Z8 Shakedown Cruise

 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Aloe, SF Botanical Garden

I finally broke down and bought a Nikon Z8 with a 180-600mm telephoto (a very popular combo) and 1.4X teleconverter. Today I took it out for its shakedown cruise at the botanical garden where I got off to a rocky start. No matter how much I pressed the shutter release, nothing happened! 

Or so I thought. It took a minute to see that I had left the camera in "Silent Mode," which must have been the default setting. I hadn't thought much of it while setting up the camera over the last couple of days, and I hadn't even released the shutter on purpose even once until this morning's trip to the SFBG. (I didn't even have the right card reader until yesterday.)

Another default setting I used was "Normal" for image quality, which I assumed would be RAW mode, but it turned out to be JPEG. So all my shots today were done as JPEGs, which is probably a good thing since I came home after a couple of hours having fired off more than 600 frames. (Out of 634 frames, I deleted 552 in Lightroom.)

Anyway, after using the lightweight Lumix FZ-80D for so long, I was worried that the Z8 would be too heavy to hand-hold for fidgety little birds. But even though it was far heavier, it was still managable. When not in use I had it on a Waka neck strap. I'd carried it down the hill on my bike inside a Think Tank Glass Limo backpack. I'll still carry the much more portable Lumix for my daily walks and rides, but I'm looking forward to getting a lot of use out of the new Nikon otherwise. (For now I'm going to stick with my 13-year-old D800E, which is still excellent, for landscapes and macro.)

Hummingbird Feeding on Aloe Flowers

This hummer was shot at ISO 12,800! Lightroom doesn't do noise reduction on JPEG files, so this is right out of the box, so to speak. 

This cute little dark-eyed junco was singing already, although it wasn't using the species' typical bell-like chittering sound.

The song sparrow was foraging on top of the aquatic weeds on the small pond in the Children's Garden. The camera easily acquired focus on shaded subjects (unlike the Lumix).

Townsend's Warbler

The Z8 couldn't actually read my mind when my subject was behind branches, so I still had to work to capture the orange-crowned warbler.

Even though I was set on "Bird" capture, the camera easily found a squirrel's eye.

By the time I photographed this yellow-rumped warbler I had re-learned one reason for using "back-button focus" after accidentally firing off a few frames while obtaining focus by pressing the shutter half-way.

The pine siskins were back in the alder tree at the pond.

Anna's Hummingbird

The Townsend's warbler spent a fair amount of time collecting seeds in the alder as well.

Pine Siskin Eating Alder Seeds

A ruby-crowned kinglet also stopped by the alder.

I had to get home in time for other activities today, so I left before I would have otherwise, and given how many frames I had to download, that's a good thing.

Black Phoebe

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Surf's Up!

 

Red-tailed Hawk in the Wind Near Murphy Windmill, Golden Gate Park

After taking care of errands this morning I finally had time to bike down to the beach to check out the big waves they've been warning about. There was a pretty strong, mostly offshore, wind that nicely shaped-up the waves. Only a handful of surfers braved the conditions, but it was fun to watch for a little while on a cool and sunny Friday afternoon.

My first stop at the beach was near Ortega Street, where I was surprised to see only one surfer out, and I lost sight of him so quickly I wasn't sure I'd really seen anyone.

A dog chased some sanderlings off their feeding area, and the birds flew up the beach to the siesta grounds.

From Ortega Street I rode south to the Esplanade and found a handful of surfers to try to photograph.

This actually turned into a very short ride.

No one caught the biggest waves I saw, but I'm sure plenty of adrenaline was pumped just the same.

A pair of red-tailed hawks was sharing a street light along the Great Highway, but they flew away before I could get in position to photograph them. They landed in a nearby cypress, though, which was even better (although they were too far apart to capture in the same frame).

Heading Toward a New Perch

The red-tail had a hard time in the wind with this flexible perch and soon flew back to a sturdier street light.

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Beach Birds

 

Sanderlings at Ocean Beach

I was surprised to find most of the beach birds resting instead of hunting while the tide was out this morning. I didn't stay long and would have to spend a lot more time down there to understand what conditions prompt the sanderlings and western snowy plovers to untuck their bills and scamper across the sand to hunt for mole crabs. Unfortunately, there are no bathrooms nearby, so it'd be difficult to hang out that long, even if I was tempted to do so.

The air was clear, and the temperature brisk this morning, with heavy and dramatic breakers pounding the surf zone. No surfers out there. The snoozing shorebirds were unfazed by all the churning drama, showing concern only at the approach of dogs. I was surprised and glad to see that none of the passing dogs chased the birds off the beach while I was there.

Yesterday's Sunrise (with Twin Peaks on the left).

Western Snowy Plover

Sanderlings

Surf's Up!

I had to put on the brakes as I rode past the Bison Paddock this morning. The grass was fresh and green, and the bison were in beautiful light.

Sutro Tower Sunrise

Yesterday's sunrise, SF Bay web cam view.

Yesterday's sunrise in the High Sierra.

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Sun Sprites

 

Bushtit Foraging on Twinberry Honeysuckle, Elk Glen Lake

I often wonder how the little wild things like songbirds, and even the big wild things like bobcats, deal with the kind of relentless cold, wind, and rain we experienced yesterday. I assume they are able to find somewhere fairly comfortable to hunker down and just wait it out, but I'm sure they endure whatever comes without an ounce of self-pity. They are the definition of stoic resilience.

As I was walking in the warm sunshine along the Sunset Parkway this morning I encountered a particularly birdy area, where hummingbirds, pygmy nuthatches, yellow-rumped warblers, western bluebirds, and sparrows were all busily feeding, perhaps making up for lost time. 

The male Anna's hummingbird was feeding on some other nearby plants, but I figured he'd get around to these red-flowering currants pretty soon.

Pygmy Nuthatch in Cypress, Sunset Parkway

A yellow-rumped warbler leaps out of a small cypress...

...and lands on a nearby stalk of African cornflag.

Western Bluebird, Sunset Parkway

Jerusalem crickets seem to be common prey lately, although this little western bluebird spent quite a bit of time trying to swallow the giant bug.

The bird eventually flew away with the bug still in its beak, so I can only assume it eventually figured out how to swallow its prize.

A white-crowned sparrow took to song on this sunny winter day.

I could tell this was an Amanita, but it was too old and waterlogged to say which one.

Very near the Amanita were these colorful little Chroogomphus mushrooms (along with a bunch of spooged-out Russulas), along on the Sunset Parkway.

It was muddy and puddly on the trail along the south side of Mallard Lake, but there was surprisingly little bird activity beyond the usual cavorting of mallards. Perhaps it was because the lake itself was still mostly in shade. Just beyond the lake I couldn't resist photographing some nearby cycad plants that were unfurling in the morning sun.

Pied-billed grebe: The boss of Elk Glen Lake.

No more birdwatching off the back of the Cliff House for a while. I'm looking forward to seeing the place fixed up again though.

Although I failed in my attempt to sneak up on a flicker in a nearby tree at South Lake, this little Townsend's warbler came out to console me.

A pair of red-tailed hawks soared above Middle Lake.

Male bufflehead at Blue Heron Lake.

There were maybe three males and three or so female buffleheads. The females were just relaxing on the surface while the males frequently dove for prey.

In addition to the buffleheads, I was surprised to see this lone common goldeneye.

Yosemite High Country This Morning

This Morning at Mt. Shasta

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