Nature Done Wright

 

For the past week or so, I've been a tad obsessed with getting a photo of a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird nectaring at the flowering Red Buckeye tree in Green Way Meadow.

First I noticed the tree (hard to miss and beautiful to behold).  Then I noticed a male hummingbird perched on a snag tree about 10 yards away.

All I had to do was wait –  and wait and wait.

While I waited, I tried to keep my eyes on the tree, because the little hummingbird  was a fast worker. You'd think he'd hang out at the tree for long stretches, since it has so many blooms, but not so.

And since the hummingbird sometimes would not appear for 45  minutes at a pop, if he appeared at all, my eyes wandered.

That's where a one-man "Patagonia Picnic Table Effect" came in.

While I waited for the hummingbird, my eyes wandered.

And I started seeing all sorts of birds that I would have missed had I merely passed by.

A House Wren entering a nearby nest box. A pair of amorous Tree Swallows.  Baltimore Orioles flying to and fro across the meadow. A perched Red-shoulder.

A friend started watching with me, and we ended up seeing an Indigo Bunting.

Sometimes it' s best to just hang in one place and watch.

You may not get the photo you wanted, but you may get a little surprise or two.