Back in May, I spent an afternoon sitting out in the backyard trying to get some shots of the birds at the feeder. Unfortunately for me, it was cold and then it started raining, so the bird traffic was pretty low. But I stuck it out and got this one... (and I figured folks could use a break from the bug macros).

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/500 sec at f/8. OS mode 1. ISO 3200. Dolica AX620B100 tripod mounted. Raw processing and cropped in Photoshop CS5. (mouseover for original).

The bird is a female cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - just a tad wet from flying in the rain. As you can see, the original shot had some very distracting elements to it, so I cropped down to eliminate them. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

- Bill