I had another day (4/5/2020) in the yard with my time divided between improving my photography habitat and actually doing some birding photography. I repositioned a large staging rock and repositioned several of my staging sticks along the watercourse. If I don’t change the staging objects then after a while all of my photos begin to look like they were taken at the same location, so the key is to keep things moving!

We have a pair of Bushtits that regularly visit the suet feeder. I noticed when processing the photos today that the female appears to have only one leg.

Another unfortunate discovery in processing photos was that one of a pair of Song sparrows in the yard has a broken tip on its lower bill.

One of the differences I find between field observation and photography of birds is that I can observe the birds for a much longer time and in substantially more detail. And sadly, we had many birds with problems in the yard,,, more than I can ever remember. We had birds with only one leg, a bird with a deformed leg and a woodpecker with only one eye. Some of these birds seem to make the most of their disability, able to cling to feeders and access water. I even considered posting a blog with photos of the birds, but after thinking about it for awhile I decided it would be too much of a downer.

On a brighter note, we have a handful of Pine siskins that have recently arrived after a several month absence. I observed one carrying a long twig towards the crown of fir trees, Some time later I saw a siskin carrying a similar twig, but in this case it dropped it as it flew over the yard. I presume that nesting is in progress for the species.

What made my photography afternoon was a male Rufous hummingbird that twice visited the watercourse. These photos are all from its second visit.