Greater Yellowlegs with a small fish in its bill – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/4000, ISO 1000, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Yesterday morning I was able to get back out into the field and although the bird activity was slower than I would have liked I enjoyed myself. The morning started off with clouds hanging over the Wasatch Mountains which meant low light conditions early on then later the sunlight broke through those clouds.
I was delighted to have a Greater Yellowlegs in my viewfinder for a little while yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA in good light and with a small fish in its bill. I’d watched the Greater Yellowlegs foraging and most of the time the prey was too tiny to see but this little fish was a nice catch for the shorebird and for me.
Greater Yellowlegs with a small fish – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/4000, ISO 1000, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Greater Yellowlegs hang around in northern Utah even after the snow starts flying and ice starts to form on the water. They are some of the first shorebirds to show up here in spring and some of the last to leave during fall migration. I’ve personally seen them here as late as December and as early as February.
You may have noticed that I had my ISO for these two images set at 1000, I had bumped it up earlier because of the cloudy start to the day and then forgot to dial my ISO back to a lower setting when the sun came out. Stuff happens.
I can remember a time when I’d only use ISO 1000 under extreme low light conditions because of the noise high ISO’s used to create in photos taken with older camera bodies but with newer, more advanced DSLR bodies noise really hasn’t been a big issue at ISO 1000 for me.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Greater Yellowlegs photos plus facts and information about this species.
Excellent catch. For you both.
Nice catch for both of you. I agree, the ISO has noticeably less noise with the latter cameras and that is such a good thing in environments with less light. I didn’t know that the greater Yellowlegs stay so long, that is a nice bonus for both birders and photographers.
Glad he got some breakfast. 🙂 I’m really digging the rippled reflections!
Nice images. Good timing on the captures. You might try auto-iso on your D500. You can set aperture and shutter speed and let the camera set the iso. You set the maximum iso that you want to allow. As the light changes e.g. due to cloud cover, the iso will automatically adjust. You don’t need to remember to adjust it. Steve Perry explains it in much more detail especially for Nikon users — https://backcountrygallery.com/all-about-auto-iso-nikon-cameras/
Great photos. I was sure the Greater Yellowlegs in the Niagara area would have been gone by now but they were still there two days ago. Now I know they will be there for a little bit longer.
Nice catch. mia