The Birds and Bees...and Other Critters
Wildlife, both large and small, are abundant to even the casual observer here in the South. The problem comes when you want to take their picture. Some don't mind and others make it nearly impossible!
Until this last month I never appreciated how difficult it was to get a good picture of a bird. I thought if I had the right lens the problem was solved. I couldn't have been more mistaken. Right before Christmas I got a new Canon 100mm-400mm zoom lens. It's wonderful but also quite bulky, heavy and obvious. I'm beginning to wonder if I should find some camo for it! On my daily walks I see a good many birds and quite a few of them let me get quite close before they fly away. But when I've got my camera with the big lens it is a totally different story. The squirrel shots I took in our backyard. It didn't take long for the squirrels to realize I wasn't going to bother them and as long as I could fire off the shots quickly they were fairly easy to photograph. The one shot of the squirrel watching me over the fence reminded me so much of the TV show Home Improvement; he looks like Wilson except he doesn't have on a hat!
Mockingbirds are very brave but maybe brazen is a better adjective for them. They often let me get very close. I made a trip to the Fairhope pier and park a few days ago. Those birds are accustomed to people being around so they don't mind too very much as long as you don't get in a hurry. The Great Blue Heron was very accomodating. He was standing in a pond beside a submerged pump bringing in warm water. I could see it bubbling up by his feet. I was careful to move slowly and he didn't seem to mind me getting very close. On a visit to that same park a few months ago I came upon that small tree frog. I think he was about three quarters of an inch long. He was perched on the edge of a kudzu leaf and was young enough not to be frightened by me. I was using a 50mm lens with close up diopters to shoot him. By the time I had him in focus I was only a very few inches from him. I felt fortunate to have even seen him.
I used my 100mm-400mm zoom lens to take all of these photos except for the two of the tree frog. All were taken hand held. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed getting out and taking them!
