Starling / Sycamore • Combination Photography

I shot this European starling on Liberty Island in a sycamore tree earlier this month on a beautiful sunny day. There was a family of them hanging around the outdoor cafe.

Here is a second starling with a bigger belly on a different branch of the same sycamore. Bird activity in the area was very busy and many tourists did not heed the warning signs: "do not feed the birds." The birds can be a nuisance for the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island which hosts thousands of visitors each day and what seems like an equal amount of birds.

I shot the birdies with my Canon 5D camera and 70-200 mm lens. I had to switch to my iPhone 6S Plus for the verification shot because the Canon lens was too long to get a focus on the paper in my hand. The birds flew the coop while I switched cameras but the tree didn't try to make a run for it. Above is the sycamore tree where I photographed the flighty starlings.

Thank you @papa-pepper for creating and hosting the contest.

To join in the fun go here:
https://steemit.com/contest/@papa-pepper/papa-pepper-s-combination-photography-contest-week-26

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Thanks for the art @overkillcoin... minnows, dolphins, whales... I’m down with squid!