little Blackbird

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little Blackbird
Photo Information
Copyright: teunie polak (wuta) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 879 W: 2 N: 605] (2032)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-07-19
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon PowerShot S2 IS
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/100 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-10-22 9:51
Viewed: 610
Points: 46
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Blackbird or Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.

It is common in woods and gardens over all of Europe and much of Asia south of the Arctic Circle. Populations are resident except for northern birds which move south in winter (Clement and Hathaway, Thrushes Urban males are more likely to overwinter in cooler climes than rural males, an adaptation made feasible by the warmer microclimate and relatively abundant food that allow the birds to establish territories and start reproducing earlier in the year.

The Blackbird is 23.5 to 29 cm in length. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms, seeds and berries. It nests in bushes or similar, laying several (usually 4) bluish- green-grey eggs with brown reddish marks in a neat cup-shaped nest.
It does not form flocks, although several birds, especially migrants, may be loosely associated in a suitable habitat. The female Blackbird is aggressive in the spring when it competes with others for a good nesting territory. The male is also competitive and will protect its territory by chasing away other males. If a fight between male Blackbirds does occur it is usually short and the intruder is soon chased away.

The male Blackbird is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill. The adult female and juvenile have brown plumage and a brown beak and do not have a yellow eye-ring. Overall, the juvenile is a slightly lighter brown than the female, and the very young juvenile has a speckled breast.

The male sings its varied and melodious song from trees, rooftops or other elevated perches. It sings mainly in the period from March to June, sometimes into the beginning of July. In very mild winters, Blackbird song is heard in February and even in January.

A Blackbird has an average life expectancy of 2.4 years and the oldest recorded age is 20 years.

The Blackbird has been introduced to many parts of the world outside its native range. In Australia and New Zealand it is considered a pest and has an effect on natural ecosystems..

The Blackbird is the national bird of Sweden.

Hello Iem back after a break this is my first bird shot en I hope you like it . Greetings Teunie .
Pentaxfriend, carper, Alex99, pvb, PaulH, marhowie, Argus, SelenE, nainnain, NellyD, Necipp, jcoowanitwong, ramthakur, loot, Hormon_Manyer has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Ha Teunie,

Mooi shot van deze merel
goede scherpte en belichting waardoor de details in de bevedering goed zichtbaar zijn, dit is toch al heel lastig met een donker onderwerp
ik mis alleen het lichtje in haar oog om het geheel compleet te maken

TFS Thijs

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1133 W: 259 N: 2406] (10803)
  • [2007-10-22 10:36]

Ha Teunie,

Een mooie shot van deze merel,in zweden hebben we ze ook veel in de tuin alleen ze zijn zo schuw dat een kiekje bijna onmogelijk is,deze heb je vast weten te leggen met goede scherpte/diepte,de kleuren en details zijn goed,bedankt en prettige week toegewenst,

Paul

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2165 W: 124 N: 2567] (8208)
  • [2007-10-22 13:04]

ik vind hem mooi Teun,
prachtige foto van deze Dordtse merel, prachtige foto in de tuin van Gerry en Cees, goed fotowerk, zeer fraai werk.
groet jaap

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2935 W: 142 N: 4217] (13775)
  • [2007-10-23 5:16]

Hi, Teunie.
Thanks for sharing new picture. It is so cute and nicely executed. I like the exposure very much despite of the difficult light conditions (light BG and dark main subject). Funny POV, superb details and colour reproduction of the bird and wood fence, cute pose of the bird and attractive, well blurred light-green BG. Well fine and best wishes.
Alexei.

  • Great 
  • pvb Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 388 W: 20 N: 522] (1791)
  • [2007-10-23 10:55]

Hi Teunie,
Prachtig om te zien hoe deze 'gewone'merel nog even de veren goed doet voor de foto. Goed scherp en gedetaileerd vastgelegd.
Aparte hoek waardoor de foto met het tegenlicht niet makkelijk was.
gr Paula

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 981 W: 17 N: 2563] (9450)
  • [2007-10-25 1:03]

Hi Teunie,
Excellent sharpness and perfect DOF, you have caught alot of detail in that dark plummage, especially with such a bright background. Very well done.
tfs
Paul

Hi Teunie,
I like the unusual POV from behind, with the parted beak, he's talkin to ya :)
Well composed frame with great detail in the plumage, and good exposure/color as well..
Well done & Thank You,
Howard

  • Great 
  • EOSF1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1266 W: 103 N: 4311] (19463)
  • [2007-10-25 15:44]

Hello Teunie ! Very nice shot of this Blackbird, good POV and great angle. Very sharp and very good background. Thanbks,

Mario

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2416 W: 132 N: 6653] (20877)
  • [2007-10-26 12:44]

Hello Teunie,
Fine capture of a young male Blackbird that is moulting his feathers to adult plumage. I like the unusual POV that you caught sharply with good DOF and lighting against a fine blurred natural BG.
Excellent shot .. mooi!
TFS and have a nice weekend,
Ivan

bonjour teunie
l'oiseau est bien net,son plumage joliement coloré et detaillé.
bon POV et DOF.
laurent

  • Great 
  • SelenE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2337 W: 59 N: 4094] (13345)
  • [2007-10-30 3:32]

Hi Teunie,
Good POV, nice pose and good details on the plumage. I liked the composition. TFS
Best wishes,
Selen

  • Great 
  • jhm Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 661 W: 0 N: 176] (620)
  • [2007-10-31 0:28]

Hallo Teuni,

Ook in onze tuin zien we diverse merels, steeds aan het bekvechten voor ik weet niet wat.
Ik zal vragen aan John dat hij ook een foto maakt van de vogel, misschien lukt het hem wel, mij altans niet met zijn toestellen. Met de compact camera misschien wel. Dit een jongen vogel goed in beeld gebracht, na een langere afwezigheid.

Groeten van Jenny. (jhm)

présentation correcte, bonne note explicative et bon bg
bien vu, merci a toi
edith

Hoi Teunie,

Leuk om weer een foto van je te zien hier, en dit vind ik een hele goeie. Mooie details en goeie scherpte, en het standpunt van waaruit je de merel gefotografeerd hebt doet het ook erg goed.
Bedankt!

Groetjes, Nel

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2726 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-11-10 11:23]

Hello Teunie

A lovely shot of this European Blackbird.I am very interested in these thrushes.
Excellent plumage detail and you have captured very good eye contact.The pose is very good.
The lighting is well handled and the colours are well saturated.
TFS

Rob

  • Great 
  • Necipp Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1150 W: 15 N: 2074] (12392)
  • [2007-11-11 12:55]

Hello Teunie a very sharp detailed shot nice DOF and effect with the leaves in the background. tfs rgds Necip.

Hi Teunie,
what a joy to find you again here at TN, I missed you and Jaap. OK I know that I can find him at TE, but there's no time for TN, TL and also TE! Your bird is so lovely, I like the pose and the sharpness, and it seems it was singing a nice song for you ;-) Bye and greetings to you both
Sabine - wishnugaruda

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2070 W: 214 N: 3542] (11790)
  • [2007-11-21 5:45]

Hi Teunie

A very nice shot of this black bird with you S2. I remember i used to try get some good shots of them, too, with my S2, but the biggest problem was getting a good compo with a nice blurry BG, since i usually found them on the ground or on roof tops.
You managed a nice one here, with a cute pose from teh subject - turning its head towards you and telling you something :))
Great sharpness and very good dontrol of the exposure, having good details in the dark areas, but also not burning the bright ones.
Good work!

Bravo and TFS
Horia

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1687 W: 20 N: 4738] (15476)
  • [2007-11-21 8:45]

Hi Teunie,
Just marking this wonderful post from you and will come back later with a proper critique. Sorry, on the sick list.
Regards.
Sumon

Hi Teunie,
A brilliant shot of this Blackbird. Sharp and crisp clear image. POV and composition are great. Very well done and tfs this fine image.
JC

An impressive capture of the Black Bird from the rear, Teunie.
It is a pleasure to go back to and admire this wonderful capture from your portfolio.
TFS and regards,
Ram

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5633 W: 594 N: 3202] (8699)
  • [2008-03-21 10:28]
  • [2]

Hi Teunie

I missed this one, but rather late than never. An interesting shot of this rear view of the black bird sitting on the black split poles. It seems to be very aware of your actions as it follows you with that sneaky view over its shoulder. So many times I wished that there was some way to convince animals that they could trust me as I only want to take a photo, but most creatures in nature has that intrinsic fear of us and rightly so. After all it is better for them and really ensures their survival.

Anyway, back to your photo, I like the fine details you have captured in the details of the feathers. It is not easy to capture such clear and well defined contrasts in the darker areas of a bird's plumage or feathers. You did very well here.

Good work and TFS.
Regards
Loot

Hi Teunie,
Beautiful focus, the bird's sharp as razor. Really nice composition with the blurry bg. Big congratulations, masterwork from You again. Tfs.
Regards, László

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