May 2021 - Feeding the baby

Now, the sparrows. Of course, Spring is the time for chicks, and we had a lot in the garden last year – both sparrow chicks and a robin chick. They can be so lovely to take pictures of, and some are not as wary of us humans as they later learn to be.

Again, sitting in the garden – the weather was glorious for a lot of the spring – and watching the birds as they came to the bird feeder hanging on the swing bench was a great way to spend the lockdown. I had a great book to read on my iPad, my camera all set up with a very long lens and my seat was a short 4 metres away from the feeder. I probably missed a fair number of pictures when I got absorbed in my book, but there are usually second opportunities.

We all know that chicks are fed by their parents putting food directly into their mouths, but I haven’t seen it happen very often. So, it was a thrill to see this female sparrow and her baby sitting on the back of the swing bench and feeding her offspring.

It isn’t a great photo – the birds are not very sharp, but the scene is cuteness personified! My camera and lens combination weigh about 3-4 kilos and I wasn’t able to use a tripod to keep them steady as the birds, darn them, didn’t ever get the hang of posing in the same place each time. I had to life the camera etc. and focus on the sparrows and then take a rapid-fire set of photos, hoping that there will be some successes. This was one!