Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

[Bob_B]

We are well into the fall southward migration in Maryland. One of the species that's a return customer to my backyard (and its birch tree) is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius). I spied this one feasting on the sap oozing from his newly made hole in the birch bark. The tree has survived many such drillings in the past and I suspect it will weather the latest onslaught from this fellow.

Please feel free to offer your comments and suggestions. Thanks for stopping by.

[David Eckels]

Nice bird "portrait" but the blown area is very dominant. Have you considered a square crop to eliminate the large blown highlights? You could then clone that very small area. I realize the lighting is difficult. Just a thought.

[Bob_B]

Thanks, David. I tried 5 or 6 different methods before giving up mitigating the blown-out area. (Cropping ruined the look I wanted.) But, after reading your comment, I went back and tried again. While I'm not 100% sure, I think using content aware fill plus a carefully applied mask might work! If successful, I'll post the revised photo here.

[Bob_B]

Once again, thank you to David (and Rajan, through my blog comments) for suggesting this edit.

[David Eckels]

Oh yes! Much improved; well done, too.