The Red Berry is a Prize

This starling gently pulls a bright red ripe dogwood berry off the tree like a prize possession.

So many birds were in my neighbor’s dogwood last week clearing tree of all the berries they could eat..Starlings, robins and a few flickers descended on the tree like a swirling cloud and disappeared among the leaves. But they were on alert—a Cooper’s Hawk has found its way here, likely to stay for winter, and the berry-eaters were careful to nestle into the tree where they’d be harder for the hawk to find. Any slight motion, even me, inside my house across the street photographing through a double-pane window, would set them off to fly to safety.

If not for the double-pane window marring the focus through my 80-200 lens I could have gotten much clearer photos, but I’m still glad I got the ones I did. I even tried to sit quietly out on my front porch behind some greenery and photograph but any move set them off, even just pressing the focus button. Their harvesting lasted a short period two days in a row and I certainly enjoyed the show.

[sign off]