A goldfinch saves the day on the photo front

One of the things I love about birding is its unpredictability. Some days birds abound, other days they hunker down. Then there’s a day like yesterday, when plenty of birds were out but only a few came into view for photos.

When I got back home from the Pole Farm, I took stock of what I’d shot: about three dozen frames of a brown-headed cowbird, an Eastern wood-pewee, a blue-gray gnatcatcher and an American goldfinch.

Under the dull gray sky, the lighting was poor. The cowbird and gnatcatcher were a ways off and high up in the same tree, and the pewee was in a densely shaded stand of trees. The goldfinch wasn’t close but his bold yellow feathers popped against the dark green leaves behind him.

In most of the shots, the finch was turned away from me, the focus wasn’t crisp or both. The shot shown here was the only one I considered worth saving. I decided that only after getting to work and doing a second check of my shots on the big monitor on my desk.

While disappointed that I didn’t have a better batch of images, I was still glad I had the shadowy, fuzzy shots of the cowbird and the gnatcatcher. I hadn’t been able to ID either bird at the park, even through my binoculars. I was thus able to add them to my e-Bird report, and I was glad of that, particularly with the gnatcatcher. While I see plenty of cowbirds, the gnatcatchers are more elusive.

I have no complaints from that outing. I heard lots of birds singing, had a good walk and inhaled plenty of fresh air, at least as fresh as New Jersey can provide.

Next up: I’m heading to West Virginia for an overnight trip. I’m hoping to see some new birds there and perhaps a few at stops in the Maryland panhandle. 🦅