Birds of Look Park

Birds: not my usual photographic pursuit. Some of my favorite bloggers concentrate on birds. They seem to be half avian themselves (the bloggers, the birds are wholly avian), because they have such wonderful rapport with the feathered creatures. Their photos are stunning.  I, on the other hand, have a limited supply of patience to wait for the proper moment, not much technical expertise, no separate telephoto lens, and perhaps most important, not really that keen an interest in birds.

But last week in Look Park, a much subdued place now that almost all the leaves and people have gone, I found to my surprise that birds suddenly were compelling to me. It might have been because there was little else stirring, but whatever the reason, there I was sneaking up on birds, iPhone in hand. Nothing special in the bird world, mind you, just everyday Canada geese and mallards. But they were THERE, and alive, and I was on their tails. Back at home, photos up on the computer, I was surprised again. I hadn’t taken action photos at all. They were more like portraits. I really think they show evidence of personality, especially the last one.  See what you think:

 A male mallard, and his mate:

A Canada goose came along:

And then there were two:

Last of all, after them, rushed a more exotic creature, a featherless two-legged biped of another species: