Tammie Rogers
Inspired by Dogs & Nature
A Two-For
There are times when I have been focused on one bird and upon review of the images on my desktop computer, I discover a second bird in the same shot! I attribute this phenomenon to the fact that I have very old eyes. However, there’s also the notion that focusing on one specific event or subject can leave one completely ignorant to everything else going on in the general area.
The header photo above was taken of a male Eastern Bluebird. But, as you can see, there’s another little bird that apparently was just taking off the wire that showed up in the shot as well!
The most recent occurrence of this condition happened a couple days ago. I had gone to a location to see if I could locate a bird I had seen there the day prior – a female Blue Grosbeak. While I was sitting patiently for everything to resume to normal activity (which is disrupted upon my entering the area,) I saw a flycatcher of some sort sitting low on a branch in the corridor between a weedy field and an overgrown area with a few larger trees. It wasn’t great lighting, but I hoped to at least be able to discern the species once I was able to enlarge it back in my office.
It’s hard to believe that I never saw that Hairy Woodpecker on the larger branch above the Eastern Phoebe.
Below is an example of when I was filming a female Eastern Bluebird and later realized there was a Song Sparrow in the shot.
Here’s a male E Bluebird with another bird which I cannot identify.
And, here’s another photo of an E Bluebird with an unknown flycatcher species in the background.
Here’s a cropped blow-up of that unknown flycatcher in a bit more focus from another picture of the Bluebird. Too bad I didn’t see it when I was filming. I may have been able to get a better shot. I think it’s an Eastern Phoebe.
Realizing that I do it on occasion makes me wonder if I capture a second species even more often but fail to see it even once I get back to my computer with the extra-large monitor. The take-home message is that I need to scan for more than what I thought I was filming. There might be a real gem hidden in the leaves and branches.
I loved that fact that you got two for one. I have often taken pictures and only after I download them on my computer do I realize I got more than one gem in the photo. Great shots on your part.