Photographing birds is always a challenge, but one day last week was particularly frustrating. The weather that day was lovely – sunny and warm without much wind, a rare exception to the string of cold, blustery mornings that have defined this spring.
The neighborhood birds were out en mass, singing as they perched on bare tree branches to sun themselves. Robins pecked in the ditches, crows argued on the fence lines, a wren sat on the blue bird box she’d commandeered and bragged about her conquest. A dusky, blue dot flew across the road and perched in a redbud tree. A bluebird, I thought, but by the time my camera was ready, the elusive little thing had flown away.
The same thing happened over and over. The cardinals flitted here and there, the robins were too busy to pose, even the crows were skittish. Were the birds dedicated construction workers, determined to get their new homes finished be for their good weather building permits expired or just camera shy?
Whatever it was, my photo shoot was a bust. Even the blue jay, usually content to sit on its throne in the cedar windbreak and issue constant, bossy proclamations, was on the fly. I aimed my camera as she glided over the road and snuggled in the crook of a walnut tree. As I depressed the shutter, the flighty thing dive-bombed and landed in the field, hidden by corn stubble.
With that, I decided photography was for the birds and zipped the camera into its case. If you can’t beat them, join them, I thought, and dreamed up spring construction projects all the way home.
