nice, Bob... yep, the "Bigma", as it's affectionately known, is indeed a great birding lens. it's only downfall is the lack of IS/VR, which its little brother, the EX80-400, did have. that was the reason i chose the 80-400 originally, instead of the 50-500. of course, now, my 100-400L serves that purpose, but there are times i'd love to have that extra 100mm of reach!
i don't know if you ever get over to Kirkland, but if you do, pay a visit to Juanita Bay Park. it's a wetland wildlife sanctuary as well as a park, and most of my bird photos - including "hoodies" like this little fella - were taken there. it's rated as one of the best birding spots in the state, and is much closer to those of us living in the Seattle area than the NWP. not as big, obviously, but the variety of species is just as great, and the photo ops are wonderful, because the birds will often come in close enough for even a 300mm to be quite useful.
