A little about my back deck setup.
More is not necessarily better. After learning the hard way, I have decided against using a teleconverter with the 5DIII + 600L telephoto. I missed shots of squirrel skirmishes because the 600L + 1.4x TC (effective 820mm) got me too close. Sometimes I need a wider field of view to get everything in the shot or to follow fast moving critter action. I do keep the 1.4x and 2x TC's on a nearby table "just in case."
I think the Douglas's squirrels and some of the birds, like the pileated woodpeckers, are habituating to my presence. They have gotten close enough for full frame shots with the 1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom, which I keep within arm's reach.
Now for shots from Monday afternoon (
4-13-2020).
I heard a song that I did not recognize and tracked it down to a Bewick's wren perched on some shrubs.
Juncos have taken over my backyard this year. One decided that the tops of my habitat trees offered a good view of the backyard. Not a really good place to perch if that hawk is still in the area.
The male pileated woodpecker flew in over our heads to dine at the suet feeder. It provided an interesting contrast in size with a chestnut-backed chickadee.
The pileated woodpecker is the largest bird to feed at the suet feeder and I believe bushtits are the smallest. Coincidentally, a pair of them came to the feeder after the pileated left. The female is the bird on the left with the spooky yellow eyes. Bushtits pair up for nesting season but travel in fast moving flocks during the winter, when I have seen what may have been twenty birds hit my suet feeder at once.
The red-breasted nuthatch is another small bird that visits both the suet feeder and the seed feeders. If it picks a seed it doesn't like, it will flip it away like a Frisbee.