Woodpeckers

I wasted carefully redirected an hour this morning to sitting by the window with my new camera trying to get good bird shots. I aspire to take action shots like Artist Annie's, but I realize now how far I have to go.

Watching the action through a long lens was quite entertaining. Catching the action on 'film' is a far different matter. The scrub jays are at the top of the pecking order, but the stellar jays have better hats. However, when it comes to hats, the wild eyed woodpeckers, with their cardinal's skullcaps take the prize.

The grey squirrel is surprisingly well mannered, and spends his time on the ground with the quail scrounging around for dropped goodies. He has a splendid bushy tail, which looks especially nice with the sun shining through it.

The ubiquitous finches and goldfinches come and go in little flocks, startled off by the arrival of the larger birds. They hang out in the nearby tree until the coast is clear to come back. Seems like a hard way to digest a meal.

The challenge is handheld shots that are in focus! If I were to publish a typical example of my efforts, of which I deleted dozens, it would be the flash of a blue tail, an indistinct blur of  wings, or a perfectly focussed shot of an empty bird feeder covered with bird droppings.

Spoiler alert: I will be trying to concentrate on family shots for the next few days, and my comments may be few and far between. Much as I love hearing from everybody, I know how it is with family pictures…other people's pictures, that is….I'll catch up when the dust settles….