1\/4000, 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>\nUntil recently I might have ignored this male House Finch when he landed on a bush far to my right of the hawthorn. The shooting angle out my pickup window was an awkward and uncomfortable one and after all he was ‘only’ a House Finch. But he looked so handsome with his reds almost glowing in the morning sun I made the extra effort and I’m glad I did.<\/p>\n
When he eventually took off I caught him in this unusual posture that I like very much. To me it almost looks like he’s dancing or in the midst of ballet practice. I think the position of his wings, his stretched out neck and especially his raised left leg contribute to that impression.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure why his bill is stained red but my strong suspicion is that it’s berry juice from the nearby hawthorn. And yes, if I had my druthers there wouldn’t be a twig in front of his right wingtip.<\/p>\n
I’ve been having fun photographing all these common species lately. Yesterday morning while I was stuck at home with a malfunctioning server and a comatose blog I even spent some time trying to photograph House Finches (and House Sparrows, gasp!) on the densely packed red flower clusters of the huge amaranth plants in my garden.<\/p>\n
Because of problems with light filtering through trees to the east I was mostly unsuccessful but it kept me entertained and my mind off my troubles.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m on a roll with the ‘common’ species.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n