Hi Terrence
-> 
-> I shoot almost all of my bird photos through my kitchen window
-> with the lights turn out to darken the inside of the house. That makes my
-> kitchen a blind (or hide, in UKer talk). I sometimes spend two or three
-> hours just standing behind my tripod and don't get one good photo. It
-> always amazes me how busy the birdfeeder and the branch are with birds
-> until I set up my camera and tripod. Then the birds disappear for the rest
-> of the day.

All this reminds me of the year the birds planted a sunflower just outside
my livingroom window.  In the fall the bluejays kept coming to sit on it
and pick off the seeds.  What a wonderful photo opportunity!  Except I
never got one picture. :(

I put the camera on the tripod and set it up with great expectations.  The
jays decided to sit on a nearby tree....but not near enough to be useful to
me.  I figured they could see me so I shut the curtains so only the lens
peeked through, and sat on the couch with the cable release in my hand.  I
would know if the birds came to the flower as they would cast a shadow on
the curtains.  I would not be able to see the shot in advance, but I had
the flower in focus and if a bird landed on it, I'd have him too.  I was
ready to take a lot of pictures, to get one that would satisfy me.  The
bluejays had other ideas.  They kept coming to the yard, but didn't come
near the sunflower. I'd go to the kitchen for something and see them
suddenly head for the sunflower.  Of course they would leave instantly if I
went back to the livingroom.  There is no way they could see me in there,
but they still must have known somehow.  I left things set up for days and
figured sooner or later, while I was watching tv or reading there on the
couch, the birds would come back to the flower.  But no, not once while I
sat there, but every single time I left the room they headed straight for
the sunflower seeds.  It was most frustrating.  I eventually had to give up
this idle life and get back to work.  I never got one shot, good or bad. 
It reminded me of some commercial I used to see on tv where a photographer
is all set up to take pictures of some bears, but they don't come out of
the cave until he turns away to eat a chocolate bar or something.  Then
they come out and put on a show doing things normal bears would never do. 
These critters are smarter than we seem to think!

Karen
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