I swear, the birds who visit the deck need an air traffic controller. The large Scream of Blue Jays who have adopted us don’t have the slightest care of who they might be flying into, and in this case, upset the Hairy Woodpecker I was trying to shoot. I saw a Grackle this morning! Excitement – I’m very fond of grackles, but this one didn’t stick long enough for photos. A Robin was out and about today, too, on a day that snapped brittle and cold.
Dang it, you get a better class of bird in your neighbourhood. All I see most days are magpies and crows with the occasional pigeon thrown in. The Canada geese are back again now though.
Oh, I’d love to be able to shoot magpies and crows! I almost never see them, and when I do, they don’t stick for photos. It was a diverse morning on deck though -- a cold snap will do that.
I love the colours that are hidden in a magpie’s feathers. They seem black,but then the light hits them and you see all this green. I did once see a magpie that was grey instead of black and thought it was fascinating.
And a crow dive-bombed me once, so I must have seemed threatening for some reason.
Then there was this goose who wasn’t happy that I was spending too much time too close to its nest. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tabbylavalamp/4544626889/ It wasn’t making noise or flapping, but when a wild animal starts walking towards you with determination, it’s best to take a picture then walk away. It’s not on its way to make friends.
Tabby:
Oh, magpies are such striking birds. Their coloration is much like that of a grackle, intensely beautiful in strong light.
Oh, what a fabulous shot! Yes, it’s never wise to piss off a goose. They can be serious mean.
Tabby Lavalamp,
When I worked landscape maintenance on Southern California freeway system, there was a one-legged crow I used to feed part of my lunch. Any where in about a 2 mile stretch of that interstate, he would find me at lunchtime. That went on for about 2 years. I missed him when he didn’t show up the 3rd spring.