The Eyes

Tags

chickadee, photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser, ruddy duck, white-throated sparrow

As bird photographers, we are often told to focus on the bird eyes and make sure they are not only visible but also stand out.

Chickadees are quite common in our area, at any time of the year. Up to now in most of the photos I took of them, their black eyes blend in and are indistinguishable from their black cap. Recently, at sunset, one of them posed long enough with its head turned to the sun, and revealed its bright eyes.

Carolina Chickadee.

The female Ruddy Duck has brown eyes, usually lost in its brown cap, until the sun shines on them.

Female Ruddy Duck.

Sparrows have brown eyes which are more visible, but a ray of sunlight also helped to bring them out.

White-throated Sparrow.

On the other hand Red-breasted Mergansers have devilish red eyes that cannot be missed.

Red-breasted Mergansers.

How to Eat Peanuts

Tags

blue jay, chickadee, downy woodpecker, photography, postaday, tufted titmouse

Each bird has its own way of eating peanuts. Here are a few examples.

Blue Jay.

Chickadee, probably the smallest bird that is not a Hummingbird.

Downy Woodpecker.

Tufted Titmouse.

Then we are back to the Blue Jay, the most voracious of them all.

Blue Jay.

Chickadee

Tags

chickadee, photography, postaday

Chickadees are on the small side compared to other birds. However, they are very energetic, flying to and from the bird feeder, grabbing one seed or peanut at a time, and taking it somewhere else to eat. We have a magnolia tree about 10 ft (3 m) from our bird feeder, and that’s where many of them choose to perch and eat their loot.

Chickadee on magnolia branch.

One Is Not Enough!

Tags

blue jay, chickadee, nuthatch, photography, postaday, roasted peanut, tufted titmouse

Each bird eats roasted peanuts in its own way. Here are a few examples that I have witnessed recently.

Nuthatch: “Hmm…, don’t know which one I want!”

Tufted Titmouse: “I know what I want! Whoopee!”

Chickadee: “Come here, you silly peanut!”

Blue Jay:”Peanuts, here I come!”

Blue Jay: “One is enough, you think?”

Blue Jay: “One is not enough!”

Backyard Friends

Tags

chickadee, nuthatch, photography, postaday, tufted titmouse, woodpecker

Throughout most of this year I have been neglecting the small birds that live in the woods behind our house and frequent our bird feeder. They have become regulars, at least as long as I remember to refill when the feeder is empty. Today, the last day of 2015, I put out a tray of roasted peanuts as a special treat for them. They seemed to love it. As of two hours ago all the peanuts were gone. However, photos of the birds remain for us to enjoy.

Tufted Titmouse.

Nuthatch.

Tufted Titmouse.

Chickadee.

Woodpeckers also showed up, but the following female ignored the peanuts and climbed up toward the regular bird feeder.

Woodpecker.

Happy New Year and the best of everything to all of you in 2016!

Chickadees

Tags

chickadee, photography, postaday

Chickadees are small birds, albeit bigger than hummingbirds. During the winter they are quite nervous, darting to and from the bird feeder, barely giving me time to take even one shot. Now that spring is almost here (it is 30 F as of right now!), for some reason they have been bolder and have willingly posed for the following shots.

Chickadee on magnolia branch.

Chickadee on magnolia branch.

Chickadee on magnolia branch.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Tags

cardinal, chickadee, photography, postaday, red-bellied woodpecker, timouse

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is bigger than a Cardinal but smaller than a Blue Jay, yet it manages to bump most other birds off when it comes to our bird feeder.

It has an undulating flight, much like a roller coaster wave, which makes it hard to photograph. I’ve been trying to catch it in my viewfinder as it jumps off an oak branch and dives toward the bird feeder. However, it always comes below my line of sight before coming to a stop in the back of the feeder. After many tries, I was able to more or less capture it in flight in the following photos.

Female Cardinal fled as Red-bellied Woodpecker swept in

Two Titmice got out of the way as Red-bellied Woodpecker appeared

Downy Woodpecker and Chickadee about to escape as Red-bellied Woodpecker was coming close

Downy Woodpecker and Chickadee Scattered

BIF (Birds in Flight) Attempts

Tags

BIF, chickadee, house finch, junco, photography, postaday, tufted titmouse

For a photographer, taking pictures of birds in flight (BIF) is probably the ultimate challenge. Birds fly very fast, they won’t wait for you, and you have little control on such matters as lighting and angles. You must shoot at very high speed, bump up the ISO, and just hope that your camera can meet those critical demands.

I have started to do BIF with the small birds around our bird feeder, as you can see in the following photos.

House Finch flying away as a Cardinal looks on

Tufted Titmouse arriving as a Chickadee is leaving

Two Juncos, one landing, the other taking off