or…
The fight for King of the light pole. I had an amazing walk this morning. The temperature was nearly perfect with clear skies, cool breezes and brilliant sunshine. Suddenly the birds started popping up. A young red shouldered hawk flew overhead. Next there was the woodpecker. Right over my head. And as long as I held my phone up , it never flinched. No, Cheryl did not have her ‘real’ camera with her. I have had a serious shoulder problem, accompanied by pain, all week; and as a result I have taken a short vacation from holding the heavy zoom lens that I use almost exclusively, telling myself it truly is about the experience of being in nature more than capturing the images. (Well, we all tell ourselves what we must to move on) The hawk zigged overhead again as I walked. Then one, and two, mockingbirds zipped low to the ground in the same general direction. This was not the direction I was headed, but something inside urged me to follow that hawk. I crossed the main drive in their direction and walked the road to where it ended in a cul de sac and was heading back up the street when a mockingbird flitted ahead of me and onto the peak of a nearby roof top, squawking in serious protest. Next thing I saw was the red shouldered hawk settling itself onto the light post, merely a stone’s throw away. (Again, no camera. 😩)
What follows is the (very blurry-sorry) series of photos I got with my humble little phone that tells the story of courage, tenacity, audacity, indignation, bravery and triumph that played out in less than ten seconds.
I just couldn’t help looking up and saying out loud,
“Bet you think you’re pretty bad ass, right?”
well…it DID win the pole position. 😛
Mockingbirds are very protective of their nests, eggs and babies. They are very fierce in defending their territories, often running off larger birds of prey such as hawks, owls and osprey.
This one was a real bruiser. Happy Mother’s Day to all you protective Moms out there. You can always make a difference.
Just squawk loudly and keep flapping those wings!
I really hope your shoulder improves soon. On a positive note, you manage to see so much in the world around you. Quite a gift.
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My shoulder is so much better, thank you! I am very thankful and trying to change some habits to keep it from recurring. I am very blessed to ba around so much intriguing nature.
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Sorry it’s taken me so long to get round to replying – my phone doesn’t alert me to comments and I’ve been away from my laptop for ages. I get back pain and only remember the ‘good’ habits once it starts hurting …
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I know. I have been pretty good but the farther I get from the episode, yhe easier it is to slip into old routines, especially with my camera. I’m trying really hard to improve though because that was worse than labor! 😱
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Not good …
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Thanks so much for asking Julia. I hope you don’t have much back pain come back. That is awful too!
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They actually wait, knowingly, until we don’t have the requisite equipment to capture their antics. 🙂
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I do beleive this is the honest truth! 😀
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Great post! We’ve seen some pretty small birds take off after eagles and hawks, but never an owl….
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These mockingbirds have moxy, that’s for certain!
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I’m so sorry you’ve been injured! I hope you heal quickly!
In the meantime perhaps it’s time for a light-weight Bridge camera?
Nikon has the new Coolpix P900 with a zoom range of 24mm-2000mm (35mm equivilent), and I carry a Panasonic Lumix FZ200, but that’s been replaced with the FZ1000. It has a much shorter zoom range 25mm-400mm. I just checked the FZ300 is still available new. Its range is 25-600mm and has a fixed f/2.8 Leica lens.
There are light weight options to get through your healing time. I’m always happy to spend other people’s money. 🙂
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Oh thank you so much for all the valuable information. I think I may get an apparatus I saw another blogger has that is like a front pack/papoose thing with a support for the camera. It is the way I hold my hand to support the extra long, heavy lens. I also make jewelry, type all day ling, perform non stop eye refractions and cannot cease my obsessive baking addiction! 😱 i have been very good this week though. This has been some serious pain with a frozen shoulder muscle. I appreciate your kind thoughts.
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Ah, sounds interesting! I wear a shoulder harness rather than a neck strap, or I carry my rig on the tripod or monopod.
I’ve been eyeing the holster system. Not so much for my long lens though, but to wear when hiking and carrying my wide angle lens.
If you have a link to the front pack you saw on another blogger’s site I’d love to see it.
Hope you have a lovely day today!
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I am trying to recall who it was and when I have it I will definitely post a link for you.
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Go Mocking Mom! I stopped carrying a DSLR when I first injured my shoulder in 2010. I haven’t gotten back to it 😦
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I have to make adjustments Dan. I am so lost without my “birds’ eye” view! How did you injure your shoulder?
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I was being stupid. I lifted something that was too heavy. Then I lifted it higher, to pug it over the side of a dumpster. I’ve “injured” it again since then from prolonged computer work at my desk at work.
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Similar for me. But I have worn mine out with so many repetetive things first, like an old door hinge, then stressed it. But we are at the pount where I can hopefully make adjustments and prevent further inflammation. We just forget that our bodies are really aging machines.
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I will be happy when I can retire from sitting behind a desk. I try to move around, but I get caught up in stuff and I forget.
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It is so easy to forget. For me, my hobbies keep me sane and yet can wreak havoc when I overdo. Then my work-computer and refracting-compound things. Im really trying to adjust. I do not want surgery! 😱
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Me neither!
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I have been around and talked to enough folks post surgically to lnow that much of what I have experienced this week with the pain and trying to “unfreeze” my shoulder muscle is similar to a post operative therapy. You can keep it. 😳
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