A lovely Spring day here in the Pacific NW and time for an idyllic wander in the woods to observe nature... Ahh yes, it was that kind of day...
A gentle warm breeze , an empty box of corn and seed bits means the migration of Tree Chikens is advancing.
Nothing like a good meal of corn chowder before a big sleep .. Migration is very strenuous so the Chikens need to tank up for the arduous journey ahead!
Upon arriving at the woods, I notice the empty feed box from a distance and headed back to the truck to get the bucket for refilling.
I generally walk quietly to a partially hidden location about 20 meters away from the feed station just in case the Chikens are around. ( we don't want to disturb them,in their natural setting do we)
As I paused for a few moments prior to doing the refill , a smoky grey plume of a Chiken tail bounced through the woods floor away from the feed tree and the "burd" sat momentarily upon a small log. Photo op, I thought to myself.. grab the camera!!!
I positioned my .22 Streamline camera and clicked the first frame. Right after that photo the Chiken did some sort of spring frolick dance , twisting and flipping under a big cedar tree, then soon went to sleep. Ahh Nature is beautiful!
Nothing like a good rest, they say...
The little dancing Chickn attracted the attention of an unseen second "burd" who climbed up onto the feed box tree from the ground to watch this ritual frolick dance only to also have his picture taken with the FX .22 camera... clickkk...Boppp... This one also joined in the dancing (it reminded me of a poor attempt at break dancing, but he tried) Then fast asleep like his buddy before him did. (I thought to myself ... this having your picture taken is quite tiring, indeed)
I stayed quiet for about 20 minutes after that because I did not want to disturb their sleep ( *Rest is key when migrating) shhhhhhh...
At about the 20 min mark I heard another tree chickn singing from far off in the woods. How lovely the voices in the woods are in the spring.
Keeping very still I resisted great temptation to click more pictures with the FX camera as it descended down towards the corn chowder area (there were poor light angles and branches in the way for good photographic opportunity so I waited) !
Resting my camera quietly for another good 10 minutes until Tree Chickn number 3 climbed down and struck a lovely pose.
Click went the FX .22 camera for a 3rd time and believe it or not , yet another energetic dancing session, ending in a deep sleep
So with number 3 now peacefully slumbering a close came to my photographic adventure of Tree Chickn migration and mating dance competition.
I can tell you that all 3 Chickn's are resting comfortably this evening awaiting the next strenuous leg of their migration journey....
The dancing part is over for them now and their metamorphosis will have them emerging as totally different beings.
After being dipped in beaten egg, salt and pepper to taste, rolled in coarsely milled rye cracker crumbs and sautéed in a mixture of hot olive oil and butter (and fresh Vancouver Island grown garlic) in a large cast iron pan! Ohh myy ...
Only then will their migration truly be fulfilled.
Thank you for joining me today on my FX camera nature tour!
cheers and happy Burd Watching ...
Lucky
A gentle warm breeze , an empty box of corn and seed bits means the migration of Tree Chikens is advancing.
Nothing like a good meal of corn chowder before a big sleep .. Migration is very strenuous so the Chikens need to tank up for the arduous journey ahead!
Upon arriving at the woods, I notice the empty feed box from a distance and headed back to the truck to get the bucket for refilling.
I generally walk quietly to a partially hidden location about 20 meters away from the feed station just in case the Chikens are around. ( we don't want to disturb them,in their natural setting do we)
As I paused for a few moments prior to doing the refill , a smoky grey plume of a Chiken tail bounced through the woods floor away from the feed tree and the "burd" sat momentarily upon a small log. Photo op, I thought to myself.. grab the camera!!!
I positioned my .22 Streamline camera and clicked the first frame. Right after that photo the Chiken did some sort of spring frolick dance , twisting and flipping under a big cedar tree, then soon went to sleep. Ahh Nature is beautiful!
Nothing like a good rest, they say...
The little dancing Chickn attracted the attention of an unseen second "burd" who climbed up onto the feed box tree from the ground to watch this ritual frolick dance only to also have his picture taken with the FX .22 camera... clickkk...Boppp... This one also joined in the dancing (it reminded me of a poor attempt at break dancing, but he tried) Then fast asleep like his buddy before him did. (I thought to myself ... this having your picture taken is quite tiring, indeed)
I stayed quiet for about 20 minutes after that because I did not want to disturb their sleep ( *Rest is key when migrating) shhhhhhh...
At about the 20 min mark I heard another tree chickn singing from far off in the woods. How lovely the voices in the woods are in the spring.
Keeping very still I resisted great temptation to click more pictures with the FX camera as it descended down towards the corn chowder area (there were poor light angles and branches in the way for good photographic opportunity so I waited) !
Resting my camera quietly for another good 10 minutes until Tree Chickn number 3 climbed down and struck a lovely pose.
Click went the FX .22 camera for a 3rd time and believe it or not , yet another energetic dancing session, ending in a deep sleep
So with number 3 now peacefully slumbering a close came to my photographic adventure of Tree Chickn migration and mating dance competition.
I can tell you that all 3 Chickn's are resting comfortably this evening awaiting the next strenuous leg of their migration journey....
The dancing part is over for them now and their metamorphosis will have them emerging as totally different beings.
After being dipped in beaten egg, salt and pepper to taste, rolled in coarsely milled rye cracker crumbs and sautéed in a mixture of hot olive oil and butter (and fresh Vancouver Island grown garlic) in a large cast iron pan! Ohh myy ...
Only then will their migration truly be fulfilled.
Thank you for joining me today on my FX camera nature tour!
cheers and happy Burd Watching ...
Lucky
...nice storyline and shooting with your FX camera 
.