Chipping Sparrow - They hide well

[Scottes]

http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/ChippingSparrow3214.jpg

And you wonder why you don't see these little sparrows much. Unless you see it move, they just about disappear in brambly bushes like this one. The hunt took a while, but I finally managed a shot without any branches in the way. This is a pretty severe crop - I wasn't really as close as it might appear.

[marie]

it's very beautiful .
something magical (and silvery) about it :)
how is the background blending so well ?

[PacAce]

That's really nice. So nice and sharp.

[Scottes]

That's really nice. So nice and sharp.

Here's the original uncropped:

http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/ChippingSparrow3214nocrop.jpg

The 10D can save some images, huh? From 6.3 megapixels to .65 megapixels (900x736) and it's still sharp and workable. On the web at least - it probably won't print very well.

[JZaun]

Boy are you making good of your vacation :D

Great shot

JZ

[IanD]

Sweet shot. He is a cute little guy. Glad your having a good vacation.

[Scottes]

Having a good vacation? ROFLMAO.

Saturday wasn't a bad day. Nothing great picture-wise, but I got stuff and I got outdoors.


Remember I mentioned that I screwed up my neck? 6 hours at the hospital on Sunday waiting to get a CAT scan, got one, waited for the results, and it's a pinched nerve. "Take some Alieve and put heat on it." It probably cost Blue Cross about $3,000 for that sentence. (It's much better now, by the way.) No pictures on Sunday.


Monday I traveled around the eastern half of the Quabbin reservoir in Massachusetts. Saw an unknown raptor - pretty sure it was an immature bald eagle. No pictures, but that's OK. Then I got the little guy above. Tried some landscape stuff but it was boring (too early in the spring) and very hazy. But I learned some stuff, and was out in the fresh air on a gorgeous day. Camera or not, I was loving it.

Then I decided to go find lunch, then a waterfall. (I have a book - New England Waterfalls by Parsons & Watson - very highly recommended.) No lunch places *at all* on the way to the waterfall. So then I can't find the road. Oh, stupid sign says it's closed but that's just during the winter. Then I can't find the little parking strip that's supposed to be there. I find a "parking area" but that's not the right place (or so I thought). Frustrated, starving, and PO'd I give up on the waterfall and grab a candy bar from my pack. Just as I drive by "a small bridge" mentioned in the boox I crunch something - a huge filling popped out of a molar. I see red, stomp the accelerator, pass the stupid bridge and drive on.

I find a general store, grab a brownie and a coffee, and I'm happy again. This little town was unbelievable. 1800's everything, pure New England, it was a hoot. Decide I'm happy again, time to go find another waterfall. Found it, clambering down a very steep slope with $5,000 worth of equipment wondering what the hell I'm doing. Get to the waterfall - a nice little double with cascades and one ending in a nice fan. Take 40 pictures because I don't know what I'm doing on waterfalls and there's TWO of them. Happy again, but the shots will be a chore. I'm expecting 2 hours in PS to salvage enough to get a decent pic.

A couple more stops - gorgeous view of the Quabbin where I played with panoramas, and a stop down by the boat launch. Get home 11 hours later, beat, full of fresh air, happy.


This morning wasn't so great - the marsh was flooded and not passable - but I spent 45 minutes just waiting for something to come by and nothing did, really. But it was a glorious 45 minutes.


All in all, it's been GREAT. (tooth? emergency room? who cares?) And I have FIVE MORE DAYS TO GO! Woo-hoo!

[where1]

Here's the original uncropped:

http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/ChippingSparrow3214nocrop.jpg


They sure do blend in to their surroundings. We have these birds singing all over, yet they go unseen until they take flight. I like the cropped picture, the bird stands out quite well.

Hope your neck clears up soon, enjoy the rest of your vacation.

[LazyPhotographer]

Very pretty...

[Josh]

awesome pic!