Bird Feeder Is a Hit

On this Christmas Eve, Santa came to our yard birds, thanks to the parent at Debby's school who crafted the feeder, the staff that organized the project, the kids who decorated it, and to me, who picked the tree limb, figured out a way to hang the feeder, and remembered to buy the seed on the last trip to the market. It takes a village, and we are very appreciative of all who gave so generously.

The mourning doves still peck on the ground at the seeds from the tree's spiny balls. The feeder is probably too small for them. But the finches and sparrows are hard at work in the feeder.

Debby has an unobstructed view of the feeder from her office desk. I see much delight for her and another task for me, keeping the feeder well-supplied. The feeder adds to the charm of our house entry, our old-world street appeal.

The birds are very skittish. I try to take a picture from the dining room window, but they hear me walking across the dining room floor in my shoes and scatter. A barefoot approach is the answer until the birds feel more secure in their new dining room. For my first picture, I just grabbed the camera without flash and with matrix metering set, so the birds were way too underexposed. My second attempt is somewhat better, hand-held on a dark, rainy day, with wind swaying feeder, with fill flash:

(195mm, f/5.3, 1/80s, ISO 320)

Mr. and Mrs. Finch Dining at Home