Comme Ci, Comme Ça...
It was the early trip to the garden I had hoped to make yesterday. Unfortunately, it was only 46º and the lighting left something to be desired. On the upside it was a pleasant, quiet and very peaceful walk and I got to spend some time following a bird I've only seen a couple of times before.
At first I thought... maybe I'm only going to get pictures of the sky today?
There are few signs of the change in seasons.
I did happen to see the Calypte anna hummingbird known as Dusty but the few pictures captured were beyond the compromises I'm going to make for the next bird. The funny thing about Dusty this morning was right after I did get a few camera clicks off he took off, soaring way up to the top of one of the tallest pine trees on the campus. Perched on top of that tree there appeared to be a modest sized bird of prey, perhaps a prairie falcon and I don't know if it was Dusty's intention but he went straight at it and the other bird quickly departed. I decided not to wait for Dusty's return.
Instead I headed up the dreaded stairs to the top of the hill. I didn't realize what these birds were when I took this picture. Since one of them moved along ahead of my path I soon figured it out. This is a pair of northern flickers (Colaptes auratus). They're part of the woodpecker family. I've only been able to capture images of flickers a couple of times in the past. The little bird over the one on the left was probably a black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans).
Lucky for me the bird on the left went in the same direction I was headed. In my past encounters I never realized just how varied and beautiful their overall plumage was. So I'm posting some images to show you what I saw. Unfortunately my shutter speed, lighting and distance from the bird were far from optimal. I believe this is a young female.
The surprising burst of color when the bird was taking flight...
Also, I've got to say, lately I've had some real struggles in focusing on my subject and not a bunch of sticks.
These mourning doves were somewhat obliging however one more step forward and they bailed on me.
And with that I headed home.
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