In the Field

Red Crossbill in Morning Sun. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. March 13, 2005.

Besides being visually striking, Red Crossbills are interesting for at least a couple of reasons. First, as shown in this image, their upper and lower mandibles (bills) don't meet - rather they overlap and cross. This is an adaptation that assists the birds in forcing the scales of confir cones apart and allows them to scoop the conifer's seeds into their mouths. Second, Red Crossbills are both gregarious and irruptive - in some years massive flocks will wander as far south as the Gulf states (of the US) and in other years they stay far north of the Canadian Border. At our cabin in southeastern British Columbia we seem to see them about one winter in every three.

I photographed this crossbill early one frosty March morning, just after the first sunbeams found it. The bird sat with its breast feathers fluffed out, presumably in an effort to increase its insulation and retain warmth.

Photographically I faced two challenges while capturing this image: positioning myself correctly to take advantage of the warm morning light and finding a way to functionally remove the distracting background. Positioning myself simply involved moving around the bird exceptionally slowly (so as to not disturb the bird). I mimimized the distraction of the background by selecting a long telephoto lens and moving in closely to the bird, thus throwing the background out of focus and reducing its negative impact on the image.

Behind the Camera

Red Crossbill in Morning Sun. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. March 13, 2005.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 100.

Nikon D2X with Nikon 200-400 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens @ 400 mm (600 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) supported on Gitzo 1348 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley head; SB-800 flash (fill) with Better Beamer Flash Extender mounted on Really Right Stuff flash bracket. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/60s @ f10; -0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting; balanced i-TTL flash exposure with -0.33 stop compensation on SB-800.

At the Computer

Red Crossbill in Morning Sun. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. March 13, 2005.

Details to follow.

Conservation

Red Crossbill in Morning Sun. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. March 13, 2005.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Wildsight.

Information to follow.