Busted

[Comet Hunter]

So I put out some bird seed to hopefully capture some winged friends when this guy showed up
Canon R8 with the 100 x 400 stm lense at 400mm f8
Since taking this image, I started using the manual settings of 1 over my FL. This image was at iso 8000 as it was in a shady spot
All comments welcome to help me improve for when I do get some bird captures

 

[AlanLichty]

Cute capture.

These little guys are the reason why I stopped trying to feed the birds in my yard. Cute looking like your shot above but they almost constantly need to sharpen their teeth which they do by chewing on things and that included my house. The damage they were causing (they destroyed my drip sprinkler system) was finally too much for me and I stopped feeding the birds.

For birds I usually have my Canon R5mII set for around f/8-f/11 with speed set for 1/2000s or 1/3000s and ISO on Auto. I have set the ISO to not go above 12000 which so far has kept the noise in check. Exposures are set for burst so I can grab a bunch of shots when birds are in motion and select the one that suits the bird best. I assigned these settings to one of the Custom (C1-C3) presets on my camera since these settings aren't even close to how I shoot landscapes. This way I can quickly switch between wildlife shooting and landscapes.

 

[Comet Hunter]

Great advice, thank you and your right, they are cute but they are also called tree rats for a reason

 

[JimFox]

Hey Ed,

A great shot you got here. Shade and darkness really make it much harder for birding or wildlife.

Alan gave you some great tips.