Bird Images of a Weekend

Our Bird Spa has a very powerful bubbler that pumps water up through a hole in a fake rock. Birds cannot resist it.

I spent some time in the photo blind this weekend watching the birds coming to the water feature and got a few usable images. By 1 pm on a hot summer day, there are always birds at our water feature. But bathing birds, being wet and less able to fly, are putting themselves in a risky spot, so they are wary and skittish. There's no sneaking up on them. But the photo blind seems to conceal just enough to make it possible to take images of bathing birds.

I did not get anything stellar. A few images of goldfinches, a few young, naive cardinals. I'm still learning how to use this camera and lens.

A female goldfinch comes in for a drink.

Then slips into the water for a dip.

And starts splashing water over its plumage.

It must feel good to get totally soaked on a hot day.

This young cardinal was attracted to the water but never did bathe.

One image that I did NOT get from the blind was this shot of a young male Baltimore oriole. He was attracted to the water feature while I was inside the house replenishing my liquids.

This young male Baltimore oriole hung over the bath for 10 minutes but never went any closer.

Ain't that how it always works? You leave the photo blind because the sun has come out and it's 437 degrees F in there, you are dizzy and careen wildly toward the shade and air conditioning of the house, and THAT'S when the oriole shows up. Quick like a bunny I grabbed the camera at my side (it had actually melded itself onto my polyester disco shirt) and snapped off a few frames through the studio window.