The vocal outpouring of a Song Sparrow stopped me one day and, for the first time, I achieved a picture in which a bird would be visible to any viewer. Because I don’t yet have a telephoto lens, this was no small feat.
It might have been a male Cardinal next – a flicker of red distracting me from the pond.
Then came a glimpse, with the naked eye and the eye of my camera, of a bird with a fleck of red on its wings. That was what did it – and, by ‘it’, I mean that’s what turned me into a bird watcher. And, I was thrilled that my camera saw what I saw, even though the photo was not well focused.
When I began this blog, I said I would just record what I observed. I did next to no research on any of the living things I wrote about. But, the birds have brought out the serious scientist in me and I find myself wanting to identify and catalog them. So, I bought a simple pocket guide of New England birds. I knew that with this act, I was redefining my pond observation, at least of the feathered creatures.
To date, I have used one lens on my camera. The numbers on it range from 18 to 55. The wording of the prior sentence reveals the level of understanding I have of cameras. I do know the lens is considered ‘wide-angle’, which means that it takes pictures that capture a wide visual range when set at 18. Rotating the lens closer to the 55 brings the subject nearer in the shot. But, even when set at 55, the camera does not get a close-up picture of a bird with any level of detail. So, taking pictures of birds has been a challenge.
But, during the last few weeks, I find that I have achieved ‘a way’ with the birds. I realized early on that if I was too excited when spying a captivating bird, my picture was awful because my demeanor was not peaceful. In my excitement, I was moving and, so too, was the camera, and perhaps, as well, the bird.
The first time I captured a really good ‘wing and a prayer’ shot – that is, a picture that surprised me by its clarity, since it was taken in tremendous haste and with what seemed to be, no planning – I realized, as I thought about it later, that I had remained perfectly calm. I’ve tried to repeat that posture since, with some luck.
Most interesting though, is that the birds seem to respond to my calmness. They allow me to come closer. I have written about this with the blue heron – how she seemed to adapt to me and let me get within ten feet of her by the end of last summer season – after we started the season forty or more feet apart, consistently. And, now, with the smaller birds, I am aware of their greater tolerance of me. I believe this is because I remain peaceful. This may sound a bit crazy, but I think it’s true. For instance, this Black and White Warbler (?) has hopped in front of me along the same stretch of pathway three times now. Each time, as I walk calmly toward it, it allows me to get closer.
Throughout this post, I’ve used samples of pictures I’ve taken during the last three weeks. The one that appears at the beginning of this post is, I believe, a Baltimore Oriole. It was a predominantly orange bird for sure. I had been taking its picture while walking slowly toward it. When I reached its tolerance of my proximity, it flew from the branch on which it had been. It’s my habit to keep shooting when a bird takes flight. I didn’t realize in the moment what the camera had captured. I was thrilled when I saw the picture. (As always, click on the photos in the post to see an enlargement. Use the back arrow to return to the post.)
I’ll be writing again about the birds at the pond.
SilverLining 