Mexican Whip-poor-will, Cave Creek near Sunny Flats Campground
April 21, 2017
 

Last night, I gave another shot at Mexican Whip-poor-wills. I was getting pretty discouraged with my results so far, having heard a few and having them fly by me in the dark, but I could never find one on a perch. Last night there were more calling than before. After several hours of trying to find one where I could see it, I finally got the eye shine of a calling male up a steep slope, about 100 yards from the road. It was calling and staying on a perch. But, I was pretty sure it would never stay there long enough for me climb up there, making all kinds of noise going through the brush, rocks, and dry leaves. Amazingly, not only did it stay put, it let me approach to within about 10 ft. I had to zoom in to 135 mm to keep it all in the frame! I got lots of great photos and learned something new about Mexican Whip-poor-wills. This was a challenging bird!

Taken at a range of about 10 ft. Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 100-400 at 135 mm, Canon 580 EX flash
with Better Beamer, manual exposure f8 @ 1/200, flash exposure comp -1.
I used red eye reduction in Lightroom. The eyes on these birds are extremely reflective. 

Detail is amazing.



Now if I could just find a Flammulated Owl as cooperative as this!

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