This is a bird that doesn’t want to sit still, but thanks to auto-focus I was able to capture him for brief second he landed. I wish I had auto-focus. I’m a little like this bird. I guess I’m the bird aspiring to be the camera.
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Compare to the PYGMY NUTHATCH on Uncle David’s blog.
I assume this bird, standing by while others in the flock take water, is perfectly present and mindful within his immediate moment, achieving his measure of life’s purpose within that same moment.
Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus)
As we arrived late in the day at Cabin Lake, (2010) a flock of Clark’s Nutcracker’s were the first birds we encountered on site. This bird just looks so well put together. A superstar. I love the black wings against the grey body along with the fluffy white turbo jet section. I guess an adult bird, if it’s wild, free and uninjured, is never “out of shape”.
Clark’s Nutcracker
This bird is usually hard to see because it prefers to stay under the cover of bushes and on or near the ground most of the time. I’m grateful this one decided to perch briefly and show off it’s color and lines.
I think it is also interesting how they scratch the ground with both feet simultaneously, exposing insects and seeds. Here is a 19 second video from Youtube that shows this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLuqWidQIKs
Here is an audio recording of Uncle David reading, with Aunt Carolyn’s assistance, the list of species we saw at, and on our way to, Cabin Lake. (Recorded August 23, 2010) (2 minutes)
They are always making lists, recording everything they see and do on their trips. I just happened to be along this time with an audio recorder.
Aunt Carolyn asked me to record “10 Bluebirds”, “Sprague’s Pipit”, and “Mule Deer” as additional species we saw as we were leaving Cabin Lake.
Here’s another drop in the bucket of a recalled peace.
I don’t have a lens that is normally strong enough for a decent bird photo, but in this instance I was in a blind, putting me close to the action.
I still remember an early morning mountain bike ride some years ago with a buddy of mine up Third Fork Canyon where he stopped in front of me, popped off his bike with great enthusiasm and asked if I had seen a wildly colored bird that he had just spotted before it flew away. I hadn’t. We looked at a field guide later and it became clear to us that he had seen his first Western Tanager. He saw it, I believe, because he had decided several days before that to start being more mindful of birds in general. The mindfulness that birding demands is something that I appreciate, and a Western Tanager is, in my opinion, a species that is easy to get excited about.
At Cabin Lake Oregon
Beedie Savage’s blog in inspiring me to reach for some level of peace (again) through photography. I have, as a result, revisited some of my bird photos with a different mindset. The photo below is my first installment of a few I intend to trickle out here.
In 2010 I was invited by Aunt Carolyn and Uncle David to join with them on a trip to Cabin Lake Oregon where one can usually see a great variety of birds. Uncle David has taught me this is attributable to something called the “Edge Effect”.
master bias leaning 