After the great day I had birding at Theler I was anxious to get back as soon as possible, so I went back just four days later. I still found a few birds that were content to stand around while I photographed of them, like this Tree Swallow.
There were even a few birds still desperately trying to attract a mate, like this Song Sparrow, and poses like this are easy to capture.
But, generally, birds were much harder to find than four days before, possibly because many are too busy building nests
to stand around posing.
Others who long ago mated are even busier, keeping their hatchlings alive
and safe from frightening photographers.
In other words, birding was just “okay,” but not nearly as inspiring as four days earlier.
Love your photos of the tree swallows, Loren, especially as I remember my own tree swallow photos of a few days ago. It is amazing the difference the right lenses and equipment make. The photo of the bird holding the piece of grass (?) is great; I always find it amusing how often birds try to carry and make nests with sticks and other materials that are longer than they are.
It helps if they’re willing to sit on the rail until you can almost touch them. Having the sun cooperate with you might be even more important.