Day 59: On the Fence

 Backyard Nature, Natural History, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Feb 282014
 

For weeks I have been trying to photograph robins along Piney Woods Church Road, since they seem to be abundant there this time of year.  I picture the American robin as the ultimate suburban bird, equivalent to the urban street pigeon.  So while they seem to be everywhere, it has also been difficult to photograph them in a way that does not leave them looking nondescript and, well, uninteresting.  Finally, this image of a robin on a wooden fence works for me.  Perhaps it is because this particular robin seems to be taking an interest in the photographer, in turn.

On the Fence

Eastern Phoebe

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Natural History  2 Responses »
Jan 292014
 

According to Birds of Georgia, the eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) is a “drab” bird, although it makes up for this with its trait of enthusiastically pumping its tail up and down, “exhibited with a zest and frequency that few species can match.”  This particular phoebe paused just long enough for me to take its photograph, looking particularly contemplative (and rather cold), set against a gravel road backdrop evocative of a Japanese rock garden.

Snow Bird

Day Twenty: Being Watched

 Backyard Nature, Natural History, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Jan 202014
 

On yet another in a near-endless stream of clear and sunny days, I set out for Piney Wood Church Road convinced, yet again, that I would bring back a macro image to share.  I photographed quite a few still partly green oak leaves, backlit by the morning sun.   I immersed myself in a couple of clumps of moss, too.  My favorite photograph of the day, however, is this sparrow, perched on a barbed wire fence in front of an old barn (formerly used for mules that plowed the cotton fields in the area).  He (or she) is gazing straight at me.  Looking at this picture, I remember that, as I walk the road, I am under near-continual surveillance by a host of avian presences.  Turkey buzzards circle overhead, a bluebird pauses on its territorial circuit to observe me from a pecan tree branch, and sparrows hunt for seeds in a cow pasture.  Carrying my camera, it is easy for me to think of the Piney Woods Church Road landscape as a collection of objects to be photographed, rather than being alive, participatory.  Then my eyes catch those of a sparrow, gazing back, and I know that I am not alone.

Being Watched

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