I went back to the bird blind at the Pedernales Falls State Park last week and noticed this very nice Western Scrub Jay bathing in the pond at the bird blind. He then stepped out of the pond and was looking around when I captured this image.
When birds bathe in water or saturate themselves with dust they are actively maintaining their plumage. In well-watered areas bathing is most common, in arid ones dusting is more often observed. Frequent dusting helps to maintain an optimum amount of oil on the feathers. I guess we all need a bath every-now-and-then…
This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark III using my Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Sports Lens set on 600 mm. The camera was set on Aperture priority mode with the aperture set at f/8, shutter speed at 1/640 and the ISO set at 200.
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