Yard Birds in Motion

It is easy to get photos of birds sitting still looking cute. It is harder to get them in motion. But the bigger they are the easier it is. Photographing Eagles, Great Gray Owls, and Snowy Owls in flight is not that hard since these species often telegraph when they are about to launch by pooping. And they don’t fly all that fast. But yard birds are challenging because they rarely give a “tell” when they take flight. And they move fast, very fast.

I spent some time this past month trying to catch tiny yard birds in motion. This blog shows my limited success.

Photographing yard birds in motion generally results in two types of blur — focus and motion. Focus blur is cause by the camera not being able to keep the fast action in sharp focus. Motion blur is caused by a shutter speed that is not fast enough to freeze the bird in flight. I like motion blur because I feel it better represents motion than a frozen bird. On the other hand, I would prefer my camera never caused focus blur, at least for birds.

It is easier to avoid focus blur when the bird is flying perpendicular to the photographer, as with this Dark-eyed Junco. 

But when they are heading straight toward you, as with this White-breasted Nuthatch, the challenge increases.

I’m happy with the photo I got of a Tufted Titmouse.

Sometimes you capture a bird with a seed, like this Hairy Woodpecker, giving away the fact that you are attracting them with treats. Well, of course.

This year our yard birds consisted of, from time to time, a dozen or so each of chickadees and juncos; around 25 goldfinch; at least several of each woodpecker, hairy and downy; a few red-breasted and white-breasted nuthatches; a mourning dove; at least two pairs of tufted titmice; and around a half-dozen blue jays. We have never seen a cardinal in our yard — it seems they cannot fly this high above the river. Here is an American Goldfinch.

Then, of course, there are the reliable Black-capped Chickadees, even though others had reported an absence of them.

And then a cute chickadee look-a-like — for novice birders — the Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Sometimes I was able to get a pair of half-way decent photos from a single flight as in the examples below of a Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and American Goldfinch.

 

 

 

 

Below is a 6-photo sequence of an American Goldfinch.

 

Here are three photos of a Downy Woodpecker heading for our suet feeder.

 

And three three-photo sequences of Tufted Titmice.

 

 

Here is a five-photo sequence of an American Goldfinch.

 

Below are three three-photo sequences of American Goldfinch.

 

 

 

This American Goldfinch was doing an owl imitation.

 

Our single Mourning Dove would mostly just sit, but I once got it flying.

 

Some of the American Goldfinch were showing some color.

 

Then there were the dive bombers. They didn’t think they needed to bother with their wings until perhaps the last minute.

 

Here are some of the other photos I got of yard birds in motion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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