Happy Earth Day!

Staying With the Bird Theme for Now....

The Maine state bird is very photogenic.

3 Seconds to React....

This is my favorite photo I took in 2015. I made it last February and didn't post it till now because I saved it as one of my calendar exclusives. The two chickadees posed together on this fallen deer antler for maybe three seconds before the top one flew off.

Season's Greetings....

I took this photo last March specifically for posting today. Except for the text, no Photoshop was used in the making of this image.

As White as Snow....

I wanted to try my hand at taking a bird photo with a clean uncluttered background. All I did was set up a white sheet as a background next to my bird feeder and wait, this is what I came away with.

Backyard Visitor...

The days are getting shorter and the nights are cooler, it won't be long and autumn will be here once again. A couple of years ago I grew some sunflowers and let them go to seed and here is one of the visitors they attracted.

Mellow Yellow....

The forsythias are finally blooming around here. The bright yellow is a welcome sight after a long, cold winter.

Patience Pays Off....

I've decided to start posting on a more regular basis again on this blog, that being said, here's my first photo after a long hiatus. Chickadees are very abundant around here but you still need a lot of patience to get a good shot.

Maine State Bird...

You gotta have quick reflexes to take a photo like this because the chickadees usually don't land for long. I miss the photograph more times than I get it.

Chickadee...

This chickadee was plucking away at the cat-o-nine tail seeds and I was only able to grab a couple of shots before it flew off.
I had to go back to word verification on leaving comments because I was getting anonymous comments left with unsavory links.

Chickadee....

Here's a left over picture from back in May when I went to Sabattus River. It landed on the pine for a split second and I was only able to snap one photo.

Posing Pretty....

I took this photo in my yard right next to the bird feeder. When the chickadees come in groups there is a definite pecking order and they have their favorite perches while they wait their turn. This angled branch about two feet from the feeder is one of the favorite perches. All I had to do is point my lens at the branch and wait for a bird to land.

Glad It's Spring....

Here's the chickadee I posted the other day, it decided to break out in song.

Spring Time Chickadee....

It's nice to go outside in the morning and hear a cacophony of birds singing in the woods, it must be spring.

Chickadee....

Here's another photo from the other day, it's my favorite picture I've taken in 2009 so far. It's always my goal to do better.

Chickadee dee dee.....

The most common bird visiting my feeder is the Maine state bird. They allow a pretty close approach so they're good to practice bird photography on.

Another Chickadee.....

I took the top photograph shortly after photographing the squirrel from yesterdays post. I've included a photo I took last summer to show the comparison of how chickadees puff up their feathers when it's cold to help keep warm.

Winter Chickadee....

I took this photo this past weekend and it also happens to be the first photo I took in 2009. It's one of the chickadees attracted to my feeder.

This coming Friday I'll be having a guest post on this blog, it'll be a great article written by Sarah Scrafford entitled "Photography and its Role in Environmental Awareness" be sure to give it a read and let her know what you think.

Chickadee in Nestbox.....

Yesterday I had a few questions on how I knew the difference between the male and female chickadee. I can't tell by looking at them, I was just able to figure out which was which by their actions. Here's a photo of the female in the nestbox, while she was in there the male came and fed her a caterpillar and I snapped his picture when he landed on a branch afterward. I actually have a photo of him holding the caterpillar which I may post at another time. The female flew out of the box after a while and the second photo from yesterday is what I took.

Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee....

I mentioned a few weeks back that some chickadees would probably be nesting in my nest box. This past weekend I finally noticed them preparing the nest. The two pictures were taken Sunday morning and as you can see these chickadees were backlit so I used my flash set at - 2/3 exposure compensation to add a little light and put a catchlight in the eye. They're used to seeing me around so I was able to get pretty close. The top photo is the male and the bottom one is the female.