Black-headed Grosbeak

That's no Towhee, madam; that's a Grosbeak!

Grosbeak

I like it when I ‘discover’ a new species in the back yard. I hate it when I don’t even realize it’s new to me, because I think it’s something else. Even more challenging: I had seen a female earlier in the day, and completely mistook that one as well. Birding is complicated—if they are pretty, or cute, or interesting, or awkward, or silly: I love them all. Even when I have no idea what I’m looking at.

Sony with the new 200-600 f/6.3 lens. ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/800th second. Zoom was 404mm. This replaces the Canon 300mm f/2.8; autofocus on the Canon was too slow because I have to use an adapter to put it on the Sony. I will miss the wonderful sharpness of that lens. (If anyone is interested, it will be for sale shortly.)

Generally, I find this lens to be really sharper when zoomed less than 500mm; past that, it seems to soften a little bit.

Earlier in the day, I saw this male and female hanging out on the feeder. Same lens, but at 300mm.