Ten Woodcock in the Oven

While searching for the second male Wood Duck on Central Park Lake today I got a call from Lloyd who told me Jim Demes had six Woodcock in the Oven. It was late in the afternoon and the light was getting bad so I hurried on over. Indeed, there were six Woodcock so I sat down with my 1D Mark II and 400/f5.6 and waited to see if any would come close enough to photograph. Jim joined me and while waiting he and I counted ten Woodcock. I think, because we were seated, they didn't see to mind our presence and one of them eventually came close enough to photograph. I posted these photos without taking a hard look to see if they were the best exposures and sharpest ones. I will probably take most of them down and repost some of the better ones.

The afternoon started out clear but eventually clouded over. It was 25-30 degrees but the wind made it seem much colder. I started at ISO 800 and by sunset I was shooting at ISO 1600.