Tough call...

...I usually post the best (photographic quality) image of the day. It's twice the treat when one of the best shots is an interesting shot. But, today I went the other way and posted the most intersting shot and it is, by no means, the best quality image. I really struggled to decide, but I kept coming back to this Common Raven. He was HUGE and hung out long enough for 6 shots. Seeing him fly in to a nearby tree and float off again was so impressive and I just had to share. (I kind of thought you might enjoy this Nevermore ;)

He's not that far away, so really this should have been a better shot. However, there were branches in the way and I thought I had it on spot metering (as I almost always do) but it was set to meter off the whole shot... :( Therefore, the dark bird is underexposed and a little blurry where the branches are in the way. Arrgh.

This Raven (Common according to the books) was about 20 inches in length and had a wing span of around 4 feet. Every other bird in the area seemed to vacate when he arrived. (I don't blame them!) While he was purched in front of me he made a low knocking noise... knock, knock, knock. I've never heard anything like that from a bird before. I so wish that I had gotten a better photo, but it was fun to see him up-close.

The best shot occurred at the feeder later in the day. During a break from the sleet and snow I staked out the feeder and got a few images. It's becoming a popular place. These are examples of better exposure metering... Even in the low light of this yucky weather these images are clear and bright. If you ignore the water drops on the feeder and the birds, you may be fooled into thinking it was a sunny day!

Then the wet snow started again and I retreated to the house. The dogs stayed out for a bit and, just a few minutes ago, I toweled frozen sleet off of their backs...

BURRRRR.