American Goldfinch
I’m a big advocate for not neglecting the most common birds around the neighborhood for our wildlife photography. Yes, we may see them a lot more often than for example the Carolina Wren, who I wrote about here a few days ago, but the stories of these birds can be told quite often in a very elegant way with our photos. Since they are present all year around, we can be very choosy about the light we want to get their pictures in. We don’t have to make the click when the light just sucks because our permanent residents will be back every day.
Male House Finch
The time after the peak of fall and just before winter arrives is always good for creating some photos of the birds that call our woods home. During the late afternoon or in the early evening, just before the sun disappears behind the other side of the valley, the light is warm, but still crisp, and since almost all leaves are on the ground we don’t have to deal with dappled light and the leaves don’t cast a green tint onto our subjects. I don’t even think about employing a speed light for color improvements. The natural light is just gorgeous.
Black-capped Chickadee
I hope this little post encourages you to get your camera out and look around, even if most of the less common birds are gone and probably about to arrive at their migration destinations somewhere south of the Midwest in the US, or in Central or South America.
American Robin