PHOTOGRAPHY. NATURE. BIRDS
Blue and Yellow in the Evening Light
A family of blue tits feasting on the bird feeders
I was struggling to stand still. It was cold. Like really cold. And despite wearing my ski jacket I didn’t feel warm at all. But I really wanted to stand a bit longer to wait for the birds to come by. I wanted to capture a bird or two on the feeder.
Now back in Germany, I’ve got some time and the opportunity to do some bird watching in my parent’s garden plot. I might not capture the unique and rare species as other great bird photographers on this platform such as Dennett, Erika Burkhalter & Randy Runtsch share with us, but my photographs could be described as Remington Write called them “ordinary birds”.
We touched down in Germany on Friday morning and on Saturday we were already at our first garden party.
For my family, there’s no grill season. Having a garden plot, they make barbecues all year round. In snow, wind, and rain.
Saturday was supposed to be a cold day with a high of 11°C (52°F) and an icy wind blowing all day long. Coming straight from the humid heat of Thailand, I knew I’d be cold and put on several layers of clothes including my skiing jacket. But I decided to leave the gloves at home (for whatever stupid reason).
We had a blast with the family, and we were busy telling stories from our time abroad. Despite the cold, everyone stayed late into the afternoon, and around 5 pm was the first time I picked up the camera.
While everyone started packing up their things, I decided to walk down to the bird feeders and see what I can capture. I had seen a few birds fly by earlier. My parents have countless bird feeders throughout the garden which attract different species.
My mom stopped next to me asking what I saw.
“Ach, nur eine Blaumeise” was her response in return (oh, just a blue tit).
Yes, it was just a blue tit. But it was a pretty one. Already as a child, I loved when a blue tit was flying past the kitchen window while I was enjoying breakfast. They might be common where we live but they are also one of the most colorful birds we get in our area.
And you all know me. Colorful is my life.
The problem of having so many bird feeders in a small garden is the birds can escape. When I come closer to one of the feeders, the birds fly off and choose another one just behind my back.
That made it challenging for me to capture these ordinary birds.
Eventually, I decided to just dedicate my patience and energy to one of the feeders. I got in position and didn’t move. After some time, the first one landed in the bushes behind the feeder. Branch by branch, he hopped to the front, did one last safety check, and then leaped onto the feeder.
If I would just move my finger off the camera, the bird flew off. This family of blue tits seemed very shy. I had to be patient and stand still for the photographs I got.
I was rewarded by nature. Not only one but a whole family of blue tits flew by and stopped at the feeders. Not all at once, but one after the other got a chance at the feeder and I had plenty of time to practice bird watching.
As long as I stood still.
Then I moved my position because I really wanted to capture a bird inside of one of the coconuts. My parents had bought those as bird feeders and once they were emptied, they simply refill them with a mixture of fat and seeds.
The nephew of the blue tit family was hopping from the big tree next door down to the Apple tree my parents had planted over ten years ago. He was skeptical but probably the bravest one of all the youngsters in the family.
Focusing on the coconut, he was planning to leap over in one go, grab a bite and fly off again. Immediately. That should be the safest for him.
And so he did.
I almost missed the action. Almost.
When I’m cold, tired, and exhausted I’m happy with less. My expectations are lower and therefore I was already excited about what I got in front of my lens.
My hands were frozen.
The thermometer showed barely 5 degrees (40°F).
But I still remained in position for another minute or two and was lucky to get another one of the blue tit family. It might have been a cousin of the nephew because he was just as brave.
But then it was time for me to leave. To leave my photographing spot, the garden, and head home into the comforting warmth of my parents’ flat.
Another day, another chance.
The very next day, we were back in the garden. Just the four of us. My parents, my husband, and I. My dad has a big project going on. He took down the greenhouse and is rebuilding it now with the help of my husband.
My mom and I just walked down to the garden for some exercise and fresh air. I did some polishing work in the rock garden I had set up years ago and planted some greens my mom had received on her birthday.
Soon, I was finished and picked up my camera again. It was warmer today. Simply because there was no icy wind blowing. But the sun seemed stronger as well. I had put on more layers due to the experience I made the previous day but I took almost all of them off soaking in the warmth of the sun.
I walked right away to the bird feeder further down in the garden where always lots of birds hop around on the ground and in the bushes right next to it.
Also this time I got lucky. Soon I saw some blue tits in the bush behind the feeder and I just had to stand still and wait. But as the blue tit was appearing on the last branch before hopping onto the feeder, a slightly larger bird from the same family jumped ahead.
A great tit.
The bird is lacking the bright colors of his distant cousin but is compensating for it by being slightly larger (16g in weight in comparison to 10g of the blue tit). And apparently being less shy. This guy had no interest in me and I could move around without him even lifting his head.
He also didn’t seem to be interested in giving his cousin waiting patiently in the queue any chance on feeding.
The scene began to get boring and I decided to turn around again and place my focus back on the coconut feeders. As I was standing behind the Apple tree, I could see the coconut swinging. And a blue tail was sticking out.
There was no doubt about who was in the house. Another one of the blue tit family. But this one was a lady I’d say. She didn’t fear anyone or anything and made it homely inside the feeder.
While most other birds don’t like the swinging of the coconut feeder and avoid picking seeds from it, the blue tits often come by, pick a seed and fly off again. Without resting.
It’s a Sunday and Sundays are for resting. This is why this girl is enjoying the sunshine while relaxing in the swing. Since you get bored sometimes on lazy days, she got some snacks all around her. Just to keep her busy.
The reason why I’d say this is a female is the way she presented her latest hairstyle. The girl clearly noticed my presence but did not fly off like all her male relatives.
She stayed and placed her shining blue hair into the warm rays of sunshine for me to admire the sparkle.
While bird watchers say it’s rather difficult to keep male and female blue tits apart outside of the mating season, I tried to look at the neckband of this bird which is quite thin. Usually, the females also have a less bright plumage but that is only visible if you have a male and female sitting right next to each other for you to compare.
This was my day of presenting you the lovely blue tit family home in my parents’ garden. The distant cousin of the great tit family comes by now and then and is only tolerated due to his larger size. They usually don’t fight but rather avoid each other's presence.
I hope you enjoyed my presentation of an ordinary bird in a collection of photographs. If you’re interested in the bird photographers I mentioned earlier in the article, here are their latest artworks:
Dennett with “The Thrill of New Birds”
And Remington Write with “Ordinary Birds”
And if you’d like to read more of my work, here’s some bird watching I’ve done last year in Germany:
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