Picture Of The Week 01-11-10

Where: Richmond, VA • Glidewell Rd.

Notes: I'd had pretty good results the day before, so I thought I'd try my luck again. Hoping to utilize the soft morning light and new fallen snow, I had set up my folding chair and filled up a thermos with hot coffee. I positioned myself back a little way from the feeder area, in hopes of a Blue Jay or Cardinal photo opportunity. This image was the final one I captured that frigid winter morning. It came just as I was no longer willing to sit in the cold. An hour had almost gone by and I thought about calling it quits for the day. That's when I noticed the camera's battery was draining faster than usual in the cold as well. My toes were moderately numb and wiggling them no longer seemed to help. So I decided I'd had enough and would head inside. I looked down to pick up my thermos, when I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye. As I raised my head, this male Towhee came hopping out from under the near-by shrubs. At first it stayed amidst the other ground-feeding birds and I could not get a clear shot. Then, finally, it moved out into the open snow just long enough for me to snap off a few photos before it retreated back to the safety of the surrounding bushes. This photograph was truly "Icing on the cake" after a morning of enjoying the winter wonderland that was right in my own backyard.