ron dudley

 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark ll, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, shot and processed in JPEG, not baited, set up or called in

A small flock of these birds has been hanging around a large rabbitbrush bush at Farmington Bay for about ten days now.  They forage for seeds near the base of the bush and occasionally allow a close approach.  Usually their beaks are covered with seed husks and other plant debris (which I really don’t mind) but I caught this one in a rare moment of relative tidiness.  Here I like the tilt of the head and the eye contact (image taken yesterday).

 

 

dark-eyed junco 1132 ron dudley

 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

A little over a week ago I photographed this perky male as it perched on top of the same rabbitbrush.  I’m not particularly fond of the out of focus flowers in the lower foreground but I do like the pose and detail even though part of the bird is hidden.

It’s likely to be a long winter (if it ever actually begins) and Dark-eyed Juncos are one of the species that helps me to get through it.

Ron

 

24 Comments

  1. Nice to see these ones with the reddish tinge on the sides. We get grey and white ones here.

  2. Ron,

    Why don’t you use Adobe’ s DNG for the 7D2 RAW files?
    Does the DNG conversion result in loss of image detail?
    I have been using DNG with CS4 ACR because I don’t want to buy into the Adobe cloud.

    • Who knows, I may end up using DNG for a while. I’m just behind the 8-ball – too many things to do and not enough time so I haven’t yet had the opportunity to work out an alternative to my usual work flow. I’m so much a creature of habit and routine that when I’m forced to change I often don’t deal with it very efficiently I guess…

  3. Love the juncos. And always warm to birds who are, like me, messy feeders.
    Our summer is approaching very, very rapidly and I am dreading it. Some world wide weather moderation would be nice…

    • Elephant’s Child, This winter when I’m freezing I’ll try to teleport myself in my mind down your way so I can enjoy some of your Australian warmth.

  4. I have had Juncos at my feeder. I enjoy them very much.

  5. Juncos always help with winter. My experience with them as feeder birds in the east taught me that they are very faithful and come back to the same spot every year when they find a place they like (I moved where I spread my seed one year and found them looking for it in the prior year’s location). We get the kind in your photos in our back yard (no feeders, unless you count weeds as feeders…) and I always enjoy them. I like both of these photos, but especially the second one, possibly because I see it as an unusual pose for a Junco. That bird seems especially alert to me, almost posing for the camera.

    • You’re right about that alert pose, Susan. That bird was hunkered down most of the time but something got its attention and it really perked up for a second or two.

  6. What Sensational shots Ron, thanks for sharing!
    Charlotte

  7. Me too, Ron.
    The DEJUs came to Michigan a couple of weeks ago. I like how they kick the snow–we saw a few flakes this morning, backwards.
    Thanks for the photos.

  8. Juncos are a bird I enjoy seeing here in New Hampshire, but I never realized what a kindly expression they have on their faces until your wonderful closeups. I feel a new level of affection for them now. Thanks!

  9. I love Juncos and they also help me get through the long winters. Our juncos in my area of PA. look quite different, more gray and white. They are very photogenic little birds. Greats shots as always Ron. How are you liking the new camera so far? I just got a new lens, 600mm Tameron. I ahd to wait a year for them to come out with a Nikon version of the lens which gets really great reviews considering its’ low price point. Works for me!!! 🙂

    • I like the new camera, Ellen but I’ve still got some learning to do with it. I’ve heard good things about your new lens, it sounds like good bang for the buck. I have a friend who uses that lens (he waited a long time for it too) and he really likes it.

      • Thanks for telling me about the lens Ron. So far I really like it a lot. Have done only hand held and leaning it out the car window shooting and have been very pleased with the outcome. More learning to do!!

  10. Excellent shots of the “Oregon Junco” otherwise a member of the western group of the Dark-eyed Junco, with its blackish hood and rufous back. Really interesting for us in the east to see a different group of this species. Many thanks for sharing!

  11. Thanks Ron, images still look spectacular to me…BTW, I didn’t realize as a very amateur photographer that your long lens and TC, need to be calibrated with a new body.

    • Bill, I always calibrate camera to lens whenever I get a new one of either and whether it’s a long lens or not in order to get the sharpest focus possible. TC to body should to be calibrated also.

  12. Wow! great shots, I especially like that second one…Any special reason you shot in JPEG, just wondering? Ah, is it the new camera?
    Thanks!
    Bill R

    • Thanks, Bill. Yes, it’s because of the new camera. It’s not supported yet by Adobe’s ACR and I haven’t yet had time to develop a work-around that I’m comfortable with. I imagine I’ll be using DPP until ACR is updated but I’m not happy about it…

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