Day 3 - Growth (Waldo.)

[waldo]

Going with the beta prompt today.  I was out at (what I've recently discovered is called) The Magic Hedge today.  A small bird sanctuary in Chicago that attracts anywhere from 300 to 350 species of birds each year.  I need to not go at the time I did - the sun was in the worst place ever.

But I did get this nifty shot:

No, I'm not an amazing tree-climber.  For some reason this robin decided that 2.5 feet off the ground was a good place for her nest.  When I got there she was sitting on the eggs, but after a few minutes something scared her off.  I crept up and got a few shots (despite being low, this thing really is hard to shoot - there are so many small branches over it that I really couldn't get a good shot straight down.)  I noticed that mama never got more than about 6 feet from the nest, making sure I didn't actually touch or bother anything.  She did hop back up there after I moved away. :)  She's right near the edge of the sanctuary so I'll be grabbing my camera and documenting the progress of the nest every few days.  (The Magic Hedge is basically in my backyard!)

Comments

[meloukhia]

Holy moly I love this! That colour is so intense and the shadows are so intriguingly aligned. I am looking forward to further nesting developments, also.

[waldo]

Thanks. :) She couldn't have planted herself in a more convenient spot - I hope that doesn't mean that she'll get overly bothered. I'll probably head out there tomorrow afternoon to see if different lighting gives me a better shot.

[holyschist]

Fabulous shot!

If you're not already familiar with them, I'd suggest looking for some birder's guidelines on observing nesting birds without distressing them.

[waldo]

Would you happen to have any links handy? I've run several Google searches and not come up with much. :(

And glad you liked the shot. :) Thanks!

[holyschist]

I'll see what I can find!

[anna_bird]

Oh! I love this!

Hope the eggs stay safe. :)

[waldo]

Thanks! I do too. The Magic Hedge is pretty well hidden (I live within walking distance of it, but I didn't even know it was there for the last 6.5 years!) but she is really low and right at the entrance. I'll keep everyone updated. :)

[themeletor]

also a big fan of the play between shadows and light on this one! and really excited for more nest photo updates.

[darkemeralds]

There are hardly any colors in the world prettier than robin's-egg blue. The shadow and light, and the shallow field, are all really lovely in this picture.