Backyard Safari
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Creative Photography Course.
I have been working through a 52 week creative photography course which has helped me to develop/hone some new creative concepts and stay engaged and inspired throughout the year. Week 46 of 52 was about storytelling and featured the prompt Backyard Safari. I liked the idea of this prompt as it encouraged me to view my backyard in a different manner - with fresh eyes - curious to showcase what I see - trying to present it in a different perspective.
Northern flicker woodpecker sitting on the deck post. (EXIF data f4.5, 1/200s, 300mm, ISO 400)
One of the things I liked best about this prompt is that it encouraged me to stay close to home and not feel that I needed to venture to some new exotic place in order to find something photo-worthy.
My backyard is a great place to look for photographic subjects including birds, insects, animals, plants and just great light. I have spent time over the last two years to really understand the light - where the sun rises and sets over the seasons - how different cloud formations will reflect colours during sunrise.
There is something special about photographing a familiar location over and over again - definitely not boring!
The More You Learn...
Now that the weather has finally decided to move more towards more springlike temperatures and the grass is greening up, the trees are starting to show buds and birds and insects are out and about in larger numbers - I am finding myself spending more and more time outside with my camera.
One thing that planning a backyard safari does is prompt me to be more spontaneous. Once I spot something interesting outside I can grab my camera and head on out. Spending ten to fifteen minutes out in my forested area or marshy bog often yields some interesting composition.
I’ve just finished reading the book What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World by Jon Young and it has become an important resource for helping me to improve my understanding of bird activities and behaviours as well as vocalizations. This fascinating book about bird language has helped me to notice more “tell signs” - for example he talks of baseline behaviour which is when birds are relaxed and doing their common day to day activities such as feeding, singing and calling to a mate.
Last season’s dead seed pods. (EXIF data f4.5, 400mm, 1/200s, ISO200, -0.7EV)
When they note something disturbing in their environment (a person walking or a predator moving close by) they will sound an alarm vocalization and fly up to a high point and take up a sentinel position or watch guard. In fact Young states that spending time with birds strengthens our bond with nature and improves our awareness of what is going on in our world.
Each time I recognise the bird the thread will grow to become a string, a cord and then a rope. (What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World, Jon Young)
I have noticed that since I have become more aware of birds, their calls and habits that I am more aware of them and of their behaviours. It certainly helps with my photography as I can often anticipate their movements based upon their behaviour and what is going on around them. The more I spend time with them the stronger these observations become.
Early Spring Observations
It’s been a different March/April with some very warm temperatures early in March followed by cold and snow - a lot of snow in April. I really felt for the birds in my backyard when the cold winds blew and they were huddled up close to each other in shrubs and trees - fluffed up to stay warm. I keep my bird feeders full in the winter as it can be tough for these small birds to survive our winters and helping them conserve energy seems to help them make it through to spring. I’ve been seeing Redpolls, House Finches, American Goldfinches and Chickadees on a regular basis and sometimes Juncos and Woodpeckers.
House finch fluffed up to ward off the cold of a late spring snowfall. (EXIF data f4.5, 400mm, 1/200s, ISO400)
Redpolls and Juncos are ground feeders and while they do a great job cleaning up seed that has been knocked to the ground they are also early warning signallers. They tend to be the first ones to raise an alarm and head to higher ground.
When the feeders are low on seed I go out and refill them and I’ve noticed that as I get into a routine with this activity that the birds are starting to recognize me and my routine. When they hear or see me coming they do what Young refers to as a hook (quick flight up to a higher point and then hook back down closer to their starting point when they recognize there is no real threat). They will wait until I’m done filling and then almost instantly they crowd the feeders for fresh seed.
If I stay around the feeders with my camera their behaviour changes and they become more wary. It takes a while for them to return and it’s usually the goldfinches that make the first appearance.
A New Visitor to the Backyard
This year we have noticed some different visitors to the backyard including a pair of Great Horned Owls. We first heard them calling to each other as dusk fell in late February and they continued with this behaviour for several days.
One morning as the sun was just about to make an appearance we saw something dark fly across the backyard and into an evergreen tree in the corner. Out came the binoculars and within a few minutes I spotted a Great Horned Owl in one tree and a second one in another tree nearby. They roosted in those trees all day long, only moving about just before dusk when they started to call and suddenly took flight in search of prey.
Great Horned Owl roosting in our evergreen tree. (EXIF data f4, 840mm, 1/250s, ISO2500).
I came to know which tree they were roosting in over the next few days as the songbirds were more agitated and often flew about the tree raising alarm calls. Smaller birds will often do this in larger numbers in order to disturb the predator and try to convince him that he’s better off finding a new location.
Great Horned Owls nest in late February/early March - they are the first raptors to nest which gives them extra time to raise their young which in turn helps the young be better prepared going into their first winter. The downside of this strategy is that they face the risk of cold spells after they’ve laid eggs.
The owls stuck around for about a week before moving further down the valley - we still hear them occasionally as they head out for nocturnal hunting.
Springlike Temperatures Brings Other Visitors
With the warmer temperatures of May we’ve seen the return of Pete our resident ring necked pheasant. I’m not sure where he spends his winter, but we don’t seem him after October and it’s usually late April or early May before he reappears.
Pete the pheasant. (EXIF data f6.3, 600mm, 1/500s, ISO800)
When we first moved here I heard Pete crowing in the early morning and I mistakenly thought that our neighbours had a chicken coop with a very sickly sounding rooster. As soon as I saw Pete I put two and two together and realized he was the sickly sounding rooster. He struts about the backyard and puffs out his chest before rising up and crowing while flapping his wings excitedly. Then he will put on a burst of speed and scurry across the lawn.
He seems to favour the area around our outdoor sauna and I will sometimes catch him peering into the window of our exercise room - it’s a little creepy!
The Safari Continues
As more and more migratory birds return I am getting ready for another foray into the backyard for a safari. I have started to hear Wilson’s Snipes with their whirling sounds and Red Winged Blackbirds are also making an appearance.
A northern flicker woodpecker in a freshly made nest in a tree. (EXIF data f6.3, 1/250s, 600mm, ISO400)
I enjoy this time of year as there is so much activity and with the new buds on trees the vegetation is not thick, but definitely more appealing from a compositional perspective than bare branches.
I’ve also started to see Jack the jackrabbit hopping around in his summer coat. With the return of hawks and eagles he has been a bit harder to spot and for good reason. Birds that have returned from long migrations are hungry!
Time Spent Close to Home
I enjoy spending time close to home and photographing what is found nearby. There are often surprises such as the mountain bluebirds I spotted several weeks ago (link to blog post) and also the Trumpeter Swans who made a short layover in a pond up the road from our neighbourhood. They are such large and graceful birds, so I had to take the opportunity to get out my camera and see if I could capture some interesting moments. I wasn’t prepared for them to fly so close to me that they more than filled the frame with my 600mm lens - which ended up presenting me with some very creative image ideas.
Do you ever spend time in your local area or backyard following the locals? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or please drop me a note directly by clicking on the Connect With Me button.
Trumpeter swans taking off from a nearby pond. (Multiple exposure with a copper sculpture overlay EXIF data f6.3, 1/1000s, 600mm, ISO100)
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
