Chickadee On My Head and Crow Eating Popcorn
Hi,
This is an unusual post in several regards...
First... Our hearts, thoughts, prayers, and love go out to the victims, family, and friends of those lost at Virginia Tech.
Ok... Deep breath... Onward...
Secondly... The wife has a unique birding story to pass along...
It was a typical Cape Cod day - cool, sunny, with blue skies and a light to moderate breeze (if there had been no breeze, I would be writing a post for a different forum, as I would have been out in my kayak, but that's neither here nor there). As it was, it seemed a good day to get some random bird shots from the feeders in the yard.
I had the brilliant idea to bait the crow feeder and then lurk on the deck, camera in hand, to see if I could get some good pictures of these notoriously camera-shy birds. So having filled the tray with freshly-popped popcorn, I hunkered down on my stomach (on a mat) in the corner of the deck, covered with camouflage. (Read that: green blanket.) With camera in hand, I prepared for a long-ish stint outside. Next to me was the bird bath; above me was a small seed feeder.
After the various creatures forgot about my presence, the birds returned to the feeders, the sound returned to its normal noisy level, and yard life continued as usual. Under my camouflage, I snapped photos of woodpeckers, grackles, sparrows, robins, titmice, goldfinches, our local myrtle warbler, and even a few brave squirrels; in fact, all the usual denizens except the crows. Oh, I could hear them on the periphery, but my vision was limited to the small area in front of my eyes free of the blanket. I could hear the squirrels scampering around the deck, and the scritch of little claws as they climbed to the bird bath for a drink. I heard the flutter of little wings and felt a gentle rain of sunflower seeds as the chickadees flew up to the seed feeder above me. In fact, my camouflage was so good, that at one point I heard the wing beats and suddenly felt tiny bird feet on my head through the blanket. A chickadee had decided that I was a good place to perch and eat a seed. It was an extraordinary feeling.
Through all this the crows were calling, egging each other to be the first to the delectable pile of popcorn on and beneath their tray. One brave soul finally lit on the ground several feet away from the tray (but within my vision and camera range), and sidled cautiously toward the food. I clicked frequently, getting several good shots of the bird stuffing his bill with as many fluffy kernels as it could hold. At one point, he had so much in his beak he looked like he was foaming at the mouth. He tried to get one last piece in, and everything popped out! So he started loading up again, skittish and watchful, but determined to carry away as much booty as he could.
After about an hour of watching, holding totally still, and snapping photos, I was chilled, cramped, and thirsty. During a lull in yard activity, I picked up blanket, mat, and camera and returned to the house to download the photos, one of which is shown below. I only wish that Alan had been watching with a camera to catch a shot of the chickadee on my head. Maybe next time!
See you under the seed,
CapeCodAlan
P.S. Note how Mrs. CapeCodAlan torments Mr. CapeCodAlan by using words like "fluffy", and "scritch". You're all witnesses folks...
This is an unusual post in several regards...
First... Our hearts, thoughts, prayers, and love go out to the victims, family, and friends of those lost at Virginia Tech.
Ok... Deep breath... Onward...
Secondly... The wife has a unique birding story to pass along...
It was a typical Cape Cod day - cool, sunny, with blue skies and a light to moderate breeze (if there had been no breeze, I would be writing a post for a different forum, as I would have been out in my kayak, but that's neither here nor there). As it was, it seemed a good day to get some random bird shots from the feeders in the yard.
I had the brilliant idea to bait the crow feeder and then lurk on the deck, camera in hand, to see if I could get some good pictures of these notoriously camera-shy birds. So having filled the tray with freshly-popped popcorn, I hunkered down on my stomach (on a mat) in the corner of the deck, covered with camouflage. (Read that: green blanket.) With camera in hand, I prepared for a long-ish stint outside. Next to me was the bird bath; above me was a small seed feeder.
After the various creatures forgot about my presence, the birds returned to the feeders, the sound returned to its normal noisy level, and yard life continued as usual. Under my camouflage, I snapped photos of woodpeckers, grackles, sparrows, robins, titmice, goldfinches, our local myrtle warbler, and even a few brave squirrels; in fact, all the usual denizens except the crows. Oh, I could hear them on the periphery, but my vision was limited to the small area in front of my eyes free of the blanket. I could hear the squirrels scampering around the deck, and the scritch of little claws as they climbed to the bird bath for a drink. I heard the flutter of little wings and felt a gentle rain of sunflower seeds as the chickadees flew up to the seed feeder above me. In fact, my camouflage was so good, that at one point I heard the wing beats and suddenly felt tiny bird feet on my head through the blanket. A chickadee had decided that I was a good place to perch and eat a seed. It was an extraordinary feeling.
Through all this the crows were calling, egging each other to be the first to the delectable pile of popcorn on and beneath their tray. One brave soul finally lit on the ground several feet away from the tray (but within my vision and camera range), and sidled cautiously toward the food. I clicked frequently, getting several good shots of the bird stuffing his bill with as many fluffy kernels as it could hold. At one point, he had so much in his beak he looked like he was foaming at the mouth. He tried to get one last piece in, and everything popped out! So he started loading up again, skittish and watchful, but determined to carry away as much booty as he could.
After about an hour of watching, holding totally still, and snapping photos, I was chilled, cramped, and thirsty. During a lull in yard activity, I picked up blanket, mat, and camera and returned to the house to download the photos, one of which is shown below. I only wish that Alan had been watching with a camera to catch a shot of the chickadee on my head. Maybe next time!
See you under the seed,
CapeCodAlan
P.S. Note how Mrs. CapeCodAlan torments Mr. CapeCodAlan by using words like "fluffy", and "scritch". You're all witnesses folks...
Comments
All I can say is that these two are a great team, with terrific sense of humor, full of super ideas and wonderful photographers!
Posted by: Joanne | April 18, 2007 7:27 PM
Never mind pictures of the crows (though that is a great picture)... I want to see a picture of the chickadee on the blanket! I wonder what he/she thought when they found out what was beneath their perch!
I thoroughly enjoy reading this blog -- keep up the great work!
PS, Have the hummingbirds come back yet?
Note from CapeCodAlan:
Thanks about the blog! And no, the hummingbirds haven't returned yet, but they're getting close!
Posted by: marcia | April 20, 2007 12:07 PM
"Fluffy" and "scritch" are both perfectly cromulent words.
Note frome CapeCodAlan... I take umbrage! "Scritch" is not a cromulent word, no matter how much one wants to embiggen the English language!
;) ;) ;)
Posted by: Mrs. CapeCodAlan | April 20, 2007 1:31 PM