| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Challenge: Free Study 2010-08 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-5D
Lens: Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
Location: Upper Beaver Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park
Date: Aug 10, 2010
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 640
Shutter: 1/200s
Galleries: Nature, Birds
Date Uploaded: Aug 11, 2010
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American Three-toed woodpecker, Picoides dorsalis, extracting the larvae of a sawyer beetle, //www.ento.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/pinesawyerbeetle.htm
from the bark of a dead Ponderosa Pine.
The most requested guide information I am asked for, as a nature photographer, is the whereabouts of the uncommon to rare American Three-toed Woodpecker, Picoides dorsalis. I had never seen one until 2009. For a few years, I thought the bird did not exist in our forests. But, this year, I have been hearing reports of sightings from all over the park (Rocky Mountain National Park). There is a logical reason for this. While uncommon to rare in spruce forests, the bird is found particularly in areas with many recently dead trees. The bird flakes off outer bark scales to uncover insect larvae rather than excavating wood. With all the recently dead lodgepole pine trees, this woodpecker is experiencing a boost in its food source. We wholeheartedly welcome this bird to our forests. Experienced a good photo session with a pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers this afternoon. I'm not sure why this happened, but I suspect their favorite larvae were "running." There was feverish "flaking off" of ponderosa and lodgepole pine bark by both the male and female. They were so busy, they didn't really notice I was standing in their forest with a telephoto lens. Also, they confined their larvae search to the bottom 10 feet of the trees. They were definitely tapping and pecking at the most recently dead (red) trees. This image was captured in Upper Beaver Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park. Canon 5D; Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM; f/5.6, ISO 640, 1/200s, tripod mount. Image captured August 10, 2010.
[Sep. 2nd, 2010 09:17:26 AM]
Very disappointing score for a good photo of a rare bird. Not sure what it takes for a nature photo to score well on this site. |
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