Maybe I should have waited until Christmas to post these photos.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I’d only photographed this species once in a wild setting when I encountered this male on June 1, 2016 near the continental divide between Montana and Idaho. I love the reds against the light greens of the conifer perch and the dark green background, although I’m hesitant to start anyone thinking about Christmas so soon because it already “starts” way too early for my tastes.
I only got two poses from this bird and this one isn’t my favorite even though it allows the best look at the forked tail of the species.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This one is, when cropped vertically. The reds seem just a bit more intense with his head at this angle to the light and I think we have a little better eye contact with this pose.
There are many similarities between Cassin’s Finches, Purple Finches and House Finches but I really like the peaked crown that sets this species apart from the House Finch with its rounded crown. Cassin’s Finches have the most restricted range of the three, especially during the breeding season when these photos were taken when they’re found only in the conifer belts of North America’s western interior mountains.
I liked this photo enough that I…
played with the composition a little and cropped this one differently. I still can’t decide which version I prefer.
It’s funny. I was so very excited to get this Cassin’s Finch in my viewfinder, I’ve never even seen a Purple Finch so knowing me I’d go gaga over one and rightly or wrongly I largely ignore House Finches. But the three species are so similar that lots of folks can’t tell them apart.
It doesn’t really make much sense when I think about it because a House Finch in this setting would look just as attractive as this handsome Cassin’s Finch. Go figure…
Ron
PS – I hope you were better at remembering to set your clocks back than I was. Even though I knew it was coming I forgot about it last night so I was momentarily shocked when I looked at the time on my computer at 3:50 AM this morning. I thought I’d slept in!
Once again I’m not psychologically (or physiologically) prepared to face sunset at 5 PM.
Hey Ron,
I go for the looser comp with the nice branch included in the upper right. In the first version having that partial chunk of it up in the very corner bugs me a little (and I’d be tempted to remove it personally). Not much in the way of finches for us so far this fall–last year was an exceptional year for crossbills though, and some years are just better than others….
Beautiful photos of a beautiful bird!
Thanks, LS.
Red, pinks, browns; they all are very complimentary. Just very pleasing to look at.
I’m glad you like them, Lyle. Thank you.
The evil iPad has NOT given up!!!
I always know what you mean, Patty.
Three winners..especially the third…run it again in a month and clone a little Santa hat on one of them…😇
Perhaps a little sleigh behind the bird in the first shot — Rudolph the Red-Crowned Cassin’s? 😉
Three winners..especially the third…
Thanks, Patty.
I like all three and the second one is my favorite. I’ve had a Cassins in my yard once. At first I wasn’t sure what I was seeing but the crown is what made the difference. It was a brief encounter. I agree about the Christmas card suggestion. I only send them to special people mostly family and I know they would all appreciate the picture. Have a great week.
Betty, I notice the crown and to me the color of Cassin’s looks a little different than the others. Cassin’s has been described as “the bird that has been dipped into raspberry juice” and I like that description.
The over the shoulder pose with the bird looking at the dark green expanse makes the first shot my favorite. I think I like the vertical crop a little better of the two because the finch is more prominent.
I had the same thought as Susan about the first shot. It’s either time to start sending cards again, or we’ll be your proxies — I’d certainly buy a couple of packs of 10! I’d rather have the money go to you than to some card conglomerate. 🙂
Ha, it wasn’t my intention to compete with Hallmark and go into the card business, Marty. Something like that takes planning and with all the “stuff” I have going on planning just isn’t in the…. well, cards. So I doubt I’ll be printing up cards, at least this year. Maybe next…
I’ll wait. 😉
Glorious.
I am sooooo not ready for Christmas though. And the decorations and the hype have been in our stores for weeks. By their standards you are late.
“Their “standards” suck, EC. Big time! I hate what they and others have done to the entire holiday season.
Stores in FL have already replaced swimsuit racks with holiday items several weeks ago, so I guess I’ll be swimming naked. Beautiful shots by the way!
Amen, Ron! Christmas stuff out with the Hallloween stuff is too darn early!
I’ve never seen Cassin’s so thank you for sharing! Going out on a (conifer) limb here, but I suspect no one here would object to you re-posting these at holiday time.
Hope all is well with y’all! And, I’m with you. Not ready to face early sunsets!
Maybe I’ll post one of them as an “accessory” to another post, Wally.
Beautiful series Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
I like the first crop better, I think because the fir tree does not overwhelm the bird. The tree is definitely a fir (you can tell because there are no needles on the bottoms of the branches – they all come from the side or top, and face up). As I understand it, one of the reasons it’s sometimes difficult to tell a House Finch from a Purple Finch is that they have a habit of interbreeding, which definitely confuses the issue. If you have a pure one of either, it’s easy to tell them apart because the House Finch has an orange-red color, as opposed to the purple – at least to my eyes the colors are not even close.
Yup, it’s a fir, Susan. I use their flat needles as a marker. From the photos I’ve seen Purple Finches never look purple to me…
Beautiful!
You should make Christmas cards from this photo!
Great views of the crest and forked tail of this lovely finch.
Thanks, Ron.
Susan K
“You should make Christmas cards from this photo!z’
The thought did cross my mind but I haven’t sent cards out for years now. Thanks, Susan.
Purple, House, Cassin’s Finch, well, 2 out of three for me is not too bad! Beautiful shots of this Cassin’s. I agree the three could be tough for new birders, or those that don’t have them in their backyard.
Your shots of the Cassin’s are great, would have liked to see them when I was out west, but got skunked on that view.
Thanks for sharing now rather than waiting till Christmas.
Thanks, Dick. I suspect lots of folks have two out of the three and that I’ll be in that camp forever.
Beautiful indeed!
Thanks, Jean.
It’s a perfect shot for a card. All that lovely space for HOLIDAY GREETINGS. And what a pretty bird.
Interesting point about the comp being appropriate for a card, Arwen.
I’m with you— while I like the composition best in the second version, the finch itself definitely stars in the first–TWO winners –both with exquisite coloration !
Kris, at least one person has said that in the second version the twig at upper right pulls their eye away from the bird. I can see how that might happen but I don’t think it does with me.
Very Christmas like Ron. My first thought at the very first picture was, what is the difference between Cassin’s and House Finches? And of course you quickly answered that. My backyard here is loaded with House Finches.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
There are other differences between them too, Everett. I often have loads of House Finches in my yard also.
Beautiful little bird in the perfect setting! I like the last photo a bit better tho can’t tell you why…… I’ve never seen one living on the “prairie” 😉 We do get the house finches of course tho in the yard they are relatively recent arrivals – maybe in the past 5 years. I HATE the time changes, particularly this one – before I retired it took me forever to adjust to this one where as the spring one the alarm would “tune me up” pretty fast since I rarely slept until it went off! Wind and rain here tho not near the rain we need!
Judy, I think both versions of that photo have at least one strength over the other. In the first one the bird is larger in the frame so we see more detail but I like the composition of the second that includes the twig up at the top right.
We’re supposed to have some rain this morning but it hasn’t started yet. “Your” storm is about here.
Beautiful picture! We have lots of purple finches at our feeders in Charlotte, N C
Thanks, Theresa. I doubt if I’ll ever see one here in the Intermountain West.