An October visitor, Red-tailed hawk / Buteo jamaicensis, in the pine tree above my front porch.
I’m really a plant devotee, but became interested in photographing birds because of an extraordinary student at California State University San Marcos where I teach. Clarissa McCallum is a birder and phenomenal photographer.
My definition of a birder is one who hears the bird before she sees it. One who is patient. Very, very patient. I went out shooting with Clarissa. She was always in place for the shot, whereas I was still looking for the bird. Where is it?
For a final project in an advanced class, Clarissa produced a book on the birds of San Diego County. It’s still available on blurb.com. Check it out here: Birds I View. If you’re living in southern California, forget traveling to an exotic locale. Clarissa will convince you that San Diego is a birder’s paradise, as well as a plant person’s. Below is Clarissa’s photo of cedar waxwings, Bombycilla cedrorum, one of her favorite birds, resting on sycamore branches.
Deborah Small's Ethnobotany Blog 
That photo is almost unreal. The sheen she captured on the birds breasts is marvelous.
LikeLike