Liza's Bird Photography Rules #3

Varied Thrush
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Gentle Readers,

When one takes a bad picture through a car window when one should have gotten out of the car and taken a better picture, one can salvage the situation by claiming the picture is artistic and that one wanted that effect. It's so much better than admitting to laziness!

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In other news, Ruby is doing well. She's adjusting to life in our crazy home. She still finds the kids a trifle intimidating but, as you can see, is starting to see some benefit to them as well. I'm also glad to see her being a little naughty -- she is a puppy, after all. Today, she got toys out of their rooms and started chewing on them. Fortunately, I found her before any damage was done -- but she had gotten 5 stuffed dogs out of Ruthie's room and one from Gage's!

My girls: Ruby and Ruthie!

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Don't forget to check out another I and the Bird!

Great Backyard Bird Count Report

Having a little shower!

Day 1:

at school, I counted 16 Ravens (but did not see any Varied or Hermit Thrushes!)

Day 2:
at home, I counted:
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird - 1
Steller's Jay - 1
Common Raven - 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 5
Dark-eyed Junco - 4

Day 3:
at my inlaws' pond, I counted:
Mallard - 3
Bufflehead - 2
Common Merganser - 4
Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Green Heron - 1
Common Raven - 2

Day 4:
at home, I counted:
Steller's Jay - 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 6
Pygmy Nuthatch - 2
Fox Sparrow - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 4

And, a new Bird Photography Rule:

Where the Double-crested Cormorant was

Liza's Bird Photography Rule #2 --
When photographing Diving Ducks, one should not dither while focusing. Photos of where the bird was are never as interesting of where the bird is.

Bird Photography Rules

Hermit Thrush
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Gentle Readers,

I am going to share with you my #1 rule for Bird Photography. Yes, I know, someone of my abilities sharing her hard-won knowledge . . . it's truly an inspiration but, Gentle Readers, that's the kind of person I am.

Bird Photography is the perfect balance of art and craft, inspiration and desperation, luck and heartache. Rule #1 addresses these dichotomies.

Rule #1 states that when attempting to photograph birds whilst using one's car as cover, one should not inadvertently lay on the horn. Sudden, loud noises -- as it turns out -- frighten the birds and they fly away leaving you with pictures of where they were not what they are. Pictures of "where they were" are not interesting to anyone.

As is so often the case, however, rules were made to be broken. The picture above was taken directly after I learned Rule #1. A lovely bird, sitting in a tree, startled by the sudden blast of a car horn as I adjusted myself to get the right shot disappears rapidly. But, I am not easily swayed. I saw that the next bush over had started to bud out and the lovely bright pink flowers would make a nice shot. So, I got out of the car and walked over to take a shot of the flowers and noticed that the bird in question, a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttus) of the Pacific variety, had not gone far and was in fact hiding in said flowering bush and trying very hard to pretend I wasn't there. I couldn't delay there were a lot of people coming up the hill (going to pick their children up from school too) so I used burst mode, shot about 15 pictures and got one that was usable (not good, mind you, but usable).

So, as in all things, Gentle Reader, when life gives you lemons, by all means, make lemonade but if life gives you limes . . . make margaritas! And, those, my friends, are words to live by.

Cheerio -- The Mad Bird Lady of Boulder Creek

ps. These rules were inspired by the efforts of Lillian Stokes and Bill of the Birds who take the sharing of their rules more (or less) seriously!