Our winter friends!

American Goldfinch

I was left to myself today and had no desire to go into town on black Friday, so after chores I set a tripod, cleaned the camera lenses, washed the bay windows, and then got ready to snap a few new images of the wild birds that hang around for the winter. Right outside the bay window I have set up a feeder made of a fence post, a 2x4 box with hardware cloth bottom.  The hardware cloth allows the rain to past through without damaging the seed for the birds.  Now, I have been snapping photo of wildlife for years as an amateur, of which most shots are at close range due the price of zoom lenses.  Today, I am using a 55-200mm lens on a Nikon D40.  The subjects, birds, will be about ten feet away. I am letting the camera handle all the settings, will I handle the shutter button and focus. We have a number of birds that over winter here at Prairie Home, of which the Black-capped Chickadee seem to be the most common.  For most of the day there was a steady stream of blurs coming and going from the feeder; Blue Jays, American Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Chickadee and even a quick visit by a Pileated Woodpecker. I've always enjoyed being in the outdoors, being around wildlife and yes hunting them.  I also enjoy taking photos and sharing them.  To see more images visit my Flickr site and please let me know what you think.