I biked forty miles on the Yelm-Tenino and Chehalis-Western trails today, and that was after spending twenty minutes standing stock still beside the hazelnut bush where the Chickadees were playing. By the time I'd identified one combination of branches and leaves sufficiently that I could zoom in on it, my subjects (and there were several to choose from) had taken refuge behind something else. Oh, I got to see Chickadees hanging upside-down, darting from twig to twig. I got to see a lot of leaf-flutters as well, marking the passage of one of these little sweethearts into concealment in the heart of the bush. Short of Warblers, Chickadees have proven themselves to be one of the most difficult avian species for me to photograph. Today, I was not going to budge until I had one in the bag. You little stinkers can't hide from me forever!
365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
You Can't Hide Forever
I biked forty miles on the Yelm-Tenino and Chehalis-Western trails today, and that was after spending twenty minutes standing stock still beside the hazelnut bush where the Chickadees were playing. By the time I'd identified one combination of branches and leaves sufficiently that I could zoom in on it, my subjects (and there were several to choose from) had taken refuge behind something else. Oh, I got to see Chickadees hanging upside-down, darting from twig to twig. I got to see a lot of leaf-flutters as well, marking the passage of one of these little sweethearts into concealment in the heart of the bush. Short of Warblers, Chickadees have proven themselves to be one of the most difficult avian species for me to photograph. Today, I was not going to budge until I had one in the bag. You little stinkers can't hide from me forever!
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Ironic......today (Thurs) I discovered I had young black-cap chickadees feeding & flitting at my feeders.......course no pictures!
ReplyDeleteI wish the little stinkers would come to my feeders, but there's a trade-off. Chickadees and Pine Siskins don't get along. I have lots of Pine Siskins, and they're supposedly in decline as a species. For that, I'll be happy to try to photograph Chickadees somewhere else!
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