Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens

IPT veteran William Wingfield is selling a Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens in like-new condition for $749.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens pouch, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Bill via e-mail.

This is the dream lens for folks doing handheld scenic, urban, and travel photography. It is super sharp, features a constant f/4 maximum aperture, and offers four shutter speed stops of image stabilization to allow working in low-light conditions with slow shutter speeds. Still in production, this lens sells new for $1299.00. Grab Bill’s pretty much new copy and put a smooth $550.00 in your pocket. artie

Iceland

My decades-long dream of spending time on Grimsey Island, Iceland, with the puffins — 13 days in this case!, will be realized this coming July. I am doing back-to-back trips as a participant. If anyone would like information on the world’s greatest Iceland/Atlantic Puffin trip this coming July, please contact me via e-mail.

Which?

Which two of today’s featured image best tell the story. Why?

What’s Up?

Me, trying to finish packing.

Today is Sunday 18 December 2022. I will be spending tonight in an airport hotel at MCO because my flight on Monday morning is scheduled to depart at 7:15am. I will be on an early shuttle! I stayed in this morning as I have lots to do. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes two hundred sixty-five days in a row with a new, educational post just for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Image #1: iPhone 11 Pano (cropped). Click on the image to view a larger version. The Vulture Trees in September 2022

In Memoriam

The original Vulture Tree can be seen on the far left. There is a single perched vulture on it. As is typical with dead trees, the configuration of the branches near the top changed over the years. I spent many dozens of hours photographing there. And you have seen many images here on the of either perched birds or birds flying into that tree to land.

The largest dead tree, the one in front of the three live pines, was too cluttered for photography until Hurricane Ian visited in late September. I made a neat video of vultures hanging on for dear life to the upper branches on the afternoon of that storm. I liked photographing the perched vultures in this tree on cloudy mornings with a northeast wind. You saw two of those images in the Before and After Hurricane Ian at Indian Lake Estates, FL. And Wind Lessons blog post here.

Over the past two years, the skinny dead tree on the right became my favorite. You’ve seen many fine images of birds perched on the top right fork and on the lowest stub of a branch the right side of the tree.

Now ask yourself, what harm were the tree dead trees doing?

Image #2: iPhone 11 image (cropped). Click on the image to view a larger version. The Wreckage of the First Tree to Fall

The First to Fall

Having watched as many as seven ILE work trucks (including the forestry bucket truck) cutting down both dead and live trees and “cleaning up” the North Field and the South Peninsula, the handwriting was on the wall. So, I was not shocked on the foggy morning of 15 December to see that the largest dead tree had succumbed to the chain saw on the morning of the 14th. Note the single vulture in the original vulture tree looking on forlornly. I entertained the slim possibility that they might spare the other two perch tree. That was not to be.

Image #3: iPhone 11 image. Click on the image to view a larger version. The Wreckage of the Largest and First Tree to Fall

Walking the Sacred Burial Grounds

As I walked the south end of the South Field on the partly sunny morning of 16 December it was eerily still and quiet. I felt as if I were walking on a sacred battlefield burial ground, perhaps one from the Civil War. Instead of dead soldiers, the ground was littered the bucked logs. (A felled and de-limbed tree is cut into logs of standard sizes via a process called bucking.) It was quite a spiritual experience, rife with a bit of sadness.

The small fan palms on the right side of the frame mark the site of my favorite Vulture Tree, the skinny one.

Image #4: iPhone 11 image. Click on the image to view a larger version. The Wreckage of the My Favorite Vulture Tree

Death of a Friend

As I walked the field, I began the process of mourning the loss of three good friends. Can you befriend a tree?

Image #5: iPhone 11 image. Click on the image to view a larger version. The Remains of the Original Vulture Tree

Removing Dead Trees — Good or Bad?

Do not think that most folks are environmentally aware of the value of dead trees. I did a web search for “Should you cut down dead trees?” and was stunned to find dozens of “Yes” answers explaining why every dead tree in sight should be cut down immediately. Funny that all of those were sponsored by tree removal companies.

Don’t get me wrong; dead trees that present hazards to humans or their dwellings need to be removed. There was a huge dead tree that threatened to fall onto my pool cage. I had it removed. When a big oak tree fell in the backyard during a hurricane and just barely touched the pool cage, we chopped it up and left the dead wood to rot. Bobwhites love to perch on the main trunk to sing and to check on their families foraging below the feeder.

When I refined my search a bit by including the word environment, the world came to its senses. The best article I found was here by George Wuerthner on the The Wildlife News website. This 3000+ word article is entitled The ecological value of dead trees. Though it is well worth reading the whole thing, here are a few telling excerpts:

Dead. Most of us have negative associations with the word. After all how did Death Valley get its name? Not because it was a favorite vacation spot for prospectors. Is anyone interested in fishing the Dead Sea? And when we say someone looks like “death warmed over” it’s not usually taken as a compliment. So it’s not surprising that most of us tend to view dead things as undesirable, unless we are talking about mosquitoes and rattlesnakes. (Actually I appreciate both and don’t advocate early death for either.)

We carry this cultural bias to our view of forests. Like most people I once viewed dead trees as an indicator of some presumed problem in the forest—that a ‘healthy” forest was one with a minimum of dead trees and largely free of wildfire, insects, and disease. Oh yes, I knew that a few snags were good for woodpeckers, and as a fly fisherman I understood that trout tended to be found hiding behind logs in the stream. I suffered from the same cultural bias as most people and thought that large numbers of dead trees meant that the forest was “out of balance” or “sick.” But the more I studied ecology, the more I questioned these assumptions. I now understand that large numbers of dead trees are critical to functioning forest ecosystems and sometimes, at the risk of hyperbole, I occasionally say they are ultimately more important to forest ecosystems than live trees.

There is no disputing the ecological importance of dead trees. Dead trees and down wood play an important role in ecosystems by providing wildlife habitat, cycling nutrients, aiding plant regeneration, decreasing erosion, and influencing drainage and soil moisture and carbon storage, among other values. Richard Hutto, an ecology professor at the University of Montana, sums up this new way of thinking about the long-term ecological value of dead trees when he notes, “Snags are important biological legacies that are passed from one forest generation to the next.”

DEAD TREE IMPORTANCE FOR WILDLIFE

…

So important are dead trees to wildlife that researcher Timothy Kent Brown estimates that two thirds of all wildlife species use dead trees or down wood during some portion of their life cycle. Among Pacific Northwest vertebrates, 69 species depend upon cavities for shelter or nesting, while 47 other species are strongly associated with downed wood. And it’s not just the obvious species like woodpeckers. Many bat species, for instance, hide in cavities in dead trees or under the loose bark of dead and/or dying trees.

Jim Andrews, a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, studies amphibians and reptiles in northeastern forests. Andrews says, “Foresters tend to look at the forest from the floor up. I have occasionally gone on field trips with them and they were rather proud of how they had managed their forests, but the forest has nothing in it. There’s no cover. No places to find live critters.”

Andrews notes that dead and dying trees are important for many cold-blooded species, from gray frogs to arboreal rat snakes. “Standing snags, once they get big enough so that they have hollow centers—what foresters call ‘overmature,’ (which I hate since it is so board-foot focused)—are the places where wildlife reside.” Andrews quips, “To a biologist you don’t have overmature trees—you have wildlife habitat.”

The importance of down logs to wildlife can’t be overstated. Andrews notes that the greatest biomass of terrestrial vertebrate species found in eastern forests are salamanders, not the more charismatic large mammals like deer and moose. As a result they are important as food to many other species, from wild turkeys to shrews.

But salamanders are also significant predators in their own right. Andrews says salamanders eat beetle larvae, fly larvae, ground beetles, spiders, sow bugs, round worms, and other invertebrates that feed on forest debris.

Salamanders are the top predator that shape ecosystem processes much as wolves are the top predator at another scale in terrestrial ecosystems. “Salamanders, by preying upon these species that consume leaf litter, help to maintain a deeper layer of leaves and other organic debris that holds moisture, reduces floods, and that kind of stuff, “says Andrews.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide Click here to learn about Cliff Oliver’s great iPhone e-Guide. To order your copy, please click here. The PDF is sent link by e-mail for downloading: the file is relatively huge at 216 MB. I was an iPhone photo dunce until I got this guide.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

What’s Up?

The folks at ILE cut down the big vulture tree on Wednesday, and the tall skinny one — my beloved favorite, on Thursday morning. All as expected despite my pleas and explanations as to the value of dead trees to all sorts of wildlife, including and especially birds. I’ve done (and continue to do) The Work on the destruction, and I am at peace with it. I can hear my late Mom saying, “Oh well.” And I can here Katie asking, “Is that a stressful thought or a peaceful thought?” I did enjoy a nice Vulture Tree sunrise just before the proverbial axe (AKA chain saw) fell.

If you are looking for a great holiday gift for your favorite Nikon bird photographer (or yourself!), the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera is in stock at B&H. It has been nearly impossible to find since its release on 24 December 2021. If they (or you) already have a Z9 or are getting one soon, you will surely want to get them (or you) a copy of The Nikon Z9 Guide for Wildlife Photographers by my friend Warren Hatch

Be sure to check out Alan’s great videos and e-books here and enjoy 20% off your purchase by using the HOLIDAY code at checkout!

Today is Friday 16 December. The forecast for the morning is for mostly cloudy skies with a breeze from the southwest. If I had any brains, I would stay in and do some more packing for San Diego. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes two hundred sixty-three days in a row with a new, educational post just for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store for $69.00. Or Call Jim weekdays at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand. The Nikon Z9 Guide for Wildlife Photographers

The Nikon Z9 Guide for Wildlife Photographers/by Warren Hatch
Editorial Consultant: Arthur Morris

In this downloadable e-book (you will receive a link by e-mail), you’ll learn everything a wildlife photographer needs to know about the Nikon Z9. The Z9 is one of the most complex camera bodies ever made. In this guide, the brilliant Warren Hatch will teach you exactly how to set up your Z9 for bird, wildlife, and nature photography. The camera offers hundreds of settings and options. Selecting the right combination of these is essential in order to effectively use the Z9 in the field. This guide has been updated to reflect the latest firmware version.

This 83-page guide, created in the tradition of the many mega-successful BIRDS AS ART Camera User’s Guides, includes:

1- Extensive information on the autofocus system and the optimal settings for the various shooting situations that wildlife photographers encounter including and especially for birds in flight.

2- The camera controls – what they do and how to customize them for your shooting style and varying conditions.

3- Configuring the camera so that you never need to take your eye from the viewfinder when the action unfolds.

5- Insights and details on using legacy F-mount lenses on the Z-9.

6- Practical advice about the camera batteries and chargers.

7- How to take advantage of the new capabilities introduced with firmware v2.00.

8- The AF-area Modes you should use and those you should avoid.

Order yours here in the BAA Online Store for $69.00. Or Call Jim weekdays at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand.

So, Who the Heck is Warren Hatch?

When it comes to Nikon camera bodies and nature photography, Warren Hatch is not chopped liver.

Warren retired from the information technology field eight years ago. He began as a computer programmer and retired as the Chief Information Officer of a multibillion-dollar consulting firm. He has been photographing full-time since then. His images have been honored by Audubon, Nature’s Best, and other international photo contests. Like me, photography is both his profession and his passion. For decades, Warren has made a concerted effort to understand what each and every camera body feature does and believes that his in-depth knowledge of his cameras’ buttons, dials, and capabilities has improved his photography.

Because of his close ties to Nikon, Warren was one of the first in the US to get his hands on a Z9. Not to mention a Nikon NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S lens!

For the past ten years, Warren has extracted the encrypted metadata from the Nikon NEF (raw) files for all Nikon professional camera bodies. The metadata contains the camera settings that include detailed autofocus information that is not available in Nikon’s NX Studio. He shares the extracted metadata with Phil Harvey who uses it in his hugely popular ExifTool software.

This image was created on October 27 2022 by Alan Murphy with the tripod-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon FTZ II Mount Adapter, and Nikon’s best ever body, the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1250: 1/800 second at f/5.6. Image #1: Northern Flicker — red-shafted form perched on snowy day. Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Alan Murphy

Alan Murphy

Alan Murphy has been a great bird photographer for many decades. He’s made great images with whatever Nikon camera he has had in his hands. That said he has upped his game since going to the Z9. Last fall, he moved from his home in Houston, Texas, to the Rocky Mountains, west of Denver, Colorado. He and wife Kim are now settled in and loving their new home and property. They purchased 1.5 acres at 7,500 feet elevation and built their home. The first order of business was putting out some bird feeders 🙂 He is going through 20 pounds of seed a day and using lots of suet as well. The bird life is fantastic! In addition, within the first two days of moving in, we saw Black Bear, Red Fox, White-tailed Deer, elk, and skunk, all in our backyard.

Though Alan concentrates on birds in flight and in action, he knows how to design gorgeous images of static birds as well. I love the inclusion and placement of the three fronds of conifer needles in the image above.

This image was created on June 8, 2022 by Alan Murphy with the tripod-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon FTZ II Mount Adapter, and Nikon’s best ever body, the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1250: 1/5000 second at f/4. Image #2: Northern Flicker — red-shafted form braking to land. Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Alan Murphy

Alan Murphy on the Z9 Guide

I was excited to learn that Warren Hatch had written a guide to the Nikon Z9 as I began learning about the camera from him the moment I got mine. I’ve had the Z9 for almost a year now. Whenever I was puzzled by my new mirrorless camera body, I’d call Warren. He always had the answer. Now, everything that he knows about this great camera body — it continues to amaze me, is available to everyone. Warren’s Z9 guide is great asset for Nikon shooters.

This image was created by Alan Murphy with the tripod-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon FTZ II Mount Adapter, and Nikon’s best ever body, the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1250: 1/5000 second at f/4. Image #3: Male Cape May Warblers squabbling (above an orange feeder set-up). Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Alan Murphy

Totally Sick!

Take two of American’s most elusive and difficult-to-photograph warbler species, have them battle in midair right in front of you against a sweet green background, and throw in two perfect head angles and the result just might be one of the more amazing images you could ever hope to see. (Note: this image was featured in a previous blog post but is so good that I opted to re-run it today.

This image was created on November 5,2022 by Alan Murphy with the handheld Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4D IF-ED lens with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, the Nikon FTZ II Mount Adapter, and Nikon’s best ever body, the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000: 1/5000 second at f/6.3. Image #4: Yellow-billed Magpie braking to land. Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Alan Murphy

Do Understand

Do understand that while Alan is justifiably crazy about the Nikon Z9, he possesses the superior strength, stamina, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills needed to handle large super-telephoto lenses effectively for bird photography. In addition, his knowledge of bird behavior and his ability to create a variety of effective set-ups enable him to create amazing images on a consistent basis.

Alan’s e-Books and Videos

Alan offers a great variety of e-Books and videos that can teach you to be a better bird photography. Click here to see all the titles. Be sure to see The Guide to Songbird Setup Photography.

Birds Through the Lens Volume 1

Birds Through the Lens Volume 1

Click here to purchase.

The first video in the series will cover topics that include:

How to look for, find and choose the right perch
What perches do not work and why
How to match the perch for a particular species
How to trim a perch
How to support the perch
How many perches?
Working with mounds, stumps and elevated perches
How to choose a good background
How to deal with background challenges
How to break up a flat background so that it’s mottled
How to find and use gradient backgrounds
How far should the background be from the perch?
Should you wear camo?
Working from a blind
How to set up your lens and tripod for blind work
Is concealment important?
Plus, many tips for being a better bird photographer

This Hi Definition MP4 video can be either downloaded to your dropbox, computer, tablet, mobile device, or can be streamed. Total run time: 1 hour.

Birds Through the Lens Volume 2

Birds Through the Lens Volume 2

Click here to purchase.

This second video in the series is now available and covers topics that include:

How to prepare your backyard for photography
How to work with backyard feeders
Which feeders work best for bird photography
How to get birds from your feeders onto perches
How to set up a water drip
How to work with berry perches
How to make and use homemade suet
How to bring in woodpeckers
Which food works best for what species
How to set up perches around feeders
Photo blinds for the backyard

The video can be downloaded to your Mac or PC, streamed to your favorite device, or saved to your Dropbox Account.

Total run time: 1 hour: More than 1 hour.

Birds Through the Lens Volume 3

Birds Through the Lens Volume 3

Click here to purchase.

This third video in the series is now available and covers topics that include:

How to do ambient light hummingbird photography
How to setup for multi-flash hummingbird photography
How to photograph songbirds in flight using a tiny feeder
How to setup and use a PhotoTrap trigger system
How to make and use a decoy owl for photographing raptors in flight
What gear and settings work best
Blind construction and camo for flight photography
Flight photography techniques that will help you succeed

The video can be downloaded to your Mac or PC, streamed to your favorite device, or saved to your Dropbox Account.

Total run time: 1 hour: More than 1.5 hours.

Your Call?

Which of today’s four featured Alan Murphy images do you like best? Leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.