Patience

One word that has never been used to describe me is patient.

I can't stand to wait. I don't like to wait for sales to get something that I really want. I can't stand waiting for someone who is late. And I don't want to wait for the off-chance that something will happen.

That doesn't bode well for bird photography. Capturing birds requires patience.

DW and I have taken our cameras out several times a week to photograph birds. Sometimes, we'll go out a couple of times in one day. We'll walk the trails around Bruce Pit or Mud Lake (and, this past weekend, the Fletcher Wildlife Gardens), hoping to stumble upon a bird that we can capture on a branch or on a fence, or even on the ground.

But what we don't do is pick out a spot and wait for something to happen. I won't go to a spot and just sit there. And that's probably why I'm not great at photographing birds.

When I see a bird in a tree, I will unclip my camera from a quick-release clamp on a shoulder strap and bring the camera up to my face. But with little birds, this action, which takes less than five seconds, is too slow in many cases.

Missed shot of a Baltimore Oriole.

By the time the camera's up to my face, the bird is gone.

This is a challenge for me: to be ready. And it's hard to be ready when you're walking around, looking for the birds. To be ready, you have to go to a place that is known to be popular with certain birds, have your camera ready—that is, held close to your face—and wait.

You have to be patient.

I can't see myself sitting in a hide, waiting for a bird to come along. I stopped carrying my tripod when I'm birding because I can't set it up and just sit there. And a tripod is too cumbersome to carry around while you walk a trail.

So, I'll probably remain a mediocre bird photographer. I'll only luck into getting good shots, at best.

Because one thing that I am not, is patient.

Red-Eyed Vireo, taking off as I pressed the shutter release.