{"id":62150,"date":"2018-08-11T05:49:50","date_gmt":"2018-08-11T11:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=62150"},"modified":"2018-08-11T09:10:20","modified_gmt":"2018-08-11T15:10:20","slug":"the-song-sparrow-versus-the-serviceberry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/11\/the-song-sparrow-versus-the-serviceberry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Song Sparrow Versus The Serviceberry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Problem-solving from a sparrow.<\/p>\n

In some ways this isn’t\u00a0a big deal because\u00a0many of us see behaviors similar to this from birds\u00a0fairly often. But it happens\u00a0so fast and we’re usually\u00a0so far away\u00a0we can’t appreciate the steps and the details\u00a0involved. Photography can allow us to see and appreciate them much\u00a0better.<\/p>\n

The first\u00a0image has no catch light in the eye but I’m including it to help me tell the story. All photos are presented in the order they were taken.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains this song sparrow had “his” eye on some serviceberries.\u00a0One berry in particular, the ripe purple one. It was hanging nearly out of reach below him but he reached way down and grabbed it with the tip of his bill and then\u00a0pulled it up in front of him where he hoped he\u00a0could really work it over.<\/p>\n

But it didn’t stay in that convenient spot for long.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

As soon as he opened his bill slightly the berry dropped down to its original position while he was still licking his chops from the first tiny bite.<\/p>\n

This technique just wasn’t going to get the job done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

So he pondered the berry and his predicament for a few moments and then changed tactics.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

He reached\u00a0down to eat it in place, making no\u00a0further attempts to retrieve it. It was an awkward position for him but at least the berry didn’t wander away while he was eating it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

He worked the berry over for a long time, occasionally getting a pretty good-sized\u00a0chunk despite the lack of leverage he had.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Occasionally he\u00a0rotated his head so far it was completely upside down for this upside down body position. You may have as hard a time orienting yourself as to his actual head position as I did. If so, notice in the second and third photos that his whitest eye stripe is directly above his eye when he’s right side up but here it’s beneath the eye.\u00a0The eye we see is his left eye and his slightly curved\u00a0upper mandible is at the bottom.<\/p>\n

It makes my neck hurt and my eyes water\u00a0just to look at this photo.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I simply cannot believe the bounty of berries in the mountains this year and the birds are taking full advantage. My personal friend and fellow photographer Neil Rossmiller described it best on one of his recent Facebook posts. Neil lives in the Wasatch Mountains and he pays close attention to such things so he knows what he’s\u00a0talking about. Here’s what he said:<\/p>\n