Sunday, September 1, 2013

Tale from the "Hood"

All summer long have had a "gang" of 'Bluejays' roaming the "hood" - harassing other birds, beating up cats, and causing overall mayhem as the mood suits them - even swooped down at me twice...

... early dawn this morning, just past 6am, I'm awaken to one hell of a racket - the 'bluejays' are battling a "gang" of 'crows' over some old bread that I threw out "for the birds" late last night - and they're really goin' at it - on top of that, 'Ig the cat' is goin' crazy - he's about to go thru the window screen to get out to join all the "action"....

... I go runnin' upstairs to grab a camera, and in haste, stub my toe big time - I'm flyin' back down the stairs changin' lens' - bang - stub the same toe again! - but the battle is still "raging" -  I open the back door to step out on to the porch to snap some photos - sh*t!! - forgot about 'Ig', who goes rocketing out the door and right to the center of the "melee" - he pounced on one crow (who was as big as he) who managed to escape - probably twenty birds go scattering in every direction before I could even look thru the lens - SH*T!!! - missed it all!!!...

... about an hour later I'm fryin' some eggs - more commotion! - I look out back - the bluejays have returned and are now fighting over the bread amongst themselves - these guys don't even like each other!! - luckily I kept the camera "at the ready" - I try to creep out on to the porch but they spot me and scatter...

... the whole time I'm eating breakfast they're all wound up - making all kind of "racket", chasing each other from tree to tree and occasionally quickly snatching a piece of bread - after eating, I snuck quietly out on to the porch, camera in hand, and sat very still below the railing, hoping for some more action - hung out for probably two hours - didn't get anything as good as I missed, but not bad...

... this shot alone was worth the effort - this is the whole "gang"- and got "em all in one shot - there's been eight of 'em all year - I've noticed that they hang in pairs of two (male & female?) - I numbered 'em on the photo for easy viewing - number 7 is hidden behind some leaves, but you can see his tail...

... here's one alone...

... one, with one in the upper left of the photo, who is just "taking off"...

... here's a pair...

... this guy's pretty well hidden...

... he just "swooped in" and made off with some bread...

... Uh-Oh!! - think I'm spotted!...

... yep! - definitely!...

... a pair "in flight" (on an overcast morning)...

... a "lone sentinel"...

'Ig' - playin' "retriever"... "Man - we been settin' here for over an hour and you ain't pulled that trigger once!!!"...

... by the way - these were all shot at maximum 200mm focal length - longest lens I have at the moment - not bad...

No comments:

Post a Comment