Birds of a Feather

Finches vs Squirrel

This morning I found this finch egg on our driveway and wondered how it got there. There is a family of finches in our grapevine and sadly they lost a little egg to something.  I left it and got to my day.

This afternoon the finches were making quite a racket, hovering like hummingbirds around the grapevine, scolding something fiercely. I didn't see it right away but after poking through the vine branches, I saw the squirrel's black beady eyes looking out. I got my broom out and chased it away. It didn't take long before I saw a furry tail right close to the nest again so I chased the squirrel away again. Likely, my efforts are futile but I'm hoping for the best for these feathered friends and their wee ones.

I just noticed a cat at the base of the grapevine. Lots of action today!

Here are a couple of shots of one of the finches, ruffled feathers and all.

I used my 60 mm macro lens for the image of the egg but for the finches I changed lenses to my 75-300 zoom. I chose a 1/160 shutter speed and aperture of f5. It seemed to be fast enough to catch the finches with good exposure. I love the fact that I can see the feathers standing on end and can feel the protective instincts alive and well in the finch.

House Finch

We have some house finches nesting in our grapevine this year. We've had robins in the past but never house finches. They are active, sing sweetly, and so much fun to watch through my dining room window.

I set up my tripod with my camera and 75 - 300 mm zoom lens and waited. They are fast birds, that is for sure but using a 1/1000 shutter speed helped me to keep up - mostly. I got a few shots of males perched on the branches but those were not as interesting to me as this male taking off to get some more building supplies.

Birds on a Wire

We drove by these birds on the way into the park and they were there when we returned. The next day, they were there again. I found their patterns of behavior and their actual patterns to be so interesting.

Often I'll look for patterns and repeats in my compositions, linear ones in particular. This image was no exception. The bridge railing was intentionally captured and included as an integral piece of this photo.

Playing around with some special effects in processing was fun, adding a mysterious feel to the birds and their surroundings.

Calm Waters

The waters are calm. The sun is warm. The geese relax. No need to call. No need to fly. Floating is all that is required this afternoon.

Spotlight and a Fun Foto Fact

I cannot find my way around a point and shoot camera. I am pretty much useless with one of those snappy little things in my hands. Time and time again people will see that I am holding a camera and assume I can take a picture with theirs. Not so much folks, not so much.

The sun danced on each surface and shone back on my path.

Click and go!