Squaring Up for the Photograph
So I was sitting in the living room gazing out the window and I realized “Hey, wait a minute. That looks like snow!” Sure enough. Snow. Since Garry already had his shoes and coat on, I asked him to fill up the feeders. I had filled them this morning, but when they smell snow, they eat like crazy. So Garry went out, filled the flat feeder and both of the hanging feeders. The Chickadees wouldn’t leave. They stayed ON the feeders while he filled them. I think they were ready to eat from his hands. I don’t think they are afraid of us anymore.
After that, it was a mob scene. Not a crow sort of thing. More like a food riot. Everything came out of the woods with an appetite. I took a bunch of pictures and discovered the EM-1 is much better with the long lens then the Pen F. I think it’s a weight issue. The Pen F is smaller and lighter than the other OMDs and the EM-1 is the biggest and heaviest one I’ve got. It seems to balance better with the long lens.
I could have taken pictures all day, but I’m trying to not take hundreds of pictures every time I pick up the camera, especially when so many of them are so similar to each other. Still, it ended up around 150. About 25 were either very blurry or the birds had already left and all I got was a branch or feeder with no bird. Then there were the ones where I got a big piece of window in the middle, so probably 125 remained by the time I deleted the ones where I missed the shot.
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Categories: #Birds, #gallery, #Photography, Blackstone Valley, Cardinal, Chickadee, square, Woodpeckers
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
What!? No columbines?
Very nice photos Marilyn. I’ve got to get and take some pics.
Rose got a new camera for Christmas with a telephoto lens. YA BABY!
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love that little Junco!
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He is a little cutie. They are so roly-poly 😀
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Thank goodness for digital when photographing birds!!
these are fabulous shots Marilyn – what’s the very last bird?
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The single shot at the very bottom is a junco. They come in two different colors. Some are almost black with white tummies. The others are medium gray with white stomachs. I think if you click on the pictures, I have the names of the birds listed in the titles. WordPress changed — yesterday — how these galleries work. You can’t click through the collection anymore. You have to click each one SEPARATELY. I don’t know why they keep making it harder to use their format. Life isn’t hard enough??
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Thought it was unlike you to have no titles, the WP changes are tiresome indeed!
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It doesn’t make me want to spend more time online. With each complication they add, I think more seriously about giving up. I haven’t because I’m retired and what else am I going to do? But I am doing less because everything is harder than it used to be. Even stupid things like staying on LINE without losing your connection has been difficult.
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I know the internet is slowing up for lots of people during lockdown, so many of us online but you are right the constant changes are really not helpful. I’ve seen others who are thinking of stopping too – I guess you could just use instagram?
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I agree that these shots are remarkably clear and focused. I can’t believe how many different varieties of birds show up at your feeder. I think these are some of your best photos. Is that last little bird a chickadee? So winsome and hopeful!!! I loved seeing these. Can I buy the little guys a meal? My birds won’t eat from my feeder, so could I send yours a meal or two via paypal??
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That last one is a Junco. They are migratory, so we only see them in the winter. Believe it or not, this is where they come to warm up. The rest of the year, they lie up in Canada. The second pictures down from the top on the left — the little bird clinging to the feeder — is a Rose-Breasted Chickadee. We also have Black-Capped Chickadees (our state bird) and there’s another one and I don’t remember its name. But they are all small, round, and awfully cute. They look like big feathery ping-pong balls. The Juncos are the same shape, but a bit bigger. Chickadees are very small.
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I remember Jucos but don’t remember from where..
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Well, you lived up north, so they probably came down to you in the winter from Canada. These are serious cold-weather birds.
I always find it strange that birds come HERE for the winter. It gets COLD here. Like now when it’s below zero for a week at a time. I never want to go anywhere when it’s this cold. I have trouble breathing. My lungs object.
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