Feather Still Life

If you have been following my photoblog and are really sharp or are an experienced birder you probably already know what kind of feather is up above. Yesterday morning I spent some more time photographing the Band Tailed Pigeons.They were more skittish than they normally are and didn't come down to the feeders until past ten when the lighting is way to harsh for photography.I still watched them and attempted a few images but it wasn't worth it.I was thinking about packing it up when a hawk came swooping down and pigeons went scattering in all directions with a roar of wings. A tail feather came floating down and this afternoon I decided to photograph the feather with the Band Tails favorite food in the fall, an Acorn! You can now see how the bird got its name from the banded tail feather up above. I hope you are having a glorious weekend, God bless, chris

Hmmnn.. That Perch Looks Familiar

I spent a short time yesterday morning with the Band Tailed Pigeons. As I have mentioned before these aren't city pigeons but wild Band Tails. Band Tailed Pigeons are a relative of the Rock Pigeon the city pigeons found in most cities. However they are much larger in size and have distinctive bright yellow feet and a white ring on the back of the neck. They are commonly found in the wilds of the forests of the Pacific Coast and the Southwest.They also typically don't like being around people very much. I used the same perch set up from yesterday so one of the perches should look very familiar. It took the pigeons almost two hours to come out of the trees down to the bird feeders. They were extremely skittish and kept blasting off into the sky for reasons only known to themselves. They make an incredible sound when they all take off together! What a beautiful morning. God's love and blessings to all, chris