Birds On A Rainy Day

I got out in the rain and rambled around yesterday. The rain was never really heavy. The light is so different on days like this. Birds have a different look. The shutter speed must be lowered by about half to two thirds to keep the photos from being too grainy.

Where it used to frustrate me as I could not get any good shots, now I look forward to rainy day bird photography. Some birds photograph better in the rain. Crows I shoot often and never am happy with the results. In the rain I enjoyed watching this crow and the resulting images I took.

If I get the right shutter speed the falling rain adds an element of interest to the photographs.

I missed a couple shots when the crow would shake and the water would fly out from its body. One thing I enjoy about taking pictures of wildlife is I always seem to see something I missed. A challenge for another day.

I think this is a Western Grebe. Grebes are small duck like birds and very difficult to get close to. Another aspect of rainy day photography is it seems to dull the senses of some birds and I can get a bit closer.

This is a Pied Billed Grebe which are the most common here. The tuft of white feathers on the birds rump adds to its appearance I think. Some have a small black band on the bill.

The white, black, and yellow on the bill of the American Pelicans really stand out against the overcast sky. Watching birds fly fascinates me. I am reminded of how my granddaughter giggles, laughs, and shouts as she watches her butterfly mogul spinning above her. Good practice I think for future rainy day rambles with Grammy and Grampy.

When I looked at this shot I thought wow, Pelican tick, tack, toe in the sky. Actually I had the idea some time back when I see a tick, tack, toe grid of contrails in the sky I would try to place some birds in the grid. Now I see I can attempt this with electric wires also.

I think this might be Junior, the eaglet we watched last spring. This juvenile Bald Eagle I have been seeing all around the nest area. The parents will drive the chicks away from the nest area. It may not be the same eagle but it is fun to imagine it. Well, enough of my jabber. Will finish this post with a few more shots I caught of this eagle flying along a tree line. I like the touch of blurring trees as I panned with the flight of the bird with a slow shutter speed.

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Rainy or not………Have a Great Day !