There are times I take cruddy photos on purpose when I know that my view of the entire bird is obstructed and that I might only have a partial view of the bird. Or when I know the light sucks and that I will only get poor quality images.
I did that once in Florida at Fort De Soto and by taking those images I documented the first White-tailed Kite seen in Pinellas County in nearly one hundred years.
But I don’t do it just for rarities I also take documentary images of birds that are common to my area. I do it to know my birds. I do it so I can identify birds with just a few of their features because I don’t always see birds out in the open.
Have a look at the the photo above and try to figure out the identification of the bird. I took this image earlier this week high in Summit County in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains. The area is primarily riparian with willow thickets.
I noted the dark tail, the white spotted coverts, and the buffy brown head through my viewfinder and with just this view I could identify what species this juvenile bird belongs to. That was all I needed to see.
Not long after I spotted the first bird I saw another young bird nearly hidden in the same willows. This was about the clearest view that I got of this bird with my eyes and through the viewfinder. The shape of its bill plus the greenish tint on the tail and primary feathers were all I needed to identify the species of this immature feathered delight.
I take photos like these so I can study them when I get home and if I wasn’t able to identify the bird in the field I have a puzzle to solve. Sometimes the photos only show an eye, foot, bill, back of the head, the belly, a covert, or even just the tip of the tail and as I test myself I learn.
Because everyday in the field is my “classroom” as a student of nature I knew the identification of these two before I saw them through my viewfinder.
Did you figure out the identifications of these two birds?
The first is an immature Spotted Towhee and the second is an immature Green-tailed Towhee.
Life is good. It is even better this morning because it has been raining softly since I woke. We need this rain.
Mia
I also shoot obstructed view images of birds.
Like you, it’s for my own curiosity and attempted ID (if I don’t know the bird).
Your first photo above I would have incorrectly thought to be perhaps a Wren (Carolina or Marsh).
The black tail might have made me pause in my ID.
I live in northeast Massachusetts, near the ocean marshes.
Only recently have I seen Eastern Towhees. So Im just learning their various presentations.
As always, thanks Mia!
Excellent strategy for learning – I’m trying to do this as well (and I’m only getting started on bird ID’s).
When I posted a few of my typical butt shots you were the only one able to ID every bird!
I like the way your mind works, your priorities and curiosity. They are what makes your bird stories so interesting