Merlin, and the use of teleconverters

 

As always, click the photo to enlarge

A Merlin (Falco columbarius) perches high in the dead boughs of a spruce in Columbus's (Ohio) Union Cemetery. It was a frosty morning, with temps in the low 20's F with a noticeable wind chill. Shauna and I ran down here yesterday, with Merlins as the main target. The burly little falcons have been winter residents in this cemetery for a number of years, and two were conspicuous yesterday.

Because of the wind, most likely, the birds were at first sitting in more sheltered spots within the crowns of bushy deciduous trees. But it didn't take too long before they began hunting and shifted to prominent open perches near the tops of ornamental spruces. As always, they were fun to watch, with a bit of spirited play-fighting as one bird would strafe the other and short chases would ensue. We didn't have a lot of time to watch these Merlins, but I'll back again as Union Cemetery is only ten minutes or so from my house.

A grim reality of bird photography is more is better. And more, as in lens reach, also means more $$$. This can get fiendishly expensive. Basically, there's two groups of photography: bird photography, and everything else, when it comes to cost. The bare minimum reach for birds, to get consistently good results, is 500mm, in my opinion. But even that often falls short. My first big prime telephoto was Canon's remarkable 500 f/4 II. I took out a credit union loan to get it. Shortly thereafter I obtained a Canon 1.4x II teleconverter and that lens was rarely without it for the rest of my ownership. With the teleconverter attached, the lens had a focal range of 700mm and remained tack sharp. The only tangible downside is that it lost one stop, going from a wide-open f/4 to an f/5.6. Small price to pay and I got scads of great bird images over the years I owned that setup.

But it wasn't long before the lust for a bigger lens set in. I eventually sprung for my current workhorse, the Canon 800mm f/5.6, which I've had for many years now. And in the process, learned an important lesson. Buy used. Let someone else take the initial hit. That lens retailed for about $13,000 when I got mine, but I found a perfect used copy for $8,000. Still a lot of money but way less than new.

While the 800mm has its downsides, they are few and mostly dependent upon the users' physical fitness. The lens alone weighs about 10 lbs., and couple that with the camera and the sturdy tripod and head that is necessary, and you've got a hefty package to be lugging around. It's worth it for the incredible range that the lens offers, and it can be expanded upon with the aforementioned teleconverter. The 1.4x, mounted to the 800, offers a focal range of 1120 mm. And with good technique and proper settings, especially on a day with decent light, sharp images are easily obtained. The Merlin photo in this post was made with this setup. I should also note that 1120mm allows the operator to remain out of the sphere of disturbance of the subject. You are often just too far away to provoke angst.

Probably the biggest downside to the 800/1.4x teleconverter setup is the loss of one stop. The lens becomes an f/8, in the case of the 800mm. That's why the more natural light, the merrier. One could argue that teleconverter-created images are not quite as sharp as those without and that's probably mostly true, but if all is done well, sharpness issues are relatively inconsequential.

While I am a huge fan of large prime lenses, like my 800 and the 500 before it, and my 400's, great progress has been made in the world of much less costly zoom telephotos. In the infancy of my telephoto days, I experimented with both Sigma and Tamron zoom telephotos (I think they were 150mm-500mm). I wasn't a fan - slow focusing, much vignetting, lack of sharpness, although it should be noted that these were among their first efforts. But now, their telephotos are much improved, as are factory offerings from Canon and Nikon. Shauna shoots with a Nikon Z8 and is soon to take possession of a Nikon 180mm-600mm telephoto. We have heard great things about this lens and are eager to work with it. It's roughly $2,000. For comparison, Nikon's superb Z 600mm f/4 with built-in 1.4x teleconverter is about $15,000, new. We hope that the lesser Nikon lens works well with the teleconverter and otherwise and can make great bird images.

If you have a lens that functions with a teleconverter, acquiring a 1.4x is fairly inexpensive way to bolt on extra fire power. Your 500mm becomes a 700mm, 600mm an 840mm, etc. Do note the attendant loss of a stop, though.

As far as 2x teleconverters go, I'm generally not a fan and I have long had Canon's 2x and have played with it a fair bit. While the doubling of the lens's reach is alluring, the tradeoffs often negate the extra reach. In general, the lower the focal range of the lens, the better it works. My best results are on 300 and 400 lens, and with Canon's 400mm f/2.8 II it can work incredibly well. Note that two stops of light are lost with the 2x, though. Thus, my 400mm II becomes an 800mm at f/5.6, and why would I shoot with that when I have the 800mm f/5.6 prime which is razor sharp? Also, it can be very hard/impossible to get razor sharp images with the 2x teleconverter mounted in many situations where I would probably have success with the prime 800mm.

Bells's Vireo (Vireo bellii), shot with the Canon 400mm f/2.8 II lens, 

Canon 2x II teleconverter, and Canon 5DIV camera. No problems with sharpness here, but this is one of the few lenses that I've used that has a high level of functionality with the 2x. But in general, I wouldn't recommend 2x teleconverters for sharp high-quality imagery. However, 1.4x teleconverters - an emphatic yes.

A very cool lizard

 

As always, click the photo to enlarge

A Gold Dust Day Gecko (Phelsuma laticauda) peeks coyly at the photographer. Almost immediately upon arrival to our hosts' house on Maui in the little town of Paia, Shauna and I began to notice brown geckos in and around the gardens. While any gecko is cool - or any lizard at all - Marty and Eleanor told us to watch for a much flashier gecko and showed us where to keep an eye out for them.

It didn't take long to spot a GDDG, and we quickly wired up flashes and bolted on macro lenses to attempt imagery of the extraordinary beasts. The brilliantly hued geckos obliged, and I share a few of those photos here.

Like SO many organisms on Maui, the Gold Dust Day Gecko is not native. It hails from Madagascar and vicinity. As one might suspect from its appearance, this lizard is coveted in the pet trade and has been moved to many parts of the world. As usually happens with commonly kept reptiles, some escape, and where conditions are appropriate, they may flourish outside of captivity.

The Hawaiian Islands have no native terrestrial reptiles, although there are marine reptiles such as sea turtles and Yellow-bellied Sea Snakes. But now there are apparently eight species of established geckos, and at least nine other introduced reptile species. The much more frequent brown geckos that we saw may have been the Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus), although we did not capture images of those and attempt to verify its identity.

I don't know if geckos like the GDDG cause ecological issues, but I suspect not. At least where we saw them, and I suspect that this is true in most cases, they were inhabiting landscapes with nearly no native species - animals or plants. So, there is no native species for them to be competing with, by and large.

If the information that I found is correct, we can pinpoint the introduction of Gold Dust Day Gecko to Hawaii. A student at the University of Hawaii smuggled in eight of them in 1974 and released them near campus. It would seem likely that other independent releases also occurred, but whatever the case, the lizards stuck.

Scarlet Honeycreeper, or ‘I’iwi.

 

A stunning ‘I’iwi (formerly Scarlet Honeycreeper) feeds on one of its host plants, the Mamane (Sophora chrysophylla). Both the pea and the bird are Hawaiian endemics, and the ‘I’iwi (ee-ee-vee) is now listed as Federally Threatened, as an estimated 90+% of the population has vanished. Shauna and I became entranced with the charismatic birds, which guarded their favorite patches of nectar plants. Flower nectar is their primary food. Two other honeycreepers were present and would try to sneak in and raid the 'I'iwi's patches. Not for long - the larger scarlet honeycreeper would roar in and quickly dispense with them. The Mamane apparently can recharge its nectar rapidly, as the honeycreepers would visit every ten minutes or so. Slopes of Mt. Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, November 22, 2024.

The honeycreeper in a rare moment of repose - it lasted about two seconds. The highly specialized bill allows it to plumb the depths of certain flowers for nectar, and it is primarily a nectar feeder. We spent about two hours watching these birds in a high elevation forest on the slopes of Mount Haleakala, and it appeared that individual 'I'iwi would guard patches of flowering plants, such as the Mamane in the photo.

At one time, the 'I'iwi occupied a half dozen Hawaiian Islands and ranged from sea level to the highest forests. It has long been persecuted, first by native islanders who coveted the brilliant vermilion feathers. Capes adorned with 'I'iwi feathers - one cape might have hundreds of thousands of feathers - were a status symbol among the nobility. As were helmets adorned with "I"iwi feathers. The accidental introduction of mosquitoes by Europeans brought avian malaria, and that has been devastating to the 'I'iwi and many other songbirds. Almost all "I"iwi that contract malaria succumb to it. Now, they occur on only three islands, and only in high elevation forests where mosquitoes cannot reach.

I hope that I never have to someday say that I saw the 'I'iwi after it has gone extinct.

Green Sea Turtles

A highlight of our recent Hawaii trip was seeing good numbers of Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas). This is the commonest and most wide-ranging of the world's seven sea turtle species, and I've seen them on many prior occasions, but whopping big turtles are always a treat to behold. Following are a few images and some commentary.

A Green Sea Turtle hauled out and basking on a beach. While some beaches on Maui are used as breeding sites, the majority of the Hawaiian population breeds at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, which is about 900 miles northwest of this spot.

It takes a lot of good fortune for a turtle to live long enough to attain this size. It takes females 20-30 years to reach sexual maturity and begin nesting. Reproductively active females visit breeding beaches - usually the one where it was born, or one nearby - and crawl out at night. She digs a hole in the sand and dumps up to 100 or more eggs in it. They'll create a few nests over a few weeks period and can dump nearly 200 eggs in total. This is reptilian carpet-bombing reproduction. Predation of newly emerged turtlelets is quite high, and most will not make it.

Here's a closer view of the turtle above. Green Sea Turtles are the largest of the sea turtles. Mature specimens can be up to four feet in length and weigh 350 pounds. They are also the most successful species, occurring in warm seas worldwide, and boasting a population estimated at 90,000 breeding females, and presumably a similar number of males.

This was a particularly turtleiferous beach. About 25 turtles or parts thereof are visible in this shot, and there were others off camera. Even though this particular spot was one of the most popular surfing beaches on Maui, people are generally quite respectful of the big reptiles and give them their space.

An adult sea turtle pops its head up for a quick breath. It was surprisingly hard to get this shot, as you never know when they'll surface, and when they do, it's usually only for a few seconds. Whan at rest, a turtle can remain underwater for up to seven hours. When actively feeding, as this one was, surface visits for air are much more frequent but still not that frequent.

This spot was ideal for watching turtles feed, as the water was clear, we were on a cliff not far above the water, and one could often see the reptiles swimming under the water. They were feeding by rasping algae and perhaps various "sea grasses" from rocks, abetted by their rough, semi-toothy or serrated lower mandible.

Big flippers aid the turtles in swimming gracefully, and they are able to agilely dart among rocks, even in crashing surf. Their swimming prowess also aids Green Sea Turtles in their long migrations.

While Green Sea Turtles were once heavily hunted, now they are protected in most areas and have recovered nicely. If you visit Maui, you'll see many of the magnificent animals.

Hawaiian Stilt

 

As always, click the image to enlarge

A Hawaiian Stilt, or Ae'o, strikes a pose. This bird, for now, is considered a subspecies of the Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus subsp. knudseni). It is nonmigratory (except for some very localized movements between the Hawaiian Islands). Hawaiian Stilt is listed as federally endangered and there are only about 1,400 birds. That's far better than in the 1940's when the population was reduced to around 200 individuals. If one visits the state and federal refuges with wetlands on Maui, the very vocal stilts cannot be missed. We spent much time watching and photographing them. Maui, Hawaii, November 22, 2024.

Shauna and I just returned from a week in Maui, Hawaii, where we stayed with good friends Eleanor and Marty Sedluk. They spend a month or so here every year, and I had heard tales about the place from Marty for a while. It was great to finally set foot on the island and do LOTS of exploring. We found and photographed lots of interesting flora and fauna, and some stunning scenery - even surfers! - so this blog may wander far afield for a while, at least on occasion.

Over the course of prepping for tonight's talk (details HERE) about Ohio's macro habitats and the conservation thereof, I dipped deep into the archives and ran across lots of imagery I hadn't looked at for a while or posted. Here's one.

A Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) whirls around on a dime after spotting a school of emerald shiners or some other fishy food source. Terns are consummate aeronauts, and woe to the fishes that they clap eyes on. This bird was over Lake Erie, near Toledo in Lucas County, Ohio, on May 10, 2022.

PHOTO NOTE: Terns are fairly low-hanging fruit, insofar as aerial imagery goes. While they can be swift, hunting terns are pretty predictable in their movements and thus easier to track. Modern gear makes such shots far easier, too. I used my favorite BIF (Birds In Flight) gear for this image: the Canon R5, and Canon's ultralight 400mm DO f/4 II lens, with the Canon 1.4x teleconverter, version II. That equates to 560mm, and the range between 400mm and 560mm is just about perfect for quickly locking on and tracking BIF with a handheld setup. I use back-button focus exclusively, and each of my camera's three back buttons, which are easily accessible with my right thumb, are programmed to different focus settings. I used the all points active/eye recognition program, which is magical in its ability to find eyes and keep the focus precisely on an eye. In animal photography, you always want the eye to be sharp. All I have to do is keep the subject in the field of view and try to be positioned where the light is best.

Settings were f/8 at 1/2500 second. If light permits, I like to be stopped down to f/8 or even more, to get more sharpness throughout the subject, particularly when a blank, non-distractive background is present (like this blue sky). 1/2500 is plenty fast enough to mostly freeze a tern, although hummingbirds and some other subjects might necessitate even faster speeds. The ISO was at 500, but I very rarely set ISO to a specific value when shooting birds. There is no good reason that I can think of to do so. I let the ISO float, but keep a close eye on it, which is easy as the ISO speed displays live time in my viewfinder. If it starts increasing to a point of undesirability, such as ISO 2500 or more, if possible, I rein it in by slowing the shutter speed or opening the lens up more, or a combination thereof.

Photographic/Watercolor conservation art exhibit

 

Watercolor artist Juliet Mullett and I have collaborated on an art exhibit focused on flora, fauna, and conservation. It features 51 pieces: Juliet's amazing watercolor pencil portraits, many of which are new (like the box turtle on the poster above), and my photography. It hangs on the walls of the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Registration info is HERE.

While the exhibit went on the walls on November 2, the semi-official kickoff is Saturday, November 16. Doors open at 5:30 pm and I will give a talk about conservation, including many of the subjects of our works, at 7 pm. It's free, and I'd love to see you there. Feel free to pass the word!