Patiently Waiting

This image has been added to all of the PRINTS galleries.

This time one year ago, Delmarva’s mid-shore area was feeling the effects of a winter storm that dumped ten plus inches of snow. It stayed extremely cold and the snow on the ground remained almost all through the rest of January. This month’s featured image was captured during that winter storm.

It is storms like those that taught me my style of property maintenance during the event. I truly prefer to shovel two to four inches of snow several times a day than have to shovel ten plus inches only once. It was mid morning and I had just finished my second shoveling run. I had shoveled the snow, taken some pictures on a walk around the block, and just finished feeding the birds.

Our bird feeders are located near the shed doors. After putting the bird seed away I grabbed my camera, moved closer into the open doorway, and focused on a Magnolia tree, about twenty feet away. Songbirds will stage in this Magnolia and go back and forth to the feeders as needed. The House Finch and Tufted Titmouse in this image are only two of the many birds that were gathered there and patiently waiting to get to the feeders.

I do not know why, but the Tufted Titmouse has always been one of my favorite birds. Just like the Chickadee, the Tufted Titmouse is a mostly gray, small, and fast flying bird that does not like to sit still. I find them to be a challenging subject to focus the camera on. And to date, this is the image of a Tufted Titmouse that I am the most happy with. But with a Sharp-shinned Hawk recently hunting the area, it might be some time before I get an opportunity to get them to come back into our yard.

And so, one year later I find it only fitting that it’s now my turn to be patiently waiting at our feeders. I guess while I am waiting I might as well try and capture a good image of the Sharp-shinned Hawk. Good things come to those who wait, right?