Macro in Afternoon, Zoom in the Evening

Tried for some telephoto shots of the neighborhood birds this evening. After significant cropping, I got a couple of keepers.

Eastern Meadowlark

He's been singing for over a week now.

SY (Second Year) male Purple Martin. Also called sub-adult ("subbie"). This guy was hatched last year, and has made his first successful migration from the USA to Brazil and back. {Error - see edit below.}


There is no way of knowing if he was born here, but I'm impressed that he's back so soon. There was an adult male perched near him on the TV antenna, but his dark body came out as a silhouette.


{ARRGGHH!!! Edit 4/6/09: James Hill III, from PMCA, just e-mailed me. My "sub-adult male" is, in fact, an ASY female. Drat! I thought I had that ID straight in my head. Thanks, Jamie, for the correction.}