Winter male Spotted Towhee perched in a tree – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 1000, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Ten days ago when I took this male Spotted Towhee image close to home I had tough, low light conditions to photograph him in. The towhee spent time on the ground foraging and perching on branches in the nearby trees. I took far more blurry photos of him than I wish I had. There were a few sharp images in the series that I took of this striking black, white, and rufous bird as he watched over the smaller birds below him from his perch in the tree.
There were two male Spotted Towhees foraging among the White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos that afternoon. I shared a portrait of the other male towhee the day after I photographed them all.
I have gone back to the area where I saw and photographed the male towhees and the other birds several times hoping to photograph them all in better light conditions. People on foot and vehicular traffic have caused the birds to be far more skittish than they were on that dreary, low light, winter afternoon. In other words, I have been skunked. The birds simply aren’t coming down to the ground to forage when I have had good light in that spot.
I will keep trying. I am persistent. Or stubborn. Or both.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my Spotted Towhee photos plus facts and information about this species.
What an exquisite image. It’s almost like a Chinese watercolor in the subtlety of the colors and detail. Wonderful! Thanks Mia.
Such a lovely shot. 🙂 I appreciate your persistence.
I love the appearance of a draped necklace behind the bird–the evenly placed (cones?) on the curved branch. What tree species is this? Also, I notice that the towhee is perched with one leg in front and another behind on the branch. Is this something that birds do when they are sleeping? It certainly doesn’t look like the “legs side by side” position birds use when landing or feeding? Thoughts?
What a delightful splash of colour. I do hope that your persistence pays off. Persistence that my father described as being ‘more stubborn than stains’.
Beautiful shot!
Love this shot – the colors of the bird, the soft quiet of the snow, the arcing branches – great!
I think this is beautiful, but……be persistent!
Low light or not, this photo is absolutely beautiful.