Backyard Photography

 

A long roadtrip is not always a necessity in bird photography.  I am always pulled in several directions every May as new birds arrive daily.  There are many great spots across the country that are famous for the numbers and variety of birds that appear in May and I have visited many of them.   The spring migration is so compressed and the birds move through so quickly that you wish you could be in several locations at the same time.  And yet, with all these great locations, I still find myself wanting to spend a couple weeks photographing in my own back yard.  Gardening chores, loads of blossoms on trees and shrubs, and new birds arriving at my own feeders will always act as a magnet competing equally with places like Cape May, Point Pelee, and Magee Marsh.  The following images were all taken this month while sitting in a blind only a few feet from the kitchen door.

Female Baltimore Orioles arrived several day after the males but all in the first week of May.

Female Red-winged Blackbirds arrive long before May

Tufted Titmouse.  These guys are permanent residents.  This one built a nest in a birdhouse under our deck and attacked his reflection in every window.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak males arrive about the same time as the Baltimore Orioles.

Male Red-winged Blackbird.  A bird that would be considered quite striking if it were not for their commonness.

White-crowned Sparrows arrive in huge numbers and then gradually disappear as they wing their way to the far North.

Black-capped Chickadee

Looking like a large sparrow the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak will never rival the coloring of their mates.

Male American Goldfinch

Male Baltimore Orioles are very attracted to oranges in early May but after a couple weeks grape jelly seems to hold more appeal.