Somedays you just get lucky.

I was ready to leave the house when I saw a flash of red out on my patio. It was a beautiful cardinal, but flew too far away before the camera was ready. As I stood there waiting for the cardinal to move closer, this guy flew into the tree by my patio. That's still really too far away for the 717, but I took the shots anyway.

Technically, not the best. This is a severe crop from the original, but I am so glad I took it anyway. I'm not a bird watcher but I think he's cool looking.