Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Wild Bird Wednesday - Spotted Towhee

Although Spotted Towhees are very common here, I have had a really hard time getting any decent photos of them.  They always seem to be way up in the tippy top of a tree or right in a patch of shadow or scooting behind a bush just as I get my camera zoomed in...sigh.  This set of photos is the best I've gotten - I think because he was more focused on squawking than flying away.
 
 
 
 
I tried to move around to get an angle that wasn't such an "upskirt" shot as this one is, but then I ended up with branches in the way.  At least you can see his beak open as he squawks.
 

 
 
And I did manage to capture his red eyes.  Handsome bird overall, but those eyes are just the teensiest bit creepy.
 

 
 
And here's where he notices me pointing the camera at him...
 

 
 
...and crouches forward to take off.  And that was it...he was gone after that.  These were all taken at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, CA.
 
KJ
 
 
http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/2015/09/wild-bird-wednesday-163-reflecting-on.html



8 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

I think you did very well with these shots! Some birds just do not cooperate and come down to eye level, do they? ;)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh nice towhee ... You got his red eye! I actually have a towhee pic this week too...the only one (and one only) that I've ever been able to capture!

eileeninmd said...

The Towhee is a gorgeous bird, great photos. Have a happy week!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

we done on photographing a different bird

Phil Slade said...

Photographing birds always presents more than one challenge. Several at a time in fact. Don't chastise yourself as you did everything right in the circumstances and really got that eye in focus.

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

I have a bunch of photos from that perspective too! Our Eastern Towhees in Florida and now in Illinois have been unusually scarce this year. Hope it is not a trend.

Stewart M said...

Great shots - and as Phil said, you got it right with these pictures.

Cheers - Stewart Melbourne

Rohrerbot said...

Spotted Towhees rock! but they can be tricky to capture on camera. You did great!