Last month, I received a terrific 18th birthday present from my parents — a Nikon D610 with 50mm and 70-200mm lenses! I’d like to thank my parents very much for my new camera and also my good friend Nicole for her camera expertise and helping me to narrow my choices.
I went for a drive earlier this week with my Swarovski scope and binoculars, and Canon SX 50HS. I was thinking about bringing my new camera along, but the battery was a little low and I wasn’t expecting to see anything close enough to photograph with it.
At the first clump of willows I stopped and rolled down the truck window. I heard lots of “chips” coming from the bushes so I pished for a few seconds and then Palm Warblers, Lincoln’s Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, House Wrens, and a Orange-crowned Warbler came into view. The Palm Warblers were very inquisitive and came particularly close, so I was immediately regretting not bringing my new camera.
Yellow-rumped Warblers were all over and they were very easy to get photos of as they didn’t move around as much as the other warblers.
A Yellow-rumped Warbler or as some like to call them, “butter butts”,
I was very excited to get this photo since the coverts, alula, and other feathers you usually don’t get to see are visible,
There were a number of palm warblers that afternoon. Palm Warblers have bright yellow undertail coverts, and they bob their tails,
After 45 minutes, I decide to head back home and grab my new camera, better late than never. This is the first time I’ve photographed birds with this camera, so I still have lots of learning to do. The second time around, the warblers weren’t as cooperative, but I’m very happy with the shots I got.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-200mm, natural light
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-200mm, natural light
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-200mm, natural light
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-200mm, natural light
The Orange-crowned Warblers moved incredibly quickly through the willows making it almost impossible for me to get photos. I was able to capture this photo which I cropped just a little,
Orange-crowned Warbler, Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-200mm, natural light
If you have any suggestions/tips for me on taking photos with my new camera, I would love to hear them. Please leave any suggestions in the comments or email me at cnafarm AT gmail DOT com. Thank you!
Prairie Birder 
Wow! That’s a great first effort with the new Nikon D610! Especially that Yellow-rumped shot with the wing spread. I think you’re really going to enjoy your new birding tool. I’m still using an old Nikon D300, and have worn myself out about whether to up to a full-frame camera or not. A lot of people get excellent results with the little Canon SX 50 HS as well and it’s a lot easier to carry around in the field, but can’t beat that quality you get with a DSLR. I know you have many posts about larger regional and even global conservation issues, and I enjoy those, but I really love these posts about getting out and what you’re currently seeing there. Most of these birds from your trip are just now or will shortly be showing up in northeast Tennessee. Thanks for sharing your experiences and look forward hearing about and seeing the winter Alberta birds. Happy belated birthday! Good grief, I can’t believe you’re 18! I still have this picture in my mind of this little prairie girl I watched making a digiscoping adapter video on youtube a few years ago.
Rick, thank you for your kind words. I now feel so old — it’s crazy.
Lovely series! :)
Thank you, Linda.
Great, look forward to seeing more pics. Great stuff Charlotte.
Thanks, Bob, I’m looking forward to getting in more practice.
Happy Birthday, Charlotte!
I’m considering a similar move up from a Canon SX50 (better camera or better binos – how’s that for a post idea?!), but in the meantime I have to say I think you’ve done very well with that camera. I find that at any significant zoom, the image quality rapidly deteriorates.