I took my camera outside for a few minutes last weekend because I wanted to photograph some tiny pine cones I discovered on my arborvitaes.
I walked by one of my feeders where I could hear some tapping, but I couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden a chickadee spotted me and made a noise that could only be described as a shriek before he scolded me for startling him. He flew to a nearby shrub and started pecking away at a large peanut. I was frustrated because I only had a macro lens and he was about 8 feet away. There was no way I could take a respectable photograph.
I looked through the camera’s viewfinder as I crept closer and closer. He was so busy chomping on his peanut, that he didn’t pay me any attention. I just kept sneaking.
When the bird filled enough of my viewfinder, I started snapping photos. He continued eating, seemingly oblivious to my presence. Eventually I took a break and looked out from behind the camera. I gasped. Because I looked through the viewfinder as I closed the distance between us, I had no idea that he had let me get so ridiculously close to him. We were less than 12 inches apart. In fact I was a little concerned he might fling peanut pieces (or worse if you know what I mean) on my lens.
I continued snapping photos until he flew away. I went into the house and got my zoom lens, but when I came back outside, the birds and squirrels were making alarm calls and I knew that a hawk was in the vicinity. It could be awhile before my chickadee returned to the feeder for more peanuts, so I went back inside the house pleased that I had snuck up on the little bird while I had the chance.