Sparrows to Robins: Hey, we can all get along. Let's go hang out in the tree in front of Taffy's house!
Robins: Great idea! But remember, when she shows up with that thing on her face, hop around on branches, move your head in unpredictable ways, and even better, make sure part of you is covered by a branch!
All agree and then spend much of the day posing beautifully until I show up with the camera and open the window/door. Then they:
1. hop around
2. go to the tree around the corner
3. hide their head behind a branch
4. pose beautifully but only in front of the sun
I took about 50 shots around 10:00 a.m. (all junk, shooting into the sun, except 1 - in extras album), more around noon (mostly blurs that were not intentional), and then just as I had to leave for meetings and classes, the sky turned blue, the sun was not in the way, and 4 robins and 2 sparrows showed up! I have about 5 photos I actually like, so you may see them the rest of this week depending on how grading papers goes! Here's Sparrow #1 (and #2 is in my extras album - http://365project.org/taffy/the-also-ran-ph/2013-12-11).
I just noticed: 20 photos to go!!!
This is a lovely shot, Taffy - he is all fluffed up - nicely captured and I chuckled reading this - I am not having luck with the birds around here - they are not obliging!
This shot is worth the effort :)
(Welcome to my world - my girls do most of those things too, except that Magic tries to eat the camera or sits on my head... or occasionally both!)
Lovely capture Taffy! Well done on your perseverance! Bird photography can be very frustrating I have sat for hours in bird hides waiting for a good shot and sometimes - not often - luck intervenes and the bird comes and sits and poses for you! I have been very lucky with my little robin - he seems to like the camera! I love the angle of the birds head in your shot!
Ha great shot Taffy, I am familiar with all the above, hopping, hiding, blinded by the sun, and that's just me!! Sadly all my garden birds have vanished, which is why I'm having to stalk people at the mo!!
Haha- I can relate today! I pulled up in the parking lot of the hardware store and they'd put a little feeder out by their shrubbery. There was a whole flock of cute little sparrows and they just sat there and chirped at me. I took out my camera and got out of the car and they just stayed in the bush chirping away. I looked down, turned the camera on and took a shot. I felt it was too far away so I pulled out the zoom and they all flew away! But you caught this fellow swallowing a seed- that's pretty good since they do it so quickly!
Haha, this is great. Glad it's not just me though..my birds do the same thing. I think I also took about 50 shots this morning and the best one is saturated with sun...oh well!
This little bird has his head at such a cute angle :)
(Welcome to my world - my girls do most of those things too, except that Magic tries to eat the camera or sits on my head... or occasionally both!)
Love the quizzical look.