Often when birding, a bird pops around a tree trunk or up to the top of a shrub and you want to get it in your binoculars but at the same time, take a photo. Good photographers are fast and shoot like paparazzi’s when a good bird shows itself while the rest of us fumble and often miss the opportunity. (I usually have a Vizsla on leash jerking my arms as I try to lock on the bird.)
Practice does help and when birds are at feeding stations, they tend to stick around for more photo ops. Other times you just fire away and check the results later. Here are a few photos from the last week or so, including one (the Verdin) yesterday morning. They are a nice example of the diversity of birds we just see in our travels (“Oh, it’s just another Altimira Oriole.)
An Altimira Oriole feeding at Bentsen Palm State Park this week.
A juvenile oriole earlier this week.
A molting Vermillion Flycatcher at the county park.
A Northern Cardinal “hiding” yesterday morning.
A pretty Verdin that posed just long enough before departing.
We have a few more days here in the Valley before heading up to Falcon Lake State Park. While it will be tough to leave the birds, we won’t miss the traffic and the barking of local dogs who are left out all night. I’m looking forward to some peace and quiet in the boonies.
Such nice pictures! The weather is definitely improving and the birds are more active, even here near the city. Mockingbirds were fighting in the back yard all day yesterday.
Where do you go after Falcon? I’m thinking of resuming my camping plans after next week’s cold spell, but plan to head west to Amistad NRA, do a bit of dry camping in their campgrounds (if there’s space), and then head to Tombstone to visit relatives, then a short hop over to Patagonia. It’s all still in the what-if stage.