American Kestrel, Panasonic FZ200

This photo was taken with my old FZ200, posted mainly to compare with the photos taken with the Nikon B700 that I am having all the trouble with. I was curious to see the EXIF data. The photo above was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm (and looks terrible if seen any larger!). The Nikon B700 has 60x optical zoom, compared to just 24X optical for the FZ200. The very close shot of this bird that I posted yesterday was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1440 mm and is nowhere near as grainy as the above image when clicked on. Which is why I really, really wanted a camera with more powerful optical zoom - but a camera that is working properly.

On 22 April 2018, I took my usual short drive SW of the city to find some things that I could photograph with the B700. Not a whole lot to be found, but a group of three competing American Robins made my first stop. Later, three distant Mountain Bluebirds were in fighting mode and two of them were down on the ground in quite a vicious attack. Too far away for more than snapshots. I also stopped to watch three distant Hawks that were competing. You know what they say : "Two's company, three's a crowd".

A very cooperative American Kestrel gave me a good chance to try out the camera at different zoom distances. Cars were a different thing - and I was not on the best road for stopping, so I ended up driving the same stretch of road several times. These birds are so beautiful. I knew that this one caught something to eat, but it was timed just when another car came down the road and I needed to move on.

Of course, an old barn is always a bonus. The one I posted yesterday shows how fields are still covered in snow. This should disappear before too long, as we have much warmer temperatures coming up. Unfortunately, after so much snow this winter, there is now flooding in fields and over roads south of us. Before heading out that way, it is a good idea to check which roads are closed.

The sun was shining for most of my drive, with cloud moving in towards the time I needed to leave. A stop to pick up some delicious chili was the final stop of the afternoon.