Uh-oh! Mr. RBW and Mrs. Cardinal have simultaneously landed on the old tree stump next to a cache of bark butter bits. This could lead to disaster unless one of them backs down. As you can see from the picture above, Mr. RBW doesn’t look like he is considering a retreat. Check out those claws gripping the edge of the stump.
But Mrs. Cardinal is clearly flustered. In my experience, female cardinals can be feisty little birds, but apparently this small female cardinal decided it would be unhealthy to challenge a large woodpecker for the tasty treats because the cardinal suddenly vanished without even pausing to pick up a tasty tidbit. In the flurry of excitement, I didn’t see her go, but I did see the RBW grab a bark butter bit. Then he followed her example and skedaddled so fast that I almost didn’t catch his take off from the stump.
Apparently my hours of observing bird behavior and experimenting to find the best settings for catching fast action are paying off because I captured three more pictures of his escape before he was out of my frame.
Zoom, and he was gone! But did you notice, he still had the B.B.B. gripped in his beak. I’m betting he landed high up in a nearby tree to enjoy his purloined treat. What do you think?
It has been said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but maybe you can teach an old photographer new techniques? At any rate I’m having fun!
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 
Great picture of RBW in flight with wings down. Backdoor neighbor
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Thanks, Backdoor neighbor! I’ve been spending hours in the park, especially this week.
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Excellent shots!
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Thank you, Belinda. I miss more than I get, but that’s what makes it fun when I get a shot I really like.
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Skip – these are really great!
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Thanks very much, Kathy. Birds can be a challenge to capture, which is one reason I really like doing it.
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great pictures! What kind of lens did you use?
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Hi Nina. Thanks for your kind words. My lens is a Nikkor 70-300mm with VR. It is not a fast lens which is part of my challenge in capturing fast bird action.
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That’s awesome! Thank you!
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Wow! What beautiful images you have captured! Capturing birds is such a difficult task but you seem to have mastered it! 😊👍🏼
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Thank you. I am still working on it. It is a challenge, but thankfully it is also a lot of fun.
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