Parking Lot Perch and a Black Cat

I'm always on the lookout for interesting perches to use in my bird photography. While walking across the shopping center parking lot at the end of last week I spotted a small downed branch covered in lichen. I noted where it was located and reminded myself to pick it up on the return trip to my pick up. Sure enough I forgot to grab it. Monday afternoon I was back shopping at the same shopping center when it hit me. Where was that cool perch? I turned from where I was headed and walked back to where I was parked previously. After a bit of looking I was surprised to find it. I tossed it into the bed of the pick up did my shopping and headed home. This morning I clamped the branch beside the bird feeder. Then I put up a new neutral background behind it. I gathered up my photography gear and climbed into the photography blind to wait. Being winter there only a few species that come into the bird feeder. I photographed Chestnut Backed Chickadees, Steller's Jays and Red-Breasted Nuthatches. I was interrupted by the yowling of a cat after about twenty minutes. All of the birds left and a stray black cat that has been hanging around for about a week approached the blind. I called to it and it cautiously came closer. I held out my hand and it sniffed it. Then big shock to me it came into the blind and climbed up into my lap! I petted it for awhile and then walked with it to the house where I gave it a bowl of cat food. It ate all the food and then wandered back into the forest. What a wonderful morning. Merry Christmas to one and all, chris all images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX speedlight set to minus one and one third stops.Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, Exposures varied. #teamcanon, #withmytamron