I love their alien songs but don’t always love trying to photograph the breeding males. I went to Rollins Savanna three days in a row in an attempt to get a really good shot of a male Bobolink. In my time looking closely at the males I really didn’t see any that had perfect features. Most had bills that were muddy, odd marks on their face, white feathers that looked dirty and a lot looked beat up in general. Then there is the issue of lighting and trying to get the buff cap, white back feathers and black overall look in good detail without blown out elements. Now we look for the perfect perch and realize there isn’t much to choose from. Well, I’m throwing my hat in the ring and giving my best attempt to cover most of the bases. I’ve enjoyed the other beautiful Bobolink posts and wonder if everyone had as much trouble as I did being satisfied in finding the right elements for their photos.
Bobolink
Country United States
State Illinois
Location Rollins Savanna
Gender Male
Age Adult
- Created Timestamp05/28/2023 18:45:17
- CameraILCE-9M2
- Aperture9
- Focal Length840
- Iso500
- Shutter Speed1/1000
Beautiful Emil. Getting the right exposure and setup (sun position, background, etc) is very challenging for me, especially on Bobolink males (black bird with light nape). I’m a relative novice to bird photography, so not being in total control of what happens has been frustrating and fun at the same time.
That metallic, almost unnatural sound they make always gets my attention.
These are fun birds to listen to. They sound like R2-D2. Nice work!
Such a great photo Emil.. These are my Spark Bird.. Just love them
I think you did pretty good with your Bobolink pic. Great detail and a variety of colors on the bird. Yes, an all-black bird is tough but it seems like you figured it out!