Yellow warbler (male) singing headshot portrait (Setophaga petechia, Pauline jaune, YEWA) from my SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP at Point Pelee National Park of Canada in Leamington, Ontario, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm. ISO 2,500, f/11 @ 1/2,500s Manual exposure.
A portrait of a male Yellow warbler singing from my recently concluded Songbirds of Pelee workshop in Point Pelee National Park of Canada.
Male Yellow warblers sing a sweet series of 6–10 whistled notes that accelerate throughout the roughly 1-second song and often end on a rising note. The tone is so sweet that people often remember it with the mnemonic sweet sweet sweet, I’m so sweet.
Bald Eagle Call of the Wild (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Pygargue à tête blanche, BAEA) near Homer, Alaska. Image copyright ©Christopher Dodds Sony Alpha alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 6,400, f/8 @ 1/3,200s. Manual Exposure mode. Join me for my Eagles Galore workshop in March. To learn more CLICK HERE.
Another Alaskan Eagle from my Eagles Galore Workshop in March. The predawn colours in the sky were an amazing pallet of pastels - and the Eagles were singing their morning chorus. What could be better?
Razorbill calling in last light (Alca torda, Petit Pingouin, RAZO) from my Deluxe Puffins Galore Lighthouse Island Workshop Adventure. Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony 1.6X teleconverter (@840mm) ISO 1,600, f/5.6 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure. Full Frame Image.
Razorbills simply fascinate me. Newfoundland hunters called Razorbills “tinkers,” the local pronunciation of “thinkers.” They were given this name because during courtship displays, males hold their bills vertically, appearing to contemplate the heavens.
American Bald Eagle SINGING (Hailiaeetus leucocephalus, Pygarge a tete blanche, BAEA) from my BALD EAGLE WORKSHOP in Kachemak Bay (near Homer), Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless camera & Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @600mm f/7.1 ISO 1,250 @ 1/5,000s.
ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ker is as close as I can describe the song of the Bald Eagle. Always sends shivers down my spine. and I never tire of it.
The biggest mistake most people make when trying to photograph singing birds is not using a fast enough shutter speed; those mandibles don’t stop moving!
The second biggest mistake is framing the image too tight. Eagles usually move their head while calling; often, but not always, stretching out toward the sky, so be ready to rotate your camera to vertical.