Week 9
Continuing my clearing out project it was the turn of one of my food cupboards last week. I ended the day with a rather large bag of oats, nuts, and dried fruit. I had an empty half coconut shell among other small pots and decided to make some food for the birds. Fat duly melted, all the ‘stuff’ chopped, mixed and packed into various containers including the coconut shell and after a night setting hard in the fridge I hung the coconut feast up by the bird table and waited. And waited. And waited and…get the drift?
Then about a week ago I noticed a flash of black and a swinging shell. Again and again, day after day this was happening but as soon as I went anywhere near the window the bird caught my movement and fled!
Today, needing a Snap for Helena, I had my camera out on the table whilst having lunch and watching to see if the coconut started swinging. Yessss! it did. I stood up carefully, hiding behind a cupboard and focused the camera on to the coconut. Low and behold it was the blackbird! Now blackbirds are ground feeders. They don’t really even like bird feeding tables and they certainly don’t hang on to a feeder! What this bird was doing was flying up to the coconut, pushing its beak into the food so that it fell to the floor where he would happily peck away ’till it was gone and then he repeated the exercise over and over until, I presume, he was exhausted!
This weeks Snaps! are linked by the fact that the result of my efforts are out of focus! I put them in a collage for you.
I got a few shots that look like this
And a few looking a lot like this
I did get this too
Hope you liked the strange happenings on and around my bird table.
Thank you Helena
That last one is absolutely wonderful! Sterling work.
How fascinating. Clearly a hummingbird born in the wrong feathers! Your perseverance paid off. Great set.
This is a really fun set of snaps, Miriam! Sounds like you really had to work for these photos. That last one is awesome!
Goodness that does look like hard work. My mum has a robin who is equally out of character and feeds from her feeders in mid flight. The “empty ” pictures are rather like some of my attempts at photographing the girls horse jumping. A lonesome horse jump or if I am lucky a tail disappearing out of the picture. That last picture is superb. Now Miriam I am going to be cheeky….. Now I know you laugh at me for not sticking to the right number of pictures. How many photos is Snap supposed to be? Up till now I have stuck to the right number. Can’t you see my halo?!
Fabulous; I love even the blurry ones!
a great photo story and a clever bird working out how to get the food it wants
Those are excellent snaps given that the subject matter is a bird hanging in mid-air. Your patience and perseverance definitely paid off with the last one!
It makes you wonder when he last had a square meal!
Love that last shot. And I like the blurry ones, too. But, then, you know me and blur!
Oh, how I can relate to your photos! I love that the bird has figured out the best way for him to eat!
What a splendid series of photos! Your mixture was clearly so delicious that the blackbird learnt how to do something new :). Beautifully captured.