Up-close and personal - Titmouse!

If there is one bird I can count on to photograph just about any day of the year, it is the Tufted Titmouse. They nest on our property and they entertain us all year with their antics. When the chicks fledged this summer, it was non-stop laughs and "awwwww" moments, and now that the young 'uns are all grown up, they are still keeping us entertained.

They can be challenging to photograph only because they are in constant motion - darting here and there, grabbing seeds and flying off, investigating anything and everything. I guess that is part of the fun of it - trying to actually get a bird in the frame! I can't tell you how many empty frames I've had over the last few years...I was pretty close for this shot, and then I cropped it so that you can really see his cute little face and his big button eyes. How could anyone look at that face and not feel a smile coming on?

It is really cold and blustery today - not a day where you want to spend a lot of time outside. I managed a few forays, lasting 20 minutes or so, before coming back in to warm up. The most interesting visitor at the feeder was a yell0w-bellied sapsucker. The most interesting sights were 1) a huge flock of several hundred crows flying overhead, and 2) several crows chasing a big red-tailed hawk. It is always amazing to me to watch the precision and speed with which the crows chase hawks much larger than themselves.

My four other favorite shots from today are posted on Flickr, starting HERE

Big news for the day - I finally got my new custom orthotics, after waiting 2 months for insurance to approve them. Hoping this gives my feet (and back) some relief!

I also back blipped 10 photos from a wonderful vacation that Hubs and I took in 2010 to Ireland. If you've got the time and/or interest, the trip starts Here. I mostly wanted to post these for my own enjoyment - it was such fun to look back on all the photos and pick just one for each day.

Happy Tuesday...