Bird's Eye Reflections

As I look at my back yard bird pictures, I am reminded of an old song. (Yes, I am kindah old!) The words go something like” “I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me…” Okay, okay, you won’t find the song on the heavy metal juke box, nor on the cable rap channel. You may find it on an old Lawrence Welk rerun.
But I digress. We noticed in the eyes of the birds, the reflection of our family room window. I suppose, if you could look between the pixels, you would see me warming up the NH winter with my window open and my finger on the shutter button.
The first of 3 photos is a cardinal. The second is of two bluebirds. The third is of a brown back, long tailed, seed stealer. Check the eyes real close.

As they say in the nut house, cashew later!
Linwood Wickett

Memorial Bridge - Auld Lang Syne

            February 15, 2012 was a parting of an era. It was the drearily cloudy day that the 2 million pound 89-year-old center span of the Memorial Bridge linking Portsmouth, NH to Kittery, ME, would disappear down the Piscataqua River to eventually end as scrap metal in the Boston area. I liken it to a time when all of us living creatures here on earth must give way to new lives that will follow our demise. A new bridge will be in place in a year or two.

The crowds were smaller than the week before when the span was lowered onto the Cape Cod barge. Last week, there were technical delays, delays due to the timing of the tides, and the needed rest of the workers. Additionally, there was the nerve-wracking time pressure from the 72-hour Coast Guard permit for closing the waterway at the bridge. After 3 days of spectators waiting in the cold for the bridge to be floated away, the hearty who endured were blessed with the spectacle of the bridge being floated away the night of February 9^th. It rested for several hours at the Portsmouth Scrap Metal Facility. The next day, it was docked beside the rest of the bridge at Prescott Park until today. At about 1pm today, the tugboats maneuvered the barge and bridge span into the main part of the river and started the journey out toward Portsmouth Harbor.

After taking several pictures of the initial part of the cruise, I raced to the center deck over the water at Prescott Park to catch more photos as the flotilla headed outbound. As the tugboats pushed the barge and bridge past the spectators on the decks, a lady started singing “Auld Lang Syne,” without musical accompaniment. She had a beautiful voice, but at first, a couple of people looked as if they thought the singer was out of place. Then, as the flotilla cruised by, I think all were caught up in the moment. The lady continued singing as the barge floated past 4 Tree Island, the Naval Shipyard, and Pierce Island. I felt a little chocked up at the scene of the abandoned bridge floating past the abandoned Naval Prison. My eyes watered, but perhaps it was merely from the cool gentle breeze. Then again, perhaps it was from the sentimental spirit I inherited from my late mother and father. It was a parting I shall remember for the rest of my days.

Linwood Wickett

February 15, 2012

Bird Feeder Evolution

Every time I turn on the TV, I am reminded that this is a political year.  In political years, fears equal votes.  Scientific funding depends on politicians. Reference: State of Fear by Michael Crichton.  I am sorry if I offend anyone, but I have to give the facts, which are backed up by my extensive research.  The current mild temperatures we are experiencing here in New Hampshire are not due to global warming!  The warming trend is actually due to me sitting in our family room with the window open for hours, foolishly taking thousands of pictures of birds in the back yard!  My extensive research consisted of comparing my July fuel bill to those in December and January. The bills show a dramatic increase in heating fuel usage during that period.  I suspect that, by looking at January’s bill, that the warming trend has crept into neighboring Massachusetts and Maine.

But I digress.  Over the past several years, our bird feeders have evolved.  Early on, we spent all of our lottery winnings ($3) on commercial bird feeders.  Secondary to doing good deeds with feeds, we started snapping pictures of the little creatures using the new world of digital cameras.  We liked open feeders, but this is New Hampshire.  We get snow,  mostly during the winter.

(See Picture 1) So, in order to get better lighting for picture taking, I built an open bird feeder with a feeder chute and a ¼ inch Plexiglas roof.  It was then mounted it on a PVC pole with a large cutting board and a PVC flange.  The feeder was about 30 ft from our window and was large enough for a wild turkey (not the kind that comes in a bottle).  It was great for the birds, but the problem with the photos is something called “depth of field.” The other problem, which I will discuss my solution later, is that the farther one gets from the camera lens, the softer the details of the small bird feathers.  I don’t want to sell my house to buy the lens that would fix that problem.  Plus, if I wanted to take that lens anywhere, and mounted it on a tripod in the back of my pickup, the border guards between New Hampshire and Maine might suspect it was a giant weapon of some kind.

(See Picture 2)  I like natural.  (Not referring to how often I take a shower)  Not that the birds care, but some professional photographer from Manhattan might.  One day, one of them was talking to lowly me in a gallery in Portsmouth.  He obviously had no intention of buying, but commented that he found a pixel on the 6 ft x 8 ft photograph on the corner wall.  After he left, I followed him as he went around the corner and got into his rusted 1973 Pinto he had parked on the back street.  You just can’t please everyone!

Where was I?  Anyway, to give a little natural flavor, I screwed a section of birch tree branch to the front of the bird feeder and attached a small wooden bowl to it.  A section of the branch shows in the photo (#2) by Nancy (thru a window glass) of the woodpecker and the cardinal.  The narrow branch and bowl helped, but we still got a little softening due to the distance.  We often find we get sharper pictures with less expensive zoom cameras, even at closer distances. But we also get more noise (aka graininess in films) Of course, I probably have no idea of how to use my cameras.

(See Picture 3)  Simultaneously, we had bird feeders closer to the house.  One was an umbrella feeder that the cardinals loved, but the pictures were unusable, as the birds continued to artistically express themselves on the bottom and edges of the feeder.  We are planning to use small lighthouses, picnic tables, and various toys to give a variety of pictures for (our) entertainment.  Most recently, continuing the natural scene, I used a weathered stick on a pole with a small branch attached and clicked a few more pictures. The small vertical branch seems to help the less expensive cameras find some better reference for faster focus. Picture 3 was taken with an SLR to push up the ISO (like film speed) in order to achieve a faster shutter speed (like shutter speed).

(See Picture 4)  Maybe in the future, we will become more natural by adding a feeder of sorts to the peach tree where the doves like to rest.

Until then, keep your lens clean.
Lin Wickett