“Though there are berries-a-plenty an unexpected guest seems less than welcome.” – Ed Lehming

I had not set out to photograph birds on this day. It was a day filled with wildlife where I had not expected much. This was the same day that I had a large buck walk right up to me. Shortly after that happened I was walking through a grove of birch trees filled with cedar waxwings feasting on berries.

There was constant motion with the birds eagerly flitting from branch to branch, never quite satisfied with where they were. It makes it a bit of a challenge, which is the nature of wildlife photography; wildlife does not like to sit still or pose. I have great admiration for wildlife photographers who specialize in this genre alone. Sometime, opportunities like this just pop up and you have to be ready for them.

I made several images, trying to compose the shot, focus, and light balance before the birds moved or took off altogether. Luck may have been on my side for this one, as I recall focussing on the single bird who occasionally would pose like in this image. What I was not aware of, as I clicked the shutter was the invader coming to land behind him. It worked out well as it looks like the subject of my attention was aware of the new comer and the bird landing in the background seems to be looking for a safe place to land. Overall, there is a nice sense of interaction in the photo as opposed to just a still image.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400