Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)

[Jonathan Ashton]

• OM Digital Solutions OM-1
• OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5
• ƒ/4.5
• 241mm
• 1/3200s
• ISO 640
• Jon Ashton
• Flash not fired
• Thu, 30 November 2023 12:25 PM
• Jon Ashton
• Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 16.0.1 (Windows)

It's a rather sweeping statement but many of our British birds have reduced in numbers, in general it amounts to 60% reduction of most species over the last ten years. Once common the Greenfinch is no longer. The species suffered badly due to Trichomoniasis then "Bird pox" this coupled with habitat loss and erratic weather patterns has resulted in a much lower population. Currently I have one pair visiting the garden and only two pairs of Chaffinch, I have zero Bullfinch and to date I have had one Brambling. No Lesser Reedpolls either. As winter progresses I may get more due to the varied food sources I put out.

This image was caught in a similar manner to my previous post of a Blue tit ( I have good numbers of Blue Tits and Great tits - very few Long tailed tits - no Willow or Marsh tits).. I appreciate it is not the perfect pose or angle but I like the moment in time captured. I am beginning to think if everything is perfect in bird action shots it then becomes a little too easy to be dismissive of the beauty they show. I am not trying to persuade anyone into saying it is an outstanding image - just to see it for what it is.

Model Name : OM-1, 150-400TC
Focal Length (35 mm conversion) : 483.0mm
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
ISO : 640
Exposure compensation : 0.0 EV
Shutter : 1/3200 sec
Aperture : F4.5
ACR/PSCC

 

[Dorian Anderson]

The alert, head-up pose is really cool. So are the layers flight feathers on the wings. Crop and comp look good. Lighting is great. Would be nice if the tail was clear of the branch, but I'm sure that's one those knit-picky bits!

And yes, there are fewer birds everywhere. The current estimate is that we've lost half the birds in North America in the last 50 years. The bottom line is that humans are awful for 99.99% of living creatures. That sad reality
is the primary reason I haven't bred. That and little kids are the worst.

 

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Awesome pose, light and graduated BG.
Separation from the perch would've taken it up a notch imho.
I'd probably have cloned it out, but that's just me.

 

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Jon,

Good work capturing the Greenfinch on take-off. Nice background and separation between the bird and background, albeit not the perch. Easy enough to change that if you wish.

Greenfinch have also been hammered a bit over here. Mostly disease as you noted. This winter we are having warmer, wetter weather, so there are fewer birds coming to my feeders. With the exception that my semi resident pair of Collared Doves have increased to four pairs.

Thanks for sharing,

Gerald