All we are saying, is give tracking a chance...
All shot with my bird in flight tracking preset. Nothing of course would track birds the size of Jays and 4 FPS is a severe limitation, but you do what you can with what you have. (TAV, AF-c, 9 point)
K-3 and DA 55-300

The new peanut feeder.


Incoming


Getting the hang of it.


I'm impressed with this one. I picked up the bird inf front of the feeder and the tracking AF stayed on the bird when it went behind.


All lined up...






Does that look like a jay who accomplished something... or what?


Exit strategies

[SSGGeezer]

You have the design for the Blue Jay Medal of accomplishment!

[PJ1]

Nice shots. But if that feeder is your own invention I would be taking out a patent now!

[pichaser]

Nice series , you have some great photos . Gear is secondary to having the eye .

[normhead]

You have the design for the Blue Jay Medal of accomplishment!

I might post a movie about Jays. But,the middle is kind of boring we'll see.

---------- Post added 04-02-20 at 08:47 PM ----------

Nice shots. But if that feeder is your own invention I would be taking out a patent now!

No, it's the latest bird feeding thing. Tess saw someone who posted images of one yesterday. We already had ours, but we didn't get to press first.

Nice series , you have some great photos . Gear is secondary to having the eye .

The DA 55-300 PLM is great piece of gear. I'm not sure how long it will last but as long as it does it's really good.
As for the eye, I'm like Steve Jobs. I take 500 images many in 23 shot bursts, I look at them all, I pick the best ones. If I have any talent at all it's in picking the best ones.

This might work
https://www.facebook.com/614260307/videos/10157207443920308/

[DW58]

Very nice series Norm. The circular shape of that feeder makes for some great compositions. We have two types of jays visiting now. Stellar's and Western scrub. For my bird shots I've been using the same lens on a K-70. I've been very happy with that combo. But still shooting at distance and cropping big time. Hope to come up with some kind of blind soon.

[normhead]

Very nice series Norm. The circular shape of that feeder makes for some great compositions. We have two types of jays visiting now. Stellar's and Western scrub. For my bird shots I've been using the same lens on a K-70. I've been very happy with that combo. But still shooting at distance and cropping big time. Hope to come up with some kind of blind soon.

The blind helps tremendously, but the birds still have to get used to you being in there. I have a lot of birds right now, the ones I'm getting pictures of must be the really hungry ones, taking advantage of everyone else being up in the trees chirping, waiting for me to leave.

[Tako Kichi]

I built one like that a few years ago using a wire coat hangar, a 'Slinky' and a few zip ties. It's still going strong and the jays (and squirrels) love it. There is a lot of info on the web on how to build one and it's a simple project.

[zzxxcc_penthouse]

All we are saying, is give tracking a chance...
All shot with my bird in flight tracking preset. Nothing of course would track birds the size of Jays and 4 FPS is a severe limitation, but you do what you can with what you have. (TAV, AF-c, 9 point)
K-3 and DA 55-300

The new peanut feeder.


Incoming


Getting the hang of it.




All lined up...






Does that look like a jay who accomplished something... or what?


Exit strategies

Good idea for the birds. Might look into getting one of these for the birds or for squirrels, Then the raccoons are going to want their share , other birds, the owls, etc. Where i live , have alot of oak trees . Speaking of nuts, people dont eat enough of them as it is.Grab some mix nuts ,, they dont cost that much. Nice photo.

[photolady95]

Great series Norm. I'm surprised that the PLM is sharp at 300mm, when I try that length mine is soft at 300mm, so I back it off to 260 or 270mm. How come yours is sharp at that length?

[normhead]

Great series Norm. I'm surprised that the PLM is sharp at 300mm, when I try that length mine is soft at 300mm, so I back it off to 260 or 270mm. How come yours is sharp at that length?

My first one was like yours, I dropped the camera with it on it, it broke in half. I decided to take a shot at a better copy instead of paying to get the old one repaired. This one rivals the DA*60-250.

I should drop in this link for those who might be interested... I'm not associated with this company.
Buy Whole Peanut Jay/Squirrel Wreath Feeder Online, Whole Peanut Jay/Squirrel Wreath Feeder Prices in Canada - Urban Nature Store

The worst is it would cost me $3 day to keep this full where I am. And I already put out 4-5 kilos of seed every day.

Right now I'm feeding 100 grackles, 20 Jays, 8-10 chickadees, 4 squirrels, four chipmunks, 2 grouse, and occasionally two crows. And I don't get tax deductions.

In another month I'll cut them off, but the small birds, the 7 varieties of sparrows etc. won't even be here until the end of April.

I used to feed all summer, but those 100 grackles will never leave if I keep the feeders out, and once the bugs are out in full force there's lots of free food for them.

[photolady95]

My first one was like yours, I dropped the camera with it on it, it broke in half. I decided to take a shot at a better copy instead of paying to get the old one repaired. This one rivals the DA*60-250.

I bought mine in the MarketPlace here. I wonder if the previous owner dropped it and forgot to mention that in the ad. It only cost me $275 including shipping.

[normhead]

I bought mine in the MarketPlace here. I wonder if the previous owner dropped it and forgot to mention that in the ad. It only cost me $275 including shipping.

My first one was from the market place as well. Technically there was nothing wrong with the lens but, no one's going to tell you if it is not an excellent copy. And I'm guessing they are more likely to come up for sale if they are the lower end of acceptable.

[photolady95]

He said he was not the original owner and that he never dropped it while in his possession. Maybe it's just a bad copy. Or original owner dropped it and didn't mention it.

[Sailor]

A terrific series! I've never tried the tracking function on my K-3 (I assume my K-1 has it also); in fact, I'm not entirely sure I knew it had one!

Jer