Mr. Cardinal. On the dogwood tree by my back porch.
A post on a lighter note today.
We have been putting out bird feeders for so long that I can't remember when we started.
A friend and fellow blogger posted his own picture of a cardinal recently, causing me to wonder why I hadn't been doing that. So when we had a few inches of snow earlier this month, I picked up my Fuji X-T3 and Fujicron 55-200mm telephoto zoom lens and took a seat by the back door -- inside, of course, shooting through a glass storm door, because it was cold, and because I didn't want to scare the birds.
My "tree ornaments." I count five male cardinals and one female.
I really like this photo of my tree ornaments. We get a lot of cardinals at our feeders here in west Knoxville. We also get many smaller birds -- chickadees, wrens, lots of purple finches, and occasional goldfinches and bluebirds. We also get frequent visits from red-wing blackbirds and woodpeckers, both downy and red-bellied. Even an occasional blue jay or flicker. They are much fun to watch.
The "ornaments," by the way, were photographed with a cell phone. It was all I had nearby at the moment, and it did the job.
Mr. Cardinal grabs a beakful.
We also unwillingly fed our friendly(?) neighborhood squirrels until I found a way to squirrel-proof the birdseed feeders. However, squirrels are smart and persistent. They eventually found a way to take my suet feeder down and open it, leaving it empty and wrecked.
A female red-belly woodpecker sneaks a few seeds.
Photographing birds at our feeders has been fun. It's also a good way to keep in practice with my long lens, which I don't use a lot, and it's a good way to enjoy photography as an enhancement to my life at times when I can't get out and about as much as I would like to.
I'll never be an accomplished bird photographer like my brother Phil or my photo-blogging friends Dennis Mook or Dave Hileman. But that's okay. I don't aspire to be. I'm content to do happy-snaps of the birds at my feeders.
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I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
Dave, we also feed the birds. I try but miss more photos than I hit, it's probably why I am not a bird photographer. 😁
ReplyDeleteI respect my friends who are serious birders, but there are other subjects I would rather spend my time on. But it's fun and not too difficult to photograph the ones that come to my feeder. I miss a few, too. And even with a 300mm (equivalent) lens, I crop a lot.
DeleteWe too have been feeders of our beautiful birds and other of God's creatures. for a very long time....I have a wonderful true story about my cardinals I would like to share at another time though it was on our website for many years..Love watching the many birds from my kitchen window or the sun room every day....It has been difficult to keep the feeders full this winter as they flock there all the time.... Maybe because of the extremely cold weather we keep having this winter... Love your photos and as always they way you write! fleta mathews
DeleteDave, thank you for the mention. However, my bird photography skills are not as refined as one may think from viewing my images. My secret is volume. If I make enough bird photos, I’m bound to get one or two that are decent. As for yours, excellent!
ReplyDeleteThe proof in the photos, Dennis.
DeleteDave