Monday 21 March 2011

Birding, my Hummer and San Diego Photo shoot

Wow! My birder brother invited me to go to San Diego on a birding photo shoot.  I've never been officially invited by real birders to go on a birding trip, and it is pretty exciting, even it I can't go.  I just took my vacation and have none left until summer.  Wah.  Work sucks.  But it is nice to think I could have gone.

My daughter and I are part-birder, not full-fledged.  We get excited when we see a fresh bird and always keep our eyes peeled for unusual birds around, then look them up in our book that shows a picture and makes the call sound of the bird.

When she is bored, my daughter likes to sit on the front porch and call the rock doves - she does a really good imitation of the bird - then when they come in close and tilt their head to listen to her call, she presses the button on the book and it makes the screeeeeech! of the red hawk and scares the dove away. But they always come back for more. She likes the hawks better than the doves and sees them flying over her schoolyard. She points them out to the other kids - "Look! A hawk! A hawk!" But they answer - "So?" So, we are part-birders. She is also demonstrating a good eye for photography lately, so she has the birder/photographer family blood. She wants to go on a bird/photo walk through the Rouge and I know a guy from work who does the tours through there.

I do, however, have a bird-photo-trophy.  It is a hummingbird. Taken in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, at the top of a huge mountain. I heard it fly by my head and go into the bush, so I took about 10 pictures in the direction I heard it land, but the sun was too bright on the viewfinder so I could not see what I was shooting. Turned out pretty good. My birder brother says it is a cool Hummer.  He thinks it may actually be sleeping -awesome - I caught a hummingbird sleeping!  But, I think it still has it's eyes open.
 
Check it out...

Monday 7 March 2011

How I know it is spring despite the ice wind

In the cold sunshine,
On the stone wall,
By the wide, black highway
Oblivious to rush hour
Or the whooshing multitude
Of frenzied vehicles
Perched two puffed-up pigeons
Kissing