Tammie Rogers
Inspired by Dogs & Nature
Take My Picture
On occasion I get the feeling that the birds around here understand my gig.
“Tammie’s on her way out to the Pond Meadow, if you want your photo taken, now’s the time to get over there!”
On the contrary, when I go out with the intention of finding a specific bird, maybe one that I saw the day prior but wasn’t able to capture with my camera, I won’t even catch a glimpse of it.
I believe it all started with the Dickcissels. I am certain that they learned to follow me purely out of vanity. Typically a male would fly past me – just in order to catch my eye – then land somewhat ahead of me. These birds tend to be attracted to the sound of my gold cart rolling and bumping over the uneven turf. The top branch of a a tree with plenty of blue sky as a backdrop is always that bird’s M.O. At first I was excited to get such a great shot. But, after a while, it just became old hat. Even the bold, brazen song became an irritant to me. Enough, already! I get that you are a consummate attention seeker!
While that little bird may have become quite excessive in its need to present itself to me, I’m not opposed to the notion that the Dickcissels taught the other birds – specifically those that might be a wee bit vain, as well – how to locate me and “Vogue!”
Yesterday, this young Eastern Phoebe (I believe) chose to stick around, rather than fly off when I approached. Then, after I whispered, “Dang, these branches are getting in my way, I think I have enough good shots,” and began to move off, she wasn’t put off by my movement and fly off. Rather, she merely hopped over to the next tree which offered a more open stage for me to see her cuteness.
This House Wren let me know she was ready for her shot by flitting about for minutes while I tried to focus in on her location. Talk about “camouflage!”
Just as I was about to give it up, she popped out and shared her “best sides” and was gone, again.
It’s easy to get photos of the House Wrens. Their song will alert you to their exact position, and because they nest in boxes, it’s also effortless to approach them and snap away. But, I think this little Wren has a purpose. She meets up with me in the dark canopy and toys with my desire to film her where it’s not easy to do so. She is an exceptional model to help me hone my skills. Maybe one day I will catch a more elusive bird which hasn’t been coached by the Dickcissel to sign up for my modeling agency.
That Phoebe is very young, Still has the red gape so the parents know where to put the food in their mouths. They do not keep their colored gapes and mouth parts very long.