I recently had the pleasure of spending some time hanging out with Queen Elizabeth, and I must say, it was wonderful!
Now, before you label me a lunatic or dub me a fabricator of falsehood, let me confess that I borrowed Her Majesty’s name and assigned it to my latest lens – a fresh out of the box 300mm f/4 fixed lens. (Btw – I know I am learning a little about photography because those numbers are starting to make sense to me now!)
I haven’t had a ton of time to get fully acquainted with this new lens, but I’ll go ahead and share ten photos of birds that seemed more than happy to pose for a picture. Perhaps they knew they were in the presence of royalty!
Female Pine Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Bluebird
Pine Siskin
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin
Male Pine Warbler
Typically, when I take pictures of my backyard birds, I use a 100-400mm lens that I affectionately call Beowulf. I’m pretty sure he and Queen Elizabeth are going to get along famously!
Backyard Bird Nerd 
My question is if you normally use a 100-400 lens, what is the benefit of a 300?
The 300 is an f/4 – so it gives me a more open aperture, which lets me work in lower light and get a better background. The 100-400mm, since I hand hold it, has to have pretty good light to not be blurry. 🙂
That being said, it was a totally unnecessary purchase that is fun to use!
First, thank you for visiting our humble blog and leaving such nice comments, We appreciate it.
Second, wow! What a collection of outstanding photographs Queen Elizabeth has produced! Now for some honesty. Don’t spread this around because it is a closely guarded secret: The photographer of these images has achieved fabulous results, regardless of the equipment she was using. Shhh!
My favorite lens for birds remains an older Nikon f/4 300 mm fixed lens. It’s a bit lighter than bigger zoom lenses, better light gathering (as you pointed out) and I love the resulting quality.
I am very happy to have found your blog. Looking forward to reviewing older posts and savoring future ones.
Have a blessed day, Kathy!
This comment made my day! 😊
Great photos Kathy. I especially love the American Robin, one of my favorite birds. I saw them as a child in Oregon, now living in San Diego I rarely see them! Thanks for sharing! I always enjoy your entries.
Thanks for the reminder to appreciate their beauty, and to remember that the birds I might commonly see are not common everywhere!
Congratulations on your new lens Kathy! Indeed, Beautiful photos right from warbler to Cardinal everyone has given stunning poses 🤩
They are really little camera hams!