spring break - chick with suet
March 24th, 2008
It’s spring break here and the weather is springlike, too. Warmer temperatures quickly melted the last snow of only an inch or so. Banks of snow in the shade shrink smaller every day and most sunny spots are clear of snow.
The mountain chickadee below is enjoying a bite of homemade suet.
I saw four bluebirds in an old wildfire burn area yesterday, but they were too far away for a close up portrait. I looked for spring birds around my home today but all I found were the year ’rounders like the chickadee above.
Con, you always manage such perfect backgrounds which really get the viewer to put their focus right where you want it…nice shot!
Thank you, Howard. Your comments often zero in on the atribute I like most in an image.
The telephoto lens with a fairly large aperture (5.6) combined with a subject that has some space between it and the background against which I’m shooting make getting the nice blur easy. This bird and feeder were about 40 ft away from the background.
Con, so does your suet disappear quickly - often consumed by some other critter? I am lucky if I get a block to stay around more than a few days - since it is usually confiscated by a raccoon or squirrel. (!)
Mark, my suet feeder is on a hook at 2nd story level to keep the bears away from it. It does sometimes disappear quickly, but I don’t know if it’s squirrels or the bigger birds gobbling it up. I had two ravens taking turns at the suet this morning. The ravens, magpies, and stellers jays are all big eaters. I add whole peanuts, whole corn, dried fruit and a variety of seed to the stuff to keep them all happy.
Lovely!!