Friday, June 13, 2014

Feathered Friday

I've been taken with watching red-tailed hawks lately. They are frequently within sight, soaring, wheeling; sometimes with dinner in their talons, sometimes harried by raucous crows. John Denver's song "The Eagle and the Hawk" captures their majesty; I want to capture them with my camera but haven't had the opportunity.

Yesterday I stepped outside to do something and saw movement in my island bed. A hummingbird was feeding from the white flags. I pulled out my camera, which is nearly always slung around my neck, zoomed in and snapped once before it flew away.
Gotcha! It's no prize-winner, but I was tickled to get it!

We ran out of black-oil sunflower seeds awhile back, so the birds have abandoned our deck. But I caught a glimpse of what looked like a fluffy white bird on the railing yesterday in the spitting mist. I looked closer to see what I think was a juvenile goldfinch. In spite of my dirty windows, I hid behind a wall, pointed my camera at it, and snapped away.
Such a cute little fluff-ball! Thanks for visiting; you made me smile. In return, I promise to buy another bag of seeds soon.   ;-)

That's it for today from . . .

3 comments:

Laura said...

Great snap of the hummer!! And it is an american Goldfinch. Could be a male moulting into eclipse plumage (migrating), but I think you're probably right that it's a juvenile. How Fun!

Unknown said...

I think it's pretty amazing that you got such a good shot of the hummingbird. I don't see them often, but they are always moving so fast, I would think it difficult to get a good shot. Love the pictures of the little juvenile! He looks soooo fluffy!

Michelle said...

Thanks, ladies; I was pretty pleased to capture that hummer on the wing!