A Glorious Sunday Morning - 07 Apr 2019


With temps in the mid 60's this morning it was a time for open windows. A cup of coffee in hand and a seat by the back window I was enjoying the sounds of Chorus Frogs, Song Sparrows, Fox Sparrow, Northern Cardinals, and the bell-like trill of a half-dozen Dark-eyed Juncos.

As I scanned the ground below the feeders I spotted the bright red cap of a Swamp Sparrow! I would spend the next hour and half trying to digiscope the little beauty as it ducked in and out of view while singing its sweet, wet trill. Like trying to photograph a mouse. This little guy spent most of the time skulking in the wet field directly behind the hedge line, and would pop into view just long enough to be chased away by more aggressive cardinals and/or juncos.







The topper came when I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree directly behind the house about 100 feet away. After taking a few digiscoped images of it I decided to grab the Sony a9 and step out on the deck to get a few pics with the 100-400mm GM OSS lens. For the next 10 minutes I snapped away while a pair of Blue Jays attempted to hawk it while it preened.








I also was waiting for it to fly so that I could test the Tracking: Expand Flexible Spot focus mode. When it finally took off I locked focus and fired away. For the next 123 frames the hawk flew low across the field while I attempted to track it through the thickets in front of me and the woods behind it.











The Sony a9 and its Firmware 5.0 absolutely nailed focus despite the obstacles in front and back of the flying raptor. I decided to create this GIF to show the tracking abilities of the camera. Incredible!


Brownton Abbey, 26340 Higgins Way, Wayne, Michigan, US
Apr 7, 2019 9:19 AM - 10:04 AM
Protocol: Stationary
9 species

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  4
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  6
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)  1
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S54664619

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)