Beautiful cold day here in Waterloo.

These Sparrows were the only ones willing to pose today. Not the most exciting of birds but if you take the time to watch them for a while they have some personality to them.







Tom G

[joodiespost]

Thanks Joodiespost,

They do look like they swallowed tennis balls don't they. They just puff up to make the most of the insulation their feathers provide. I was wishing I could puff up a bit during the shoot as it was pretty cold out there yesterday.

Thanks Heinrich,

They can't avoid you forever although at times it seems like they might. We still have a few finches, a lot of Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers in this particular area. I've been on the lookout for Cardinals and Bluejays but no luck so far.


Tom G

hahaha, thats interesting. I never knew they actually could puff up like a balloon. I always thought they were overweight birds.

[8540tomg]

Jodiespost,

That's one of the reasons feathers have been used forever as filling for winter clothing, such as quilted coats and sleeping bags. Feathers have the ability to expand from a compressed state to trap large amounts of compartmentalized, insulating air. This is the effect you see in the images where the Sparrow appears all puffed up. They are just trying to maintain body heat.

Tom G

[joodiespost]

i see. I just noticed that this little fella has a set of vicious looking claws too ^^

[8540tomg]

The claws are remarkable tools. I try to get as close as possible to document as much of this sort of detail as possible. In the iimage below you can see the pads of the claw have an almost pebbled texture to them. I never realized this until I looked closely at this shot.



Tom G

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Last edited by 8540tomg; 01-04-2010 at 07:55 PM. Reason: typo

[Marc Langille]

We still have a few finches, a lot of Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers in this particular area. I've been on the lookout for Cardinals and Bluejays but no luck so far.

Tom G

Tom, nice series - I always enjoy images like #2 when the subject is actively searching for food! If nothing else, it's great practice for your photography.

You're going to hate me... So far I have confirmed the following birds coming to my back yard and feeding: 3, possibly 4 pairs of Northern Cardinal, 2 Blue Jays (seen together), Juncos, Finches, Titmice, Sparrows, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Carolina Wren, European Starling. Woodpeckers: 2 Hairy (seen together), 1 Red-Bellied, 1 Pileated (only been seen once here since it covers a much larger territory than most woodpeckers). There is at least one larger hawk in the area - it briefly landed opposite on a tree perhaps 80 feet from my rear deck. I believe I know where the nest is located so who knows!

Regards,
Marc

[8540tomg]

That’s great Marc. Any bird with common sense flew as far south as possible from Ontario months ago.

We still have a number of those species around here but finding them and getting the capture is another thing. That’s what makes it fun though isn’t it. Looking forward to some more of your great images.

Tom G