Bird ID needed please

gemini

gemini

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I got these while out today, not sure if they're a marsh/willow tit or a blackcap maybe??

C & C welcome and appreciated

Alison :)

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Just to confuse you even more.............I think its a Willow Tit!
 
Coal Tits and Willow Tits are easily mistaken for each other, biut this one does look like a Willow Tit. If you shot in RAW you might be able to pull the highlights down a bit and recover some detail in that white cheek patch. Not a bad shot at all - just looking a bit light and over-exposed.
 
crusher said:
Just to confuse you even more.............I think its a Willow Tit!
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That's what I thought it might be :)

CT said:
Coal Tits and Willow Tits are easily mistaken for each other, biut this one does look like a Willow Tit. If you shot in RAW you might be able to pull the highlights down a bit and recover some detail in that white cheek patch. Not a bad shot at all - just looking a bit light and over-exposed.
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Yes, they are very similar looking aren't they?

Thanks for the advice about shooting in RAW - I'm still learning so that might be something I start doing in the future. I will try and improve next time

Alison :)
 
When birds are in full sunlight like that Alison, if you rely totally on your camera metering you're almost certain to get blown highlights, especially any white patches on the bird, which you do get with lots of species. Bright contrasty sunlight is a beggar tbh - I'd prefer bright and overcast any day.

Try giving a little less exposure when the light is that strong - it's easier to recover shadow detail from a slightly under-exposed shot than it is to recover blown highlights - once they're gone there's no getting them back.

I've pulled some of the blown bits back, but as you can see there's no recovering detail in the white face.


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Shooting in RAW gives you the best chance of recovery with these types of shots, but hey... Rome in a day and all that and it's a nice shot of a pretty bird. ;)
 
CT said:
When birds are in full sunlight like that Alison, if you rely totally on your camera metering you're almost certain to get blown highlights, especially any white patches on the bird, which you do get with lots of species. Bright contrasty sunlight is a beggar tbh - I'd prefer bright and overcast any day.

Try giving a little less exposure when the light is that strong - it's easier to recover shadow detail from a slightly under-exposed shot than it is to recover blown highlights - once they're gone there's no getting them back.

I've pulled some of the blown bits back, but as you can see there's no recovering detail in the white face.


3486517141_98b5730c50_o.jpg


Shooting in RAW gives you the best chance of recovery with these types of shots, but hey... Rome in a day and all that and it's a nice shot of a pretty bird. ;)
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Thanks CT, I really appreciate all the advice, I see what you mean - it's easier to lighten dark areas than it is to darken the bright areas thank you, I'll see if I can try again tomorrow :)
 
CT is one of thee most helpful guys on here, he explains processing simply enough for even me to grasp,albeit, slenderly...........:D

His bird shots ain`t too shabby either...........:)
 
It does look like a willow tit, Alison, from the wing marking. In my limited experience, quite a hard bird to capture, so very well done (y)
 
Alison, you might want to try 'SPOT Metering' for wild birds, especially as they are such a small area of the frame, it is after all the bit you want exposed correctly.
 
gaza said:
sorry to sound dumb but what is spot metering
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Not sure what Canon calls it, but you have three options on the Nikon

Matrix - Looks at the whole frame and decides exposure

Centre Weighted Average - Looks at the whole frame but puts more emphasis on the middle of the frame for exposure

Spot - Looks at small area at centre of frame for exposure
 
Martyn... said:
Not sure what Canon calls it, but you have three options on the Nikon

Matrix - Looks at the whole frame and decides exposure

Centre Weighted Average - Looks at the whole frame but puts more emphasis on the middle of the frame for exposure

Spot - Looks at small area at centre of frame for exposure
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Just looked it up

Matrix = Evaluative, the others are called the same.

Centre weighted is an old spill over from the 70's film camera's I do not think I have ever used it, either Matrix / Evaluative for frame filling scenes, or Spot for wild life or tricky stuff.
 
toonamp said:
It does look like a willow tit, Alison, from the wing marking. In my limited experience, quite a hard bird to capture, so very well done (y)
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Thanks toonamp, no they didn't wait around for too long, just as I was about to take their picture they flew off :)

Martyn... said:
Alison, you might want to try 'SPOT Metering' for wild birds, especially as they are such a small area of the frame, it is after all the bit you want exposed correctly.
Click to expand...

Thanks Martyn, I'll have a read up on that and give it a go :)
 
gemini said:
Thanks toonamp, no they didn't wait around for too long, just as I was about to take their picture they flew off :)
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They are extremely shy and flighty, I agree, which makes them difficult to capture.

What I actually meant was that they are quite rare birds to see. I have managed to capture the marsh tit a couple of times, but that's a lot more common than the willow. As I say, in my limited experience :)
 
toonamp said:
They are extremely shy and flighty, I agree, which makes them difficult to capture.

What I actually meant was that they are quite rare birds to see. I have managed to capture the marsh tit a couple of times, but that's a lot more common than the willow. As I say, in my limited experience :)
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Oh I see, I feel quite privileged now then that I've seen 3 or 4 of these over the last couple of days :)
 
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