I was driving home and at the top of the bluff road, saw this beauty out of the corner of my eye. I had my camera and birding lens with me, but by the time I was able to get out of the car, he's popped down below the ridge. I waited quietly for a bit and finally he popped back up -- very rewarding as he's such a beautiful bird.
I'm not a fan of photos of stationary birds for 2 reasons - neither of which apply to this photo. The first is there is no behavior other than standing in place, The other is if there is any context it's a short section of branch on which the bird is perched, and background and foreground have been blurred into unrecognizable shapes.
That this bird appears to be on alert, intently watching something, and the foreground branches show how it can blend in with the surroundings, and the photo was well executed earns it a fav.
@fotoblah Thanks for your thoughtful response! I agree with you about bird portraits not being as interesting as birds in action. Birds are such a challenge -- that to me is what makes them so much fun to try to capture well.
That this bird appears to be on alert, intently watching something, and the foreground branches show how it can blend in with the surroundings, and the photo was well executed earns it a fav.