Lots of “chip” in today’s post.
Three days ago in the mountains I found another mixed flock of songbirds in an isolated clump of bushes near a road. The flock included Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhees, House Wrens, Chipping Sparrows and at least one Cedar Waxwing.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is one of three young Chipping Sparrows who were preening after a recent bath. I caught this one in a fairly ‘normal’ pose but most of the time they had their heads buried in their plumage or their backs to me as they worked their feathers over.
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Here’s another one of the three. This may look like a leisurely wing stretch but it happened so fast I didn’t even know it had occurred until I looked at my photos at home.
1/6400, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
The three sparrows were only about a foot or less apart from each other on two different perches. I wish I’d taken more photos like this one to see if I could catch both birds with light on their faces and in their eyes. But nearly always in a situation like this, one bird is closer to me than the other so I don’t have enough depth of field to get them both sharp. So I don’t even try. Through my viewfinder I can’t tell if they’re both truly sharp so I have to wait until I get home to make that determination.
But this time both birds were the same distance from me (they were both in the same focal plane) so both sparrows are sharp. If I’d taken more photos I probably would have been able to get some that had better poses from both birds. Live and learn.
Chipping Sparrows are one of the most common and widely distributed songbirds in North America so for a lot of folks they’re just another LBJ (little brown job) that doesn’t inspire much interest.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
So I decided to end today’s post with some mammalian cuteness I found just down the road from the sparrows. This Least Chipmunk seemed to be hugging ‘his’ perch as he watched me through a tunnel of branches and foliage. I was fairly close to him so I didn’t have enough depth of field to get his long tail sharp. But cute is cute.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
As I prepared to leave he appeared to be sending me off with an extended wave of his right ‘hand’. In reality, he was only stretching.
Ron
Chip, chip, hooray! 😃
🙂
I LIKE lbjs. They are often subtle charmers. And I love watching birds bathing and preening afterwards. And the chipmunk? Icing on a very rich (and delicious) cake.
“I LIKE lbjs”
I’m with you, EC. If they have feathers and they aren’t invasive I like having them around.
I love the stretching chipmunk!
Good!
What a delicious potpourii of birds to chose from! 🙂 Chipping Sparrows do tend to be an LBJ tho I pay closer attention than I used to…. Chipmunk is a cutie – they’re fun when NOT in my yard….. 😉
At “war” with then ants and their aphid nursery they keep trying to get going on my water lily leaves – goldfish do like them so it’s worth it to wash them off…… 😉
Thanks, Judy. These days it seems to be feast or famine with birds but it’s usually mostly famine. Haven’t looked at my photos from this morning yet but I doubt I have anything worth saving.
‘But cute is cute.’ 😄
🙂
Chipmunks just make my heart flutter – maybe it’s the stripes, which are so beautiful. This little one, too precious! And the young sparrows, also too cute, especially the double decker one. At our backyard water dish, it seems to be the young ones who are the most enthusiastic bathers – getting rid of all the ick from the nest?
“getting rid of all the ick from the nest?”
Maybe that, and the fact that young’uns are so inexperienced they need to do it with more gusto to be effective.
Chipping Sparrows are the definitive LBJ.
Enjoyed the photos, both avian and mammalian.
Agreed. And thanks, Michael.
I always like watching our birds bath outback and then shake it out and preen. Nice shots. The Least Chipmunk is way too cute and that first shot with the light just right is really special.
I like your regrets – if I had taken more photos etc. So often I leave a situation talking to myself – why didn’t you move over there so you would have had a better angle with the light or – you knew that eagle was going to take off – why weren’t you ready, etc.
Thanks, Everett. In those situations I do that “talking to myself’ thing regularly. Sometimes it isn’t a very nice conversation.
Cuteness excuses some not so sharp bits like tales, every time.
Well, at least some times…