Birds on my Walk

Less rain and occasional sunshine in these days. I have been ready for migrated wild birds to come back since March, but as of today, I barely see any, only the long term residents, stella jays, juncos, flickers, robins and sparrows. I heard house finches singing but they were hidden, I only saw them twice at a quick glance.

It was a sunny morning. Planning to shoot at 5th Street Marketplace, I wandered around and ended up at Delta Pond. I love to walk along this river path. It is so refreshing and relaxing. We ride bikes on this path when weather is warming up. Many bikers and joggers come through here winter and spring, rain or shine.  They are inspiring to me.

I am happy with my 70-300 mm lens that I just procured couple months ago. It is a bit heavy for my regular walk, but this is the place where I spotted my favorite Cedar Waxwings. I dreamed of them and hope to see them again here.  Besides, if there are herons or egrets around, they will be pretty far away from the path. I have also been thinking to challenge myself to carry only one lens for the shoot. So it's my choice for the day.

The moment when I stepped on the path, I heard bird chirping on a berry tree. Cedar Waxwing loves berries. My heart almost stopped beating. I looked up, two birds up there were switching their places but they were not Cedar Waxwings. It is still exciting to me because I have not seen them before. There was plenty of light, but they hid among the branches. This bird has black stripes on the eyes, black eyes blend with black stripes.

black-throated gray warbler

The image was downloaded, but I can barely find its eyes. This gives me an opportunity to do a little bit of post-processing, the creative process that provides me much excitement and contentment. I am impatient and the process trains me to be patient.  It is not just about better photography skill and pictures. I am benefited from taking pictures. 

For comparison, I also included the original shot I took. Lots of green and spring brightness, but I like it to be a bit softer and surely I want to see its eyes.

I don't know if it is by coincidence or it is my receiving heart that I suddenly saw so many birds around at the same time. I shot a bunch, but not all turn out. It is challenging to shot birds. 

Wilson warbler

They are constantly moving and moving fast, and I ended up with blurry pictures. If I am lucky to have a few clear shots, then the composition is mostly screwed up and cropping reduced photo quality significantly. Migrated birds are not local and they tend to be more sensitive. They either run fast or they stay up high. It is unlikely for me to carry a 500mm for a walk. 300mm is doable, but I need luck and I have to be quick.

I also realized that I need to be a serious birder to take better bird shots. I need to know more about their inhabiting habits, locations and be able to stage the shots, not shooting along walking. But honestly, I have enough fun from my discoveries.

Western yellow rumped warbler

Not just knowing what your friends and family do on Facebook, I came out to find out what the birds do around us and who they are. I know Warblers are popular in northwest region, but I have not seen them before. Somehow they are having a convention here today that I captured the shots of three different warblers at one walk.

At least 2-3 different types of sparrows inhabiting in my neighborhood. I also saw a lot of sparrows growing up in Taiwan. They are 'just sparrows', little brown and plain looking thing that I believe, most of us, do not give them a second look.

Ever since I identified Song Sparrow's crisp and beautiful voice, I began to appreciate their existence. They don't have striking color or features, but their earnestness and persistence in singing us a beautiful morning have put them in my favorite list. I probably saw 6 sparrows on the path and 3 of them seemed eager to sing.

song sparrow

Check out how this little bird sing. It appears to me that he had his lung wide open and gave out his best effort. They were singing along and I was marching in the rhythm they composed. My heart is light and my steps brisk. I came here 'hunting' and mindlessly I walked the whole path.  

Just before I was ready to make my U-turn, I spotted this Heron. I have had quite a few Heron shots now, but not from this angle and in this morning light. And, it is not too far away.
I should have cleaned up the background, but I decided not to. This is his habitat, I like the image to be authentic.

Thought it can be better if I used a 500mm lens, but I also admit it good enough that I've got something that I would not have otherwise. I know I will always want to look out for the better, but I also want to put a stop and enjoy whatever I have been already given.  

Great Blue Heron