Bird Watching on a Rainy Day

I spent a large portion of the day on my balcony taking in the refreshing scent on the rainy spring-time air, and photographing birds as I saw them. Sometimes I get worried that someone is going to see me up on my balcony taking pictures and assume that I'm some kind of weird peeper. It couldn't be further from the truth, really. I've just found that there a lot of wonderful shots waiting for me just outside, in front of my apartment.

As has been stated previously, I love nature photography. Bird photography, however, is something I've only recently found an interest in. I know birds and nature are very closely related (a little too obvious?), but I never really thought I would be interested in it. It's rather difficult, to say the least. I've found that you pick up on their habits very quickly, though.

Just in front of my building, there's a dumpster. I know, you're thinking "eww gross, trash is nasty." Yes, true, but it was here where I found the birds constantly returning. They would perch on the fence surrounding the dumpster, look around the area outside of the fence, survey the inside of the dumpster, and dive right in. I'm guessing the dumpster is a low-labor source of food. It seems perfectly reasonble for them to feast here, actually. I mean, aside from competition from other birds (which is clearly why they'd survey the area before going in), there's absolutely no danger. Hell, I'd even venture to say that there's a sense of protection inside the dumpster, both from the rain and other birds. It's a fuckin smorgasbord, and I was on hand with my camera.

Some key shots from the day:

This bird was perched in a branch just above the dumpster. He's actually looking down on it.


This one is obviously on top of the dumpster. Once again, surveying the area. S/He looks pretty sinister, eh?


These two were working together. They were VERY interesting to watch. One would go in, get it's fill, come back out, and the other would go in. Here you can see them checking out the perimeter to see if it's clear.


That's it for now. Tune in for more....after the break.