I’ve been having a wonderful time watching the birds discover the feeders in the yard over the last week. So far, I have seen grey jays, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and flickers visiting. Perhaps there are more as well, that are visiting when I don’t happen to be looking out the window.
Of course, I’ve been taking my camera out on walks as well, but most of the photos this week are from the backyard.
I hope you enjoy, have a great evening!
I love the expression of this little black capped chickadee, waiting for its turn on the feeder below. 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO 2200A pair of red breasted nuthatches frequent the feeder, always taking turns and coming one at a time. 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO 4000I started noticing the hairy woodpecker at the suet feeder towards the end of the week. I wish I knew if this was part of the family I have been seeing at the end of my road. 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO 1100The best I have captured so far of the pine grosbeaks in the area. They are always in fairly large flocks and very vocal – and they don’t like to keep still! 1/400sec, f6.3, ISO 1400A black billed magpie calls out to its friends on a beautifully sunny afternoon. 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO 140A pair of black capped chickadees on clean up duty. They’ve spilled so many sunflower seeds the last couple days, I might just have to take the feeder away for a few hours to encourage them to tidy up! 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO 250This was the first flicker I saw visiting the suet feeder; I was so excited I tried taking pictures out the window. When looking through the photos from the week this morning, I realized I’ve had at least 3 different individuals visiting 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO 3200This flicker has some red cheek markings, but not as large as the other one. 1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 6400A male flicker dining on some suet cake.This flicker has no visible cheek markings at all – a female coming to visit. 1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO6400Not the sharpest photo, but I included it for anyone that hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing a northern flicker in person. I find them to be so stunning, and the orange colour that shows up when flying is so beautiful. 1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 6400
Years ago, I lived for a year and a half in the UK, and spent a lot of time on my weekends touring properties listed under the National Trust. If I had been asked to come up with photos to describe my impression of ornate at that time, I would have drawn on references such as rococo furniture, tapestries, paintings with gilded frames, the fencing surrounding Buckingham Palace and the gardens of Hampton Court. All are still valid today, and I could go back in my archives and find dozens of examples… but my brain seems to work differently now.
Now, when I think of ornate, I think of birds. The beautiful detail of feathers when seen up close. The dizzying array of patterns, colours and textures. The mating performances. Even the patterns of their flight.
When you look at the birds below quickly, they seem to be dusty creatures in tones of beige, brown and grey. So take a closer look at a few ornately decorated birds I found in Botswana and South Africa.
A pair of namaqua sandgrouse. Who says you can’t pair stripes and polka dots together? Kalahari Desert, April 2015 1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400An orange river francolin, also in the Kalahari Desert. This one had been digging in the dirt. At least the coating of mud on his front feathers doesn’t obscure the wide variety of patterns and colours on display. April 2015 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400A swainson’s spurfowl (I believe our ranger referred to it is a slit-neck francolin as well, or something like that). I was lucky that bird stayed still for such a long time, as usually these scurry off into the bushes site quickly. This one posed perfectly so we can see not only the intricate feathers, but the texture on his legs and around his eyes. Seen in the Okavango Delta April 2015 1/800sec, f11, ISO640A crested francolin at the roadside in the TImbavati. May, 2015 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO 200
For anyone that hasn’t been in the presence of a hadeda, they sound kind of like the kid on the Simpson’s show that always says “HA HA”. Honestly, if you get a large group of them, they can get a bit irritating after a time. I think more than one ranger I’ve met has described them as the most annoying creature in the bush.
Now about this photo. I flagged it quite some time ago to edit, and couldn’t figure out the reason why, other than I liked it. But after staring at it for the last 20 minutes, I think the two things I like are the contrasts (the bright highlights and dark shadows and the flash of iridescent feathers against a flat sky) and that the shape of the bird is repeated in the shape of the branches (look to the branch directly below the tail, it has the shape of a head and beak). The monochrome treatment highlights what I like about the image, whereas the colour version is pretty easy to overlook.
Sometimes I find it difficult to explain what draws me to one photo over another; I often find myself at a loss for words when someone is looking for a critique on an image. I know very quickly whether I like an image or not; but the reason why isn’t always easy to put into words.
A hadeda ibis perched on some dead branches; the late afternoon sun reflecting off of iridescent wings. 1/100sec, f10, ISO400
I was driving home from a morning trip into town, thinking that I would have nothing to post for this week, as it had been a slow week for both bird and animal sightings, and I already posted the lone landscape photo I liked for my monochrome Monday shot… and about the lack of a Wordless Wednesday post… I kinda forgot what day it was – oops.
Just as I was about to turn onto my street, I noticed something perched on a fence post at the end of the road; I couldn’t quite believe my eyes as it was an owl (at noon no less). I stopped in the middle of the road to watch for a moment, and then hurried home to grab my camera and the dog. I drove back up hoping I might be lucky enough for it to still be there, and it was. I managed to get the car into a great position without causing and ruffled feathers, and sat for about 10 minutes snapping photos before I decided to head off, as the dog needed a walk. It was rainy and miserable though and other than doing what was necessary, Spencer wasn’t too keen to stay out long, so I decided to take another drive and see if the owl was still there. This time I stayed longer, and managed to see a couple failed hunting attempts before I headed back home.
I’m really happy with how well the photos turned out despite the weather, but even more, I’m very grateful to have had such a cool, and unexpected, afternoon with wildlife.
I hope you enjoy the photos!
My first sighting of a great grey owl.Such an intense gaze.The way owls heads rotate amazes me.She showed off all angles while I happily snapped away.Watching the ground for mice and other critters. Based on the leftovers I have been seeing on the road the last few days, she is fairly successful.
I love the angle on this photo, and the streaking raindrops in the background. 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO 800If you look closely, you will see that there are remnants of another bird stuck in the fencing.After watching the grass along the roadside intently, she launched off, but sadly did not make a catch. 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO1000I included this only to show the beautiful variation in the feathers. Unfortunately the photo is blurry, a combination of too slow a shutter speed (due to the light) and user focusing issues!Coming back in to land after an unsuccessful hunt.A bit of post flight grooming and fluffing of feathers.With this, she was off again and we left her in peace. By the way, look at those talons!!! 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO1000
Should you wish to have a copy of any of these to call your own, click here.
This week has seen a fair bit of rain and fog in my area, so I didn’t take my camera out with me as much as I would like. When I did, much of what I tried to shoot suffered from poor light and a lot of noise. So, just a few pictures this week to share, all taken today.
I was happy to see the northern shrike again, and this time, have my camera with me. This one is a juvenile based on the plumage.Another view of the northern shrike. If it hadn’t been for a sizeable flock of other birds that caught my attention (finches or sparrows, or perhaps the crossbills) I wouldn’t have even noticed this lovely bird.The three birds posed in the treetops were part of a much larger group that were pecking at the pinecones. With the fog, I wasn’t able to make a species ID.
I liked the X marks the spot clouds and all the lovely colours in this early morning photo.I stopped when I heard a “peep peep peep” from the trees, and then spent the next 10 minutes watching this hairy woodpecker move from tree to tree, all the while staying in lovely light for me to snap photos.The hairy woodpecker posing perfectly for a photo.A group of black billed magpies. This photos isn’t sharp the way I would like, and the depth of field is all wrong…but I like it anyways. I love all the different wing shapes, and the birds seemed so joyful flying around the neighbourhood.What appeared to be a dull grey sky day had a few spectacular moments. It’s all about timing.
I had fun going through my archives for photos that would fit this challenge, as I was able to select ones that may not have ever been worked on otherwise.
I hope you enjoy, have a great evening.
A grey heron takes a pause atop a group of hippo. Timbavati Reserve, South Africa, May 2015. 1/200sec, f8.0, ISO 640A pair of pygmy kingfishers are small no matter how you look at them. Chitwa Chitwa Lodge, May 2015. 1/1250sec, f5.6, ISO220A woodland kingfisher is dwarfed by the buffalo weaver nest he is sitting next to. Chitwa Chitwa Lodge, May 2015 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 560Some of the largest animals in the world look tiny when viewed in the vastness of the Okavango Delta by air. How many animals can you spot? Stanley’s Camp, Okavango Delta, April 2015 1/1250sec, f9.0, ISO 1100
