Feathers of a Bird

 

It is not often that I get a chance to combine macro photography with my true photographic love: birds.  I was inspired to look for this combination after getting turned on to Macro Monday at Lisa's Chaos. 

 Back in the fall my parents called and said they were going to be visiting our neck of the woods and wondered if my wife and I would like to meet them for the afternoon.  Their destination was Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park.  Sylvan Heights started as a captive breeding center for endangered waterfowl and several years ago they decided to open a park for the public.  It is a giant outdoor aviary.  And while waterfowl is their main focus, they have many other types of large birds there.  Like this African Crowned Crane that liked standing in front of the sun.

 

It is an interesting place to visit as you get close up looks at birds from around the world.  And the park is very accommodating of photographers.  Both times we have been there, there have been many photographers there and they have no problem with you using a tripod.  For many of the exhibits you can actually walk inside the enclosure so you don't even have to shoot through the fence.  But taking "zoo" pictures has never really appealed to me.  While there are some striking images, it's just not the same as seeing the animals in the wild.  So on this visit I thought I would try for something different; something I couldn't get in the wild (at least not at my skill level).  So I tried these close-up shots.  And I was pretty pleased with them.  They give a different sense of the birds than the normal, full-body shots.  And maybe someday the Chickadee on the feeder will let me get close enough to them to get feather shots.