Went looking for the nesting hairy woodpecker in the woods south of Cupertino, CA this past weekend and ran into a nesting killdeer on the shores for the Stevens Creek. The bird was so well camouflaged that I did not even see her till I was about 5 feet from her. She did the classic "spread feathers" display since we were apparently too close to her nest. After a few minutes she left the nest to get some food while the male approached the nest. I got the shot of the eggs during this change of guards!

Finally found the hairy woodpecker further down the road. Saw both of them fly in and out of the nest several times getting food for the babies (which were unfortunately not visible).

If you know of any photoshop actions for the frames, I will greatly appreciate the links and tips.

Thanks for looking.

-- Vivek

Here are the photos:

Killdeer

Lovely meeting you had here Vivek. Love the Killdeer on her eggs - - first three are my picks.

When I do frames (rarely) I normally only add canvas to my shots in CS3 - -you can pick color etc as you choose....

Hope that helps

Lil

Very nice. #1 is my favourite.

Nice captures. I like them all.

Jude

Nice series Vivek especially the Killdeer shot.
Harsha

Nice job!

J

nice shots...the eggs look so well camouflaged.

Love those killdeer shots! The first woodpecker is my favorite of those. It looks like you had some harsh light to deal on the rest.

Tim

Thanks Lil, I can do the canvas thing, but I wanted to get a bit better frames. Pointers to putting signatures on the files are welcome too.
Lil Judd wrote:
Lovely meeting you had here Vivek. Love the Killdeer on her eggs - - first three are my picks.
When I do frames (rarely) I normally only add canvas to my shots in CS3 - -you can pick color etc as you choose....
Lil

Thanks Rob.
Rob Tillyer wrote:
Very nice. #1 is my favourite.

Thanks Jude.
Jude Perera wrote:
Nice captures. I like them all.
Jude


Thanks Harsha. The first two were the only shots I could get with half decent light. The others were shot with overhead sun around 1:00p; it was either get the shot or not so the answer was quite obvious
harshaj1 wrote:
Nice series Vivek especially the Killdeer shot.
Harsha

Thanks J.
jakita33 wrote:
Nice job!
J

Thanks Kirry... actually the killdeer and the eggs were so well camouflaged that I walked past them the first time and didn't even notice them. Only on the way back when the killdeer gave the "broken wing" warning did I become aware of their presence. Let me know if you want to see them next week and I shall tell you exactly how to get there; not too far from our place.
kirry007 wrote:
nice shots...the eggs look so well camouflaged.

Thanks Tim. Yep harsh afternoon light on almost all woodpeckers. Also, I REALLY missed the 500. The 400+1.4X was not ideal and a 500 / even 600 would have been better. Also a 40D probably would have been better with the multiplier, but I only had the 1DIII. Will try again next weekend.
Tim Kuhn wrote:
Love those killdeer shots! The first woodpecker is my favorite of those. It looks like you had some harsh light to deal on the rest.
Tim

Nice series Vivek. Those eggs are extremely well camoflaged aren't they. I was watching a nest and even knowing where it was, it was still hard to find. Favorite is the first Hairy, great pic.

Doug

Thanks for the comments Doug. Yes the eggs are the definition of "camouflage"!! The light for the woody was anything but nice (very overcast earlier and very harsh the second time I visited). I tend to not use the flash (need to buy the better beamer, bracket etc.) so these will have to do for now

-- V

Doug Bentlage wrote:
Nice series Vivek. Those eggs are extremely well camoflaged aren't they. I was watching a nest and even knowing where it was, it was still hard to find. Favorite is the first Hairy, great pic.
Doug

I've been watching some potential nesting holes for the op at shots like yours... your a good tracker V

Enjoyed the shots...

Terry

Thanks Terry and good luck with your quest. I think I am no better tracker than most, but this one was just a lucky find. The woody was reported on the local birding list and the Killdeer actually found me when I was looking for the woody...

Terry D wrote:
I've been watching some potential nesting holes for the op at shots like yours... your a good tracker V
Enjoyed the shots...
Terry

Went there again today and checked the two out... The babies of the woody are getting bigger and I may have a shot of these. The killdeer eggs have not hatched yet

-- V

Nice finding, Vivek, and very good captures. The first and third shots are my favorites.
Socrate