Birding

I used to go to wildlife preserves or random trails to track down birds for photographing. Then I realized if I put a birdfeeder in my backyard, the birds would come to me. I don’t get a wide variety, but I still like what I see.

Over the course of two weekends, I shot these pictures. My first attempt, I sat outside in a shady place, holding perfectly still, and my camera trained on the bird feeder. I liked being “in the environment” and able to watch the birds watching me from a distance. A few of those birds ignored me and ate their meal. The rest waited for me to leave.

This past weekend, I decided to shoot pictures from inside my house. I removed the screen from the window which faces the bird feeder, and sat there. This spot actually put my camera closer than the previous spot outside. Some birds were still seemingly nervous about the whole thing.

At one time, I have seen up to 20 birds out in my backyard eating seed or chillaxin’. That bird feeder is like Starbucks in the morning. There is screaming and yelling and people are pushing to get up to the barista to place their order. Some wait patiently on a wall and some scavenge. Mornings are pretty noisy.

Many of these birds nest locally. Once in a while I get to watch a Mommy bird upchuck into her babies open beak. I would love to get a picture of that. It’s pretty amusing. The little baby is flapping his wings and gobbling down as much as possible!