March 12, 2008
You Never Know Who is Watching
It is officially springtime around here. Yesterday afternoon I saw a cardinal fly out of one of our vines and thought it would be so neat to find a nest and watch for babies. We've enjoyed several generations in the past few years but never have seen them until they ventured down to the feeder.
Very carefully I poked my head into the bushes and started looking, trying not to disturb anything I might find. As I leaned back to move to another area, this is what I saw. Not one, but three ribbon snakes, and they were about 18 inches above where my head had been. (I still can't believe that I didn't jump and scream. What WAS I thinking?)
They even had the good manners to sit and wait for me to get the camera, switch to the macro lens, and come back outside. I took about a dozen photos with different settings before they decided they'd had enough and slipped away. I'm sure I'll see them again but probably not all at one time like this.
If there was a bird nest in this area, I'm afraid the outlook for babies is not so good. Maybe the bird was just resting and will find a better place to raise a family. I certainly hope so.
You Never Know Who is Watching
It is officially springtime around here. Yesterday afternoon I saw a cardinal fly out of one of our vines and thought it would be so neat to find a nest and watch for babies. We've enjoyed several generations in the past few years but never have seen them until they ventured down to the feeder.
Very carefully I poked my head into the bushes and started looking, trying not to disturb anything I might find. As I leaned back to move to another area, this is what I saw. Not one, but three ribbon snakes, and they were about 18 inches above where my head had been. (I still can't believe that I didn't jump and scream. What WAS I thinking?)
They even had the good manners to sit and wait for me to get the camera, switch to the macro lens, and come back outside. I took about a dozen photos with different settings before they decided they'd had enough and slipped away. I'm sure I'll see them again but probably not all at one time like this.
If there was a bird nest in this area, I'm afraid the outlook for babies is not so good. Maybe the bird was just resting and will find a better place to raise a family. I certainly hope so.
March 12, 2008
You Never Know Who is Watching
It is officially springtime around here. Yesterday afternoon I saw a cardinal fly out of one of our vines and thought it would be so neat to find a nest and watch for babies. We've enjoyed several generations in the past few years but never have seen them until they ventured down to the feeder.
Very carefully I poked my head into the bushes and started looking, trying not to disturb anything I might find. As I leaned back to move to another area, this is what I saw. Not one, but three ribbon snakes, and they were about 18 inches above where my head had been. (I still can't believe that I didn't jump and scream. What WAS I thinking?)
They even had the good manners to sit and wait for me to get the camera, switch to the macro lens, and come back outside. I took about a dozen photos with different settings before they decided they'd had enough and slipped away. I'm sure I'll see them again but probably not all at one time like this.
If there was a bird nest in this area, I'm afraid the outlook for babies is not so good. Maybe the bird was just resting and will find a better place to raise a family. I certainly hope so.
You Never Know Who is Watching
It is officially springtime around here. Yesterday afternoon I saw a cardinal fly out of one of our vines and thought it would be so neat to find a nest and watch for babies. We've enjoyed several generations in the past few years but never have seen them until they ventured down to the feeder.
Very carefully I poked my head into the bushes and started looking, trying not to disturb anything I might find. As I leaned back to move to another area, this is what I saw. Not one, but three ribbon snakes, and they were about 18 inches above where my head had been. (I still can't believe that I didn't jump and scream. What WAS I thinking?)
They even had the good manners to sit and wait for me to get the camera, switch to the macro lens, and come back outside. I took about a dozen photos with different settings before they decided they'd had enough and slipped away. I'm sure I'll see them again but probably not all at one time like this.
If there was a bird nest in this area, I'm afraid the outlook for babies is not so good. Maybe the bird was just resting and will find a better place to raise a family. I certainly hope so.