I was out collecting roofs today for Theme Thursday (and oh! I've found some jim-dandies!), and in the course of my wanderings I found some other things worthy of note.
After I was done with my wanderings and on my way home from a post-hike visit to the grocery store, I was on my way home cutting through a very treed residential area when I heard a Downy Woodpecker making a lot of noise, and then out of the corner of my eye saw a feathered form flying into a tree across the street from me. I stopped, put my grocery back on the ground, and pulled out the camera. The bird, a male, dropped down from a branch to a bare trunk, and lo and behold, there was the head of a baby male Downy Woodpecker poking out of a hole in the trunk; Papa was feeding him! I got out the telephoto lens for this and managed to get a good shot of the baby looking out of the nest, and a so-so shot of Papa feeding him.
But earlier in the day, while down on the rocks at the end of the Cliff Walk shooting the roof of The Waves, the house there at Land's End, I saw a whole patch of Scarlet Pimpernel growing in a crack between the rocks and just had to switch to macro mode, get down on my belly, and star shooting. This is the best shot of the lot.
© 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger
Love the father and son woodpecker pics, Roy!
ReplyDeleteWe seek him here
ReplyDeletewe seek him there
those Frenchies seek him everywhere
Is he in heaven?
Or is he in hell?
That demmed, elusive, Pimpernel!
Oh!! Lucky you.....seeing that baby stick his head out of the hole melted me heart. He is so sweet.
ReplyDeleteLove your photo of the Scarlet Pimpernel. I wish I could have seen you all stretched out on the ground in the name of art. "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was one of my favorite books when I was in high school. Thanks to Megan for the quote! I think I'm going to get it out and read it again!
That last photo is amazing. What is macro mode.
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody!
ReplyDeleteRonda, "macro" means taking really, really close-up shots, enabling you to bring the camera lens right up to the subject. For an SLR camera you need to buy special macro lenses. On higher-end consumer cameras (like my Canon PowerShot S5 IS) there are macro modes which allow you to do the same thing. I really like taking macro shots, which is why you'll often find me out in the wild either prone or on knees and elbows trying to get a good macro shot.
Holy Moly the photo of the Scarlet Pimpernel is absolutely wonderful...the sites of New England NEVER cease to amaze....hope Theme Thursday does a 4th of July thingy so those of us far away can enjoy the views through your lens. Again...my repetitive THANKS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThere you go. One reason why you should always have your camera with you!
ReplyDeleteI saw the pictures yesterday afternoon. I went home, walked into the backyard to water the plants, and saw a downy woodpecker and its youngster scurrying about in a tree!
ReplyDelete