Warming up his voice...

This shot isn't particularly crisp because it was taken through the window and than cropped like crazy - but I liked it. I took it with my trusy D90 and the new 28-300 lens. I was taking shots of the cardinal because I love the way he was all puffed up, and then he just opened his mouth for a nanosecond and SNAP! Gotcha! It is a little too early for the males here to start singing, so I think he may just have been chirping or even yawning.

Soon, very soon, the males will start courting and then all Hell will break loose. They are extremely territorial during the breeding season and will fight for their territory. By mid-spring, we will have one resident pair, the victorious male will have chased all other males (and females) away. The pair will stay together all season, raising two broods of chicks. Right now, the females are not receptive to the males and will typically leave the feeder if a male approaches. In another few months, the victorious male will be feeding is lady-love seeds.. As fall gets underway, the resident pair will allow other cardinals into the territory and the cycle will begin again. Isn't nature just fascinating??

In preparation for the big trip to Mecca (B & H Photo) tomorrow, I started gathering all of my old photo gear together, making sure I've got battery chargers, cables, hoods, lenses, manuals, etc. By my best estimation, the trade in value of what I've got should be around $600-700 which I will use toward a brand, new, shiny D600. And I'm getting the 28-300 lens, too! I took the rental lens out today in search of macro opportunities. I would have killed for a bug of any kind, but all I got were some beauty berries, dried and wrinkly, and the shellof an acorn, long ago consumed by creatures in the woods. then I snapped some shots of some dried flowers. This was enough to convince me that this will do what the 18-200 did for me in terms of macro capability. So, I'm definitely trading the 18-200 lens in tomorrow. It's served me well.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! Hubs and I are off to meet a friend for dinner tonight, then leaving fairly early for NYC tomorrow ...

xxoo
Debbi