Birds All March on the Battlefield 5

A Not so Long Tale About a Long-tail.

I have taken many photos of birds on the GNMP Battlefield, but have purposefully avoided some birds, because they seemed…well…plain and common. I wasn’t sure that I would be interested in them; therefore, I didn’t think others would be interested in them either.
The great thing about picking a project and setting goals for yourself is that it tends to push you beyond your normal routine.

Let’s face it, it’s a PIGEON. Who wants to take photos of a pigeon? Who wants to see photos of a pigeon?

Being from New York, originally, pigeons are the dirty critters that perch on the boxes of pretzels in the alley, leaving special seasoning, prior to them being displayed for passersby to purchase and ignorantly consume; I do love a good NY pretzel and Dirty Water Dog.

However, since my more immediate goal was to capture images to produce eight posts this month, and my longer goal is to capture as many of the 1,000+/- birds on the Battlefield, I had to include the Pigeon.

Once I finally realized I had to do this, and was able to zoom in on this creature, I realized how simply beautiful it is. Now it’s not just a pigeon (it is part of the pigeon family), but it is a Zenaida macroura; the Mourning Dove, also known as the Turtle Dove.

Wow, such poise and elegance. When you’re able to see them up close and watch how they slightly elongate their necks when posturing more erect, it’s as if watching royalty posing for the official portrait.

The Mourning Dove gets the name from the song that it sings, which many say sounds like a low, sad, mournful song. Macroura, however, is Greek for long-tailed, which seems to fit much better.

The photos are from two different days. Actually this particular photo was taken in the evening, on my way home from work.

The sun, which was a marvelous warm color at this hour, was dropping toward camera left, which produced a wonderful kind of soft light that really emphasizes the soft splendor of the bird. The structure in the background is the barn that sits on the Codori Farm (along Steinwher Avenue; the Emmitsburg Road).

These images were also taken on my way home from work. Initially, I got the shots of the Dove on the top fence rail, and then it flew to another rail.

Many times I have to back my car up, in order to follow the birds to their new perches; today was no different. I followed this particular Dove and was attempting to get a flight shot. I watched it as it began to descend the angled rail, and believed it was getting ready to fly away.

To my pleasure, the Dove did not fly away, but continued to the ground and to a small puddle that I had not originally seen. The light, the colors, the imagery…it was pretty cool to be there in the moment. In the images, you can see the Dove taking a drink with its eyes closed.

Click on the image to see it slightly larger,
in a new window.

In this image, you can see the water being thrown from the Doves beak, as it makes an arc in the air. A note here; consider how fast the Dove’s head must be moving as he does this. Notice how clear the body and landscape are, but the blur in the head and in the arc of water. I was shooting this at 1/1250 of a second.

Now, look at the image of when the Dove stops its head from moving, and the water droplets are now frozen in midair. Pretty cool, huh?

Enjoy, and tell some friends.

The Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura