Day: February 19, 2012

Some things seem to happen in threes. The past couple of days have been filled with bird drama for me. . . three different dramas.

Yesterday I rescued a sharp shinned hawk that had a body injury that prevented it from flying. Some people had found it and were able to bring it into their home where it perched on the back of a chair until one of the children got too close and frightened it into a dark closet from which I extracted it. I won’t be able to learn its fate until tomorrow.

This morning, Bobo seems to have injured some wing feathers when she frightened herself by flipping the lid off of a large container she was examining with her beak. She was startled into a wing flap and beat her wing against a heavy dish on the counter. She can’t seem to get the feathers to return to their normal positions and when she tries, she “barks” in pain so I’m keeping an eye on her. Of course it’s Sunday and my vet’s office is closed. (1:00 PM Update: Bobo seems fine, most of the feathers have twisted back in place and it appears only one feather is broken and still dangling. She doesn’t seem to be in distress any longer.)

A few minutes ago I looked outside and saw a cedar waxwing perched on a rock in my fountain. His body was unnaturally fluffed and he seemed stunned. I went out and he didn’t move off the rock. His droppings indicated he’d been eating photinea berries from the shrub over the fountain. I took a few photos and went inside so I wouldn’t disturb him more than I already had. I watched him for a while and he suddenly started moving his head around and then he jumped back into the photinea and began eating. I hope he’s okay. He’s gone now. Here are a couple of the shots I took of him.

Focal Length 300mm
ISO 200
f/5.6
1/80
SOOC

Three photos above
Focal Length 220mm
ISO 200
f/5.3
1/80
SOOC

Today’s challenge is “your own hand.” That can be interpreted many ways, I’m certain, but I decided to take the literal approach and photograph my hand, doing something I enjoy doing every morning, the New York Times crossword puzzle. While I was taking the photos, Bobo came down onto the table for her daily breakfast time activity of targeting and treats. Whoa! Documenting Bobo extracting a treat from my fingers would be perfect for the challenge.

I held the remote in the hand that held the target, had her touch the target, then offered her the treat with my other hand, freeing the one hand to trigger the remote. Perfect! Not! I realized too late that the camera was not focused high enough. Once I readjusted the camera, Bobo became wary of it and I couldn’t get another shot. My cross purposes (luring Bobo to take a treat only so I could take a photo) backfired on me but I’m posting it today mostly to show that Bobo actually does take treats from my fingers without maiming me. . . sometimes.

Focal Length 35mm
ISO 100
f/6.3
1/4
SOOC