In the Field

The Essential White-breasted Nuthatch. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. January 29. 2006.

White-breasted Nuthatches are known to work their way down tree trunks while occasionally looking up at their surroundings. Another attribute of White-breasted Nuthatches (or at least THIS nuthatch) is the possession of incredibly fast reflexes - this bird could hear the shutter mechanism begin clicking and be gone - or mostly gone - by the time the image was captured! After decades of bird photography I can honestly say I have never encountered a bird so effective at dodging out of the focal plane! So this image shows the species-specific White-breasted Nuthatch "down-trunk" behaviour and represents the ONLY image (out of at least 50) where I was actually successful in getting the bird to sit still for 1/60 of a second!

Behind the Camera

The Essential White-breasted Nuthatch. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. January 29. 2006.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 100.

Nikon D2X with Nikon 200-400 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens @ 380 mm (570 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) supported on Gitzo 1348 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley head; SB-800 flash (fill) with Better Beamer Flash Extender mounted on Really Right Stuff flash bracket. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/60s @ f7.1; -0.3 stop exposure compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting; balanced i-TTL flash exposure with -0.3 stop compensation on SB-800.

At the Computer

The Essential White-breasted Nuthatch. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. January 29. 2006.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass sharpening, exposure compensation, and tone curve adjustment, using Phase One's C1 Pro. Multiple RAW conversions (2 at different exposure settings) to extend dynamic range of captured image, in this case primarily to lighten white plumage of head of bird while retaining correct background illumination.

All further digital correction on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS2, including compositing and masking of various exposure versions, selective saturation enhancement and selective sharpening for web output.

Conservation

The Essential White-breasted Nuthatch. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. January 29. 2006.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Wildsight.

Species Status in Canada*: This species is not designated as at risk.

The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is found in a variety of deciduous and mixed-forest habitats across much of southern Canada and the United States. Less social than the related Red-breasted Nuthatch, the White-breasted Nuthatch exhibits a fair degree of geographic variation in appearance and 9 sub-species are recognized in North America.

This White-breasted Nuthatch was photographed in the Columbia Valley of the East Kootenays. While this species is not currently not considered at risk, it is vulnerable to habitat loss due to logging activities. Many ecosystems within the Columbia Valley face development pressure, including pressure from logging operations. Wildsight is an effective conservation organization that protects biodiversity and promotes sustainable communities in Canada's Columbia and Rocky Mountains. Support for Wildsight, through donation or becoming a member, will help ensure that they remain effective in their efforts to conserve threatened or endangered species and ecosystems.

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada