Yellow Warbler, home

The true test of the utility of a supertelephoto lens is, for me, not whether it can, while held by a sturdy tripod, capture an image of a large and distant critter holding still, but rather if, in my arthritic and no longer strong hands, it can zero quickly in on a tiny and fast-moving bird, a warbler in particular. Clearly, the Sigma passes the test. On my trek this afternoon through yet another doomed piece of nearby land, I heard a newly returned Yellow Warbler singing its "tumbling series of whistles that sounds like sweet sweet sweet I’m so sweet"—the description offered by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's "All About Birds" website. The notes drew my attention to an open thicket, and as I uneasily raised the behemoth lens and used it as a monocular to find the singer, I held my breath and tried to steady my somewhat shaky hands. But when I located the bird, the optical stabilization of the Sigma kicked in and compensated for old age. Consider it a digital fountain of youth—and a blessing that enabled me to take a sweet shot of a sweet bird.