Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Bird-hunting

I am having so much fun stalking birds with Mr. Lumix' zoom capabilities! Of course, I take hundreds of photos to get a few worth sharing, but that's the lot of every photographer. I'm usually shooting through double-paned windows, too, which isn't great for optimum clarity. But I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in you-know-where of capturing some of the more skittish varieties (like jays) without hiding behind a wall and sneaking just my camera out far enough to "see" the birds on our deck, feeder, or the cherry tree outside our bedroom window. I took the following yesterday, when we were still getting occasional snow flurries:

Rufous-sided towhees are usually ground feeders, but the snow is making them seek out the feeder on the deck railing. (And no, it doesn't have a big white spot on its throat; that's a rude little snowflake marring an otherwise sharp photo!)

Can you tell a young boy lives here?

This afternoon when I let Jackson out, he set up a ruckus along the fenceline beside our house. Brian was out playing in the snow and went to investigate, and alerted us all to the cause of Jackson's consternation:
This is the first time we've seen a porcupine around here. I was very thankful it was on the OTHER side of the fence! I hope this finds each of you counting your blessings as well.

Happy Thanksgiving from . . .

11 comments:

Leenie said...

Wow! On the sharpness of those photos! Nice view of your bird friends. Aren't digital cameras the best thing ever invented?! Talk about instant feed-back and gratification. And a zoom lens is just ice cream for the pie.

The snowballs on the window look familiar. But the porcupine does not. Yes, good thing he was on the other side of the fence and that the dog stayed clear of the little guy.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Marie said...

Wonderful pictures! I love seeing the different birds you have there, but you can keep the quilled visitor in your area of the country.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Nancy K. said...

I think Mr. Luminex wants to move to Minnesota, where we don't get so darned much snow!

;-)

I AM counting my blessings.

I am also lusting after your camera...

Michelle said...

Nancy, I KNOW you could deduct a new camera as a business expense -after all, you HAVE to post photos of your products for buyers! ;-)

Leenie and Marie, I'm none too thrilled to have a porcupine in the area! Besides the dogs, I imagine a curious Shetland or horse could also end up with a face full of quills. We've never had a mishap with wild animals here, other than the vegetative damage the deer do - no skunk sprays, no coyote attacks, no porcupine quills, no rabid anything. I'd like to keep it that way!

~~Sittin.n.Spinnin said...

Birds are so fun! Love bird feeders, so many different kinds seem to come by...
Happy Thanksgiving Michelle!

Tiggeriffic said...

Rufous sided towhee, what a beautiful bird. I have never seen one of those.. That's what I want for Christmas..a towhee on my bird feeder..
Porcupines? Yikes that's scary..I've never seen one of those either. Man oh Man ~ I'm not wishin to see one either in my area.
Have a Tiggeriffic Thanksgiving~! ta ta for now from Iowa..

A :-) said...

I'm thinking that jay photo could be your Christmas card :-) Really beautiful, Michelle :-)

Tammy said...

Just beautiful. The birds...not the porkie--I would hate to see those critters around here as I know a big dog that would not learn....Happy Thanksgiving.
Tammy

Tina T-P said...

Your bird pics are wonderful - I love rufus tohees! Happy Thanksgiving my friend. T.

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...

Oh no!!! not a porky in your neighborhood! I hope it moves on and doesn't come back! Love the bird pics. And I'm so glad you found Inky in the other post. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Summersheartjourney said...

What great pictures! I love Porcupines! We never see them around here. Thanks for sharing your great photos.
Summer