It's the rich taupes and grays, the neutrals of drying seed pods, now bursting with feathery treasures that glisten in the sun. The drying leaves even curl like ribbons to celebrate the occasion. 
The pond at Ijams Nature Center was shaded in these late afternoon photos. Among the reeds I heard a busy visitor with a raspy chirp. 
I caught this photo of him in the shadows. 
...identified in the end, as a Song sparrow, with a little coaxing from Bernie Krauss of Bern's Northwest Nature Moments Photoblog. Thanks Bernie.Next post: the warblers
As we mature,the subtleties of wilting weeds, of bursting seedpods, a faded gnawed at leaf, and light sing to our own ripened souls. The bright daisy gives us pleasure yet these more subtle beauties of nature give us the greater satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI think the shadow bird may be a song sparrow. They like to hang out low in the brush and sound like they are barking sometimes :) ??
ReplyDeleteLovely, Arija.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bernie. I did hear a song sparrow and that chirp I heard was definitely bark-like. Just wasn't convinced when I looked at my Peterson's. He definitely fits your description!
Song sparrows seem to have a lot of genetic diversity. They look so different whereever you go. There were even Song Sparrows in the Aleutians which may also indicate there are variations even in Asia. Quite the successful bird. I like them a lot. They seem so confident in their understory surroundings.
ReplyDeleteThat's a helpful understanding. Song sparrows are common here, but I haven't had much practice identifying them.
ReplyDeleteIt's like everything is an art. It just depends on how we want to spend our time and what questions we want answered. For me, at one time I wanted to know more about Natural History. So I tried looking at everything intensely. With flowers, I began noticing patterns in colours, shapes, etc. and suddenly I didn't have to memorize what something was. I just came to me what it was and what family it might be in. Same as with taking pictures of birds. At first I was just taking pictures to identify birds, but then you come to the point where you understand their place in the ecosystem and you know what the bird is from a great distance without even using a tool. You just know. So a new question or goal emerges. For me, it was bringing out the personality and beauty of the animal or object being photographed. It's a shift in seeing. It's like in your art. You probably feel really connected to your subject matter. In essence, you eventually become the subject that you are painting. On another level too, Song Sparrows lurk in the shadows. The shadows can represent what is hiding just beneath our conscious mind in the subconscious. So if one were to start looking under rocks, my guess they were exploring deeper into their psyche. I am a philosopher, so I usually just start rambling... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bernie. I do think the more we are out in nature, the more our senses get in tune with what is present.
ReplyDeleteI've changed the bird ID comment on my original post and linked back to your blog.