Bird’s Eye View

My fascination with photographing stray birds started many years ago in Spain. I had just been given my first digital camera and was experimenting with it, taking random photos up and down the beach front. I caught sight of two sparrows heading towards the shadows – moving in tandem in  strange little jerks.

I was quite fascinated and only just remembered how the camera worked and just about focused in time to get this shot.

In the background, at the top of the sadly low res photo there is a disapproving crow looking on.

Meanwhile, the two sparrows are both hopping. The snap caught both in the air, their feet stretched out below. Their shadows clearly outlined and neither touching the ground, explaining the odd jerking that had caught my eye!

After this, whenever we have stopped to take a breath, in a restaurant, on the beach, or even shopping, if my camera is to hand, I watch the birds.

As you can see, quite a few watch me back! Though how the one above kept his balance on that tightrope while watching me, I am not sure. Still, he wasn’t taking much or a risk!

Some stare with more intelligent expressions than others… BTW the reason the pelican is pink is because he pretty much lived on prawns, fed to him by the Pelican Restaurant, with whom he had a marketing position as he patrolled the docks in Pafos harbour in Cyprus

Some just use their long eyelashes to distract you while they sneak up on your lunch!

Hopping from rock to rock is not just the prerequisite of sparrows,  this Hooded Crow appears wingless as he hops towards whatever snack I may have dropped for him.

 

Spanish sparrows (above) are more cautious and sharing than their greedy Cypriot counterparts (below) who sit waiting patiently, silently browbeating you into a personal relationship where you will feed them, before yourself!

Even the commonest bird has a story in them, capturing them with a camera is often a fun way to bring the story to life.

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