Friday, March 23, 2012

A Bird in the Hand

There are two schools of thought regarding bird photography... you can purchase a high quality camera, set up a feeder, and improvise a blind so you can get great photos, or you can just grab a bird and take a picture of it with your cell phone camera:





This afternoon, a crazy red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) flew into one of our buildings and got into a bit of trouble with my friend and co-worker Fred. Being a bird fancier, I robbed my little piratical friend of his sport, and grabbed the boid. Sorry, Fred- stick to the meeses, and we're cool.

Luckily, I had my cell-phone relatively handy, so I was able to snap a picture. The last time I had to grab a bird, my phone was in my left pocket, the bird (a mourning dove) in my left hand, so I was unable to snap a pic. That time, a co-worker's husband saw the proceedings, and started calling me "The Bird Whisperer". Every couple of years, it seems I play this role.

UPDATE: My standard joke regarding this picture is that it depicts my only game of "Angry Birds"- you grab a bird and he gets real angry. That being said, I think the cat was angrier that day.

14 comments:

wiley said...

If you get in a mess
with a boid in distress---
big bald bastard!
the "bird whisperer"!
big bald bastard!
grabs the bird
then he snaps a picture.

Laura said...

Con't from wiley..

He snaps a picture,
A Cannon would be crisper,
but he don't care,
pink underwear (I'm wearing in case you were curious)..
My Daddy would be furious...

So close your beak bird.
If you'd been caught by Fred..
you would be dead..

Thank you! Thank you!
I swear, I didn't study poetry in school or anything!!

((Hugs))
Laura
P.S. Look at that big meaty hand wrapped round the birds neck!

Laura said...

Oh I forgot to add at the end...

"Word".. and throw up duces

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Ain't life just grand,
Woodpecker in hand?
I got's to confess, gee-
It sure does get messy.
A birdy kerfuffle,
A naughty cat scuffle.
"The pecker is safe", the birdy cried.
But poor pussycat's unsatisfied.

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

Ok, that's probably a once Ina lifetime thing--how cool!!

And for seem reason the name "Fred" for a cat is really tickling my funny bone...

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

"Where's the suet?!?!?!?!"
~

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Ok, that's probably a once Ina lifetime thing--how cool!!

It's happened twice to me in the past five years. My life is not normal.

"Where's the suet?!?!?!?!"

I fried some potatoes in it... delicious!

Substance McGravitas said...

You should have trained it to be a Flintstones-style camera bird. Be a job CREATOR.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

You should have trained it to be a Flintstones-style camera bird.

Damn, it would have made a perfect record player!

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Ozzy.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Ozzy.

You're batty!

wiley said...

I've had a big fat grackle land on my head on two occasions while I was walking. And once I was sitting on a low wall feeding pigeons on the University of Texas campus when the pigeons piled on. There must have been ten pigeons perched on my arms and shoulders. It was a little unnerving, so I kind of froze, which had the unintended consequence (I think) of making them think I was o.k. with it. So I said, "All right already!" and they flew off. I like birds and all, but some of them have boundary issues.

Got ripped off by a squirrel once too. Two squirrels actually. They were working together.

Smut Clyde said...

Ain't life just grand,
Woodpecker in hand?


If only the law enforcement officers shared this attitude.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Damn, I missed an opportunity to make an "Angry Birds" joke- that's one angry bird.