In the Field

Common Nighthawk - Chillin' @ Sunrise. Findlay Creek, British Columbia, Canada. July 3, 2024.

While my wildlife photography is dominated by the photography of terrestrial and marine mammals, I still quite enjoy photographing birds. And, when I'm shooting close to home, I probably do as much bird photography as mammal photography. One of my favourite local birds to photograph is the Common Nighthawk - an aerial insectivore that breeds on and around our property in the East Kootenays of BC. Nighthawks are exceptionally cryptic and well-camouflaged, especially when they are sitting on the ground. I caught this female resting on an old log right at sunrise and she was extremely difficult to see when I was standing at full height (with brown grasses and bushes behind her when I was standing up). It wasn't until I laid down on the ground and slowly slithered towards her that I was able to get a shot where she stood out against a very simple background. This female does have a nest "containing" two eggs quite close to this log (and to call it a nest is a stretch - Nighthawks don't actually build a nest and lay their eggs on bare ground, relying on their camouflage to hide the eggs while incubating them and while brooding the young).

I captured this image shortly after acquiring a Nikon Z 6III and beginning to field test it. To be honest I had quite low expectations for the Z 6III, largely owing to how much of an advance the Z 9 was over the Z 6III's precursor (the Z 6II). Boy, was I ever wrong! I REALLY like the Z 6III as a wildlife camera and for me it occupies almost the same performance niche in still photography as the D6. And, in some ways it's considerably BETTER than the D6.

I know some will think I'm a bit nuts in comparing the Z 6III to the D6 (from a pure "performance in the field" perspective) and claiming they occupy a similar niche for still wildlife photographers. But when you stop and think about it I think the comparison is valid. Based on my own testing it appears that the ISO performance of the Z 6III is very similar to that of the D6 (and from a noise perspective it's about 1.3 to 1.5 stops "better" than a Z 9 or Z 8). And the Z 6III is as responsive and fast as a D6 (and certainly faster in frame rate).

Just how does the Z 6III BEAT the D6? Well...the AF is excellent and, at least IMHO, considerably better than that of the D6. The Z 6III also has a faster frame rate (along with virtually no shutter lag), and is MUCH smaller and lighter than the D6 (those wanting to ADD weight to the Z 6III to better balance super-telephoto lenses - and add vertical controls and longer battery life - can add the MB-N14 battery grip to the Z 6III). And then, of course, there are all the advantages inherent with the Z 6III being a mirrorless camera, including a much more information-loaded viewfinder, dramatically better video, more accurate AF with WAY BETTER tracking, better teleconverter performance (even when shooting adapted F-mount lenses), dramatically better VR, yada, yada, yada. Additionally, the Z 6III is a whole lot cheaper than the D6.

Of course, no one in their right mind would argue that the Z 6III is as durable or robust as a D6...I have no doubt that some of the things you could put a D6 successfully through (like shooting at -30C) would be beyond the capabilities of a Z 6III - if you do that kind of shooting a D6 (or possibly a Z 9) would very likely work better for you.

If we return to this shot for a second it's easy to see how the Z 6III would outperform a D6 in this instance. This image was hand-held and captured at 1/40s (using a 600mm lens). I don't know about you, but successfully hand-holding a D6 with a 600mm VR lens while shooting at 1/40s (and getting a tack-sharp shot) just never happened for me. For wildlife photographers hand-holding big lenses...well...the VR of the Z 6III makes it dramatically more "usable" than a D6 for many.

Anyway...I readily admit I'm already a big fan of the Z 6III and I look forward to taking it with me during even my most "serious" wildlife shoots and expeditions.

Here's a larger version (4800 pixel) of this cryptic nightjar:

• Common Nighthawk - Chillin' @ Sunrise: Download 4800 pixel image (JPEG: 5.3 MB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. These images - in all resolutions - are protected by copyright. I'm fine with personal uses of them (including use as desktop backgrounds or screensavers on your own computer), but unauthorized commercial use of the image is prohibited by law. Thanks in advance for respecting my copyright!

2. Like all photographs on this website, these images were captured following the strict ethical guidelines described in The Wildlife FIRST! Principles of Photographer Conduct. I encourage all wildlife photographers to always put the welfare of their subjects above the value of their photographs.

Behind the Camera

Common Nighthawk - Chillin' @ Sunrise. Findlay Creek, British Columbia, Canada. July 3, 2024.

High Efficiency* Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 800.

Nikon Z 6III paired with Z Nikkor 600mm f6.3S. Hand-held while laying on the ground. VR on in Normal mode. Single-point AF area mode.

1/40s @ f8; No compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Common Nighthawk - Chillin' @ Sunrise. Findlay Creek, British Columbia, Canada. July 3, 2024.

All global and selective adjustments - made using Phase One's Capture One Pro 23. In the case of this image the only global adjustment was an overall contrast tweak (using the Levels tool). Selective local adjustments performed using Capture One Pro's layers and masking tools. In this case numerous small adjustments and minor tweaks were made on 4 separate layers, with most of the tweaks being associated with "exposure balancing" and contrast adjustments (such as adjustments to clarity, highlights, shadows, etc.).

Photoshop modifications included insertion of the watermark and/or text.

Conservation

Common Nighthawk - Chillin' @ Sunrise. Findlay Creek, British Columbia, Canada. July 3, 2024.

Species Status in Canada*: Listed as Threatened in Canada owing to the declines over the past 3 generations.

The Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is an insect-eating bird that captures its prey in flight. These aerial acrobats are well-adapted to this task and exhibit an amazing prowess while in flight. In breeding season the males perform dazzling dives during territorial encounters - at the bottom of each dive their wings produce a loud booming sound that is audible for hundreds of metres.

This female Common Nighthawk was photographed in the Columbia Valley of the East Kootenays. This species is vulnerable to habitat loss due to logging activities. Additionally, decrease in overall populations coincides with non-selective pesticide spraying program for control of mosquitoes. Change from flat, gravel roofs to smooth roofs (rubberized) may account for decrease in urban populations (which commonly nest on flat gravel roofs).

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada