Birding in Mom’s Backyard

 Chipping Sparrow 7-10-12

When I was in Colchester last week I spent a lot of time out in my Mom’s backyard watching birds.

The fountain that she has is just perfect for attracting birds. Birds love moving water but they also need it shallow enough for them to drink and bathe. many fountains are just too deep to do the birds much good, but this one is perfect and I would love to see if I can get one just like it if we ever settle down in one place for more than 2 to 3 years!

 Song sparrow bathing 7-10-12

 American Robin Bathing 7-13-12

 Gray Squirrel at feeder (the little thief!)

Mom’s backyard is a virtual wildlife habitat in the middle of town. Not only do I see groundhogs and gray squirrels, but she has seen deer here as well as chipmunks and even a few skunks!

 Red squirrel in Mom’s yard 7-13-12

However, neither she nor I have ever seen a red squirrel here until last Friday when Dawn Fine was with me! this little guy was jumping up and down off this old lawn chair. It would grab a seed from beneath the feeder, jump up on the chair, sit and nibble away, then jump back down again! I took several photos of it but this was the best I think.

Dawn and Mom sitting at the backyard table 7-13-12

If all my photos look a bit off it’s because I accidently changed my camera settings to +7 exposure compensation and did not notice until I offloaded the photos! I took over 250 shots and threw out over 100! While I did notice something was a bit off in the picture preview window, I kept trying to fix it by changing the ISO and the white-balance! I had not idea I had changed the exposure compensation but that’s probably what I get for trying to change settings without my glasses on! Oh well, live and learn. It actually worked out well for that first shot of the sparrow! More photos and stories from my visit in Colchester and birding with Dawn Fine to come! As for Mom, she is doing very well but is a bit sorry to know that I will be moving away once again, though, she is happy for Gus and I.