The Killdeer Returns
Although I have watched these birds since youth, I have not read a great deal about them. As a result I do not know if this is early for one to be in our area, but I was surprised to see one this morning in a small wetlands at the family farm. It was hopping about and occasionally found some type of food which it picked up with its beak and ate. It was 24 degrees at the time.
Canon XL-H1: 35-350L at 350mm
This seemed too far for the 500mm on the Canon 40D so I used the camcorder with the above lens. I estimate the range to be between 50 and 75 yards or 150 to 225 ft. I had more or less written this lens off for use with the High-Definition camcorders, but have been using it again lately and have been surprised with the results. This combination of lens and High-Def. camcorder doesn't compare to a DSLR for picture quality on still shots, but I doubt that it is possible for the DSLR to do this well on a small bird at that range, even with severe cropping. If I get another opportunity, I will test it and find out.
