2/1/2020
I woke up on Saturday morning prepared for a cloudy day. The weather had been cloudy all week, and the forecast for Saturday was not supposed to be any better. It was actually worse. Heavy fog in the morning and a slight drizzle greeted me when I arrived at the park.
My good friend and fellow photographer, Amy Hodson (AKA Bubbly Birder) was leading a photography workshop for Amos Butler Audubon at the park that morning. We had traded some messages that morning about birding and the weather, and I said I would come give her a hand. Amy was expecting a good-sized crowd that morning. I was shocked to see the number of people that showed up; given the weather was pretty dismal. Amy did a great job with the group, and I sat back and fielded a couple camera questions from a couple people. I mostly just told people how I had my camera setup and helped to set theirs up similarly. Afterwards, we headed over to the infamous Eagle Creek Park "seed piles" to get people some practice. In spite of a brief rain shower, we had quite the group there. I even heard a few people remark about how good of a shot they got. I would call that a success!
Before I break into photos here, if you don't know Amy, be sure to check out her Facebook page, Bubbly Birder. Amy is a talented photographer and local bird blogger. She also loves pets and does pet photography; so, be sure to check out here pet photography page, Squeaky Toy Studios! Amos Butler Audubon is the local Audubon chapter for Indianapolis. If you are in the area and are interested in events like this, local field trips, or just meeting other local birders, you should check out Amos Butler Audubon.
So, I was not actually planning to get my camera out until after the session was over. Then, I saw the Red-headed Woodpeckers flock in. I could not resist an opportunity to shoot them... and, well, a little bit of everything else.
My favorite shot of the morning came when an imm. Red-headed Woodpecker chased an adult up onto a thin branch. The bird sat there swaying back and forth, and I would have swore I did not have enough shutter speed to stop the motion. Thankfully, I did. I even got a decent head angle out of it.
After things wrapped up, I left the park with the intention of going to look for Winter Wren at a park not far from my house. On the way home, the rain started coming down, and I gave and headed home. In typical Indiana fashion, that afternoon, the rain let up, and the sun even peeked through a little bit. Seizing the opportunity, I grabbed my camera and headed back out the door. I spent a while walking the creek looking for wrens. I was only finding Carolina, though. As I was about to call it a day, I finally found a Winter Wren and even managed a few shots. As bad as this winter has been, I was happy to see my Winter Wren for the year. I was kind of afraid I would miss out.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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