A Veery Good Morning to Test The Sony a1 MK II - 06 May 2026

Skies were clear this morning and temperature was hovering near 50ºF when I drove to Elizabeth Park (Trenton, MI USA) to give the new Sony a1 MK II its first field test. I had the camera set up almost identical to my Sony a1; Aperture-Priority, f/6.3 (wide open for the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens), ISO-Auto (100-64,000) w/ Minimum Shutter Speed 1/4000s and Exp Comp = +0.7. My previous post showed some results under HIGH-ISO conditions, while this post will show results ranging from ISO 2500 - 40,000. The camera came pre-loaded with Firmware Ver. 4.0.

Images were captured in (Compressed) RAW. The 50 Mpx images were processed in Lightroom with only slight adjustments to Brightness, Shadows, Highlights, and Vibrance. AI Denoise was then performed at 50% (default) strength. Images were then resized in Photoshop to 2048 pixels (long edge) with no sharpening and saved as JPG (no compression).

I arrived shortly before 8 am and walked the center trail of the wooded island in the middle of the park. I had Merlin powered up to record bird song, and it immediately produced Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, and White-throated Sparrow.

Nearby a Brown-headed Cowbird posed briefly in the morning sunlight. 

I made a complete loop of the island and failed to find any warblers (my primary target today). Near the Maintenance Yard Merlin picked up the call of a Veery. During previous outings I had picked up calls of Veery but attributed them to other birds like Brown-headed Cowbird or Red-winged Blackbird, but this morning I finally heard the distinct "VEER" of the pale-brown thrush that I had refused to report (until now). 

Sure enough, I spotted it on the center trail being harassed by an American Robin. The Veery was foraging in the grass next to the trail, then flew to low perches in open sunlight to areas of dark shadow. It gave me the perfect opportunity to test the Sony a1 II's new AI Bird-Eye Autofocus. It performed well.

 

I walked toward the north end of the park and got wonderfully close to a singing Wood Thrush that failed to show inside the trail.

At the north end open meadow the Black Squirrels were frolicking. Surprisingly, the Bird-Eye AF worked well even on the black-eyes-on-black-squirrels even though I did not have the Bird/Mammal Eye-AF option selected.

On my way out a Northern Parula was singing loudly in the canopy near the road but never showed. It, and a singing Yellow-rumped Warbler were the only two warblers present this morning.

Elizabeth Park (Trenton), Wayne, Michigan, US
May 6, 2026 8:14 AM - 9:08 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.713 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, cool , 50F, overnite rain.
36 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  19
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  2
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  1
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  14
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  6
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)  2
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  9
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  1
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  4
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  1
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  1
Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S333477726

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

I then drove over to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge - Humbug Marsh Unit just a mile south of Elizabeth Park. At the entrance to the short-loop trail next to the Visitor Center a Gray Catbird was singing high in a flowering Witch Hazel. Despite the distance and shadows the a1 II still found the catbird's eye.

Near the boardwalk at the south end of the loop an Eastern Kingbird was perched atop a snag. 

Nearby the Tree Swallows were courting and foraging in the Monguagon Delta. This pair was courting next to a tree cavity.

Overhead the Blue Jays were moving (a dozen or so birds) and the Sony a1 MK II did a nice job tracking and maintaining focus at 600mm.

As I continued along the west side of the loop another Veery appeared to my left and was followed by a second bird that spent some time ducking in and out of view.

I then spotted a Yellow-rumped Warbler foraging in the thicket to my left. The ultra-small spot focus helped get me onto the warbler but focus was slow-responding. Luckily, the bird popped into the open and began to preen and I was able to fire off hundreds of images with all producing razor-sharp results.

Ahead on the trail the Veery reappeared briefly.

This image was captured in the shadows at ISO 40,000.

As I was walking out I photographed this American Goldfinch 100' away

A Song Sparrow later I headed back to the car. 

I had hoped to get into more warblers this morning but I was extremely happy with how the Sony a1 MK II performed during its first field trial. Autofocus was fast and sticky, and tracking worked well. I especially liked the focus box around the bird with the smaller focus box on its eye; proof that object recognition was working quite well. 

Now to find more warblers.

Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
May 6, 2026 9:24 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.759 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, 54F,
43 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Eastern Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  4
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  4
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  1
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  4
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  1
Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla)  1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S333506181

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