Surprise by bmac62
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
North American Blue Jay.
I have been mumbling to myself for awhile about a general lack of colorful birds at my bird feeder for the past several weeks. Squirrels and grackles have successfully elbowed the song birds away.
Walking past the bird seed in the grocery store two days ago I noticed bags of white seeds that I had not noticed before.
The bag says, "Safflower Seed". And then it says, "Safflower attracts a variety of desired birds while DETERRING SQUIRRELS AND GRACKLES. Look for Cardinals, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Grosbeaks, Finches and Mourning Doves to visit and enjoy this seed."
To my utter amazement IT WORKS. Every one of those birds showed up Monday (yesterday).
This very large Blue Jay came and surprised me so much, I snatched up my camera, hit the on switch, held as steady as I could (using 300mm zoom) and shot three rapid fire frames and poof, just like that, he was gone.
So, now the tripod is back out and I'll have to see if I can get my sharpness back...but was not unhappy with this 3-4 second get ready, off-hand shot.
Thanks for taking a look and all your comments and favorites! I appreciate them very much.
Bill:)

Comments (45)
Stunning! Well done on getting an appealing nibble for these beauties! Cheers, Clive
Fantastic to find a seed that deters squirrels!! I find a toy poodle does that too, but since Hetty went blind she has not been so effective! I'm looking forward to a stream of exciting bird pics, Bill!
"My hair stands on end!" Oh what a fortunate capture.
Wonderful shot!!
Excellent shot!
What a wonderful capture Bill.. Glad you found "the seed" to drive away the squirrels etc.. beautiful work for a rapid shoot. Look forward to seeing what else turns up :-)
Nice closeup and portrait...!!!
What a stunning close up
He's BEAUTIFUL:-)
what nice bird portrait!!!! Great!!!!
Great! I'm getting some ASAP. Thanks for the excellent tip. At least we have jays and chickadees, which are on your list.
Really beautiful birds Bill. We have so many in our neighborhood but I have not had a chance to take a snap of one......
fantastic scene!!!
Well captured Jay shot given the time constraints of the subject. ;']
for a handheld shot..this is great :-) I have to get a feeder..lol
Excellent shot and narrative!
magnificent "snatch 'n' grab" shot!
So cute!!
such a cute bird great capture
A great capture of this fellow.
What a beautiful little bird. The birds in my garden can be quite picky when it comes to food!!!!!! The dearer the better they say.
excellent shot! I'm happy your new seeds work. Actually grackles with those crazy eyes aren't the nicest birds in the world!
pretty bird
Wow! He was some kind of close to you even at 300mm. Glad the seed drew in the right birds for you.
WOWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Lovely Birds Series
Handsome blue Jay!
Master of all he surveys...
Bill, I seriously missed our bird shots, all the time you were out and about I was having Bill's bird shot withdrawals. My computer time has been most limited lately, and I am glad I didn't miss this. Beautiful capture.
What a super closeup you got of this chap, he looks beautiful and I'm so glad the song birds are back.
With that feather ruff, this little guy has a bit of a resemblance to Mandy. Did she see him?