Two years ago, my wife and I moved further out into the country…. basically built a house on 15 acres in somewhat isolated woods. We tried our best to limit the amount of clearing so we could enjoy the sights and sounds of nature – our little escape from the hectic stressful lives we live during the week. The first year was focused on getting the house built and managing the new property. Last year I finally got around to hanging a birdfeeder in a tree just outside our balcony which happens to be placed perfectly out my master bedroom window so it is the first thing I get to see in the morning (thanks to LASIK it is no longer just a bunch of fuzzy shapes). I soon became fascinated by the daily visits of various birds and eventually evolved to trying to take pictures of as many as I could. Now, it has been a long time since I did a lot of photography, but this has turned out to be a little challenging due to having to shoot through windows, trying to focusing on nervous birds and fighting the lighting. There is improvement as I experiment with settings and angles but clearly a long way to go. The side effect of all of this is I’ve become intrigued by the differences in the birds – sizes, colors, social behaviors, eating patterns and food preferences. My wife says I am bordering on obsessive and likes to rib that is an “old” person’s hobby. It occurred to me while going through about 400 pictures to date that this might be something interesting to blog about from time to time. So……. you guessed it. I do not know the frequency yet, but I there is a lot to draw from and hopefully you will enjoy see what I have the luxury of witnessing every day. If you can help out with any naming corrections or additional input, it would get GREATLY appreciated. So with my trusty Nikon digital camera and “Birds of North America – A Guide to Field Identification” – by Golden Field — special note, I am using the same bird guide I have had for my entire life – published in 1966
Today, I thought I would start with some quick shots of the yard and focus on the Chickadee.
Continue reading Hang It and They Will Come (Part 1 of Many)
Life Intrigued 