Falling leaves and a friendly mockingbird
Yesterday for lunch, I went to a local park and took a walk. Boy, was it nice to be outside…kind of cloudy, leaves falling in a gentle rain of autumn colors, birds quietly singing in an empty park…wow! As I was taking it all in, I happened upon this one mockingbird sitting on top of a holly bush. He stayed and stayed, letting me take pictures from all different angles. It really is amazing the different picture compositions you can come up with by changing only the background. Eventually he flew over to a nearby fence post and then was gone. Now normally I don’t care for mockingbirds much, but on a beautiful day like this, he was a pleasant surprise. Dave
P.S. See that little bench in the fall photo up above? Don’t you just want to take a good book or newspaper and have a seat there or under the gazebo for a few hours? A hot cup of hazelnut coffee on a cool afternoon surrounded by a spectacular carpet of golden leaves…sounds just about perfect to me!
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Comments
What a great way to spend your lunch time! Sounds like the perfect place to get away from the mornings “goings on”at work…plus you got all those great shots of Mr. Mock. The next to last shot is my fav. Beautiful colors all around. Nice job. ummm, I can smell that hazelnut coffee from here!!
Great story and what a beautiful part of the country. Makes me just want to jump in the car and head for NC. I spent my childhood camping in the north Ga mountains every year. I loved those times of the year when the leaves change. Living in Fl now and as you can imagine I am in no short supply for mockingbird sitings. It is our state bird ya know. As usual, a visit to your site never disappoints.
Well wishes,
Craig
Yes—that bench could almost be as relaxing as the little cabin we just visited for several days!!!!! BUT–you saw a mockingbird–and I didn’t see ANY birds where we were… In fact, I have never seen a mockingbird even at our home YET… Hopefully I will someday!
You have a beautiful blog and your photography is priceless. I am stunned. I don’t know what camera you are using but it is perfect for these pictures.
Thanks so much everyone…all your comments are greatly appreciated and very encouraging!
Abraham, my camera is just a regular Canon Powershot (A620 model) with no tripod. I don’t have any extra zoom lenses or anything, just some patience to slowly get as close as I can to the birds. I’ve read your blog and seen your pictures, so I’m honored by your kind words. :-)
Dave, thanks for stopping by my “id this bird” post, I would love to see your photos of a towhee. What a delight it was to learn it was a towhee..even if I only saw part of it!! lol but hey, you take what you can get!! :)
Tina, here’s a towhee pic (link) for you…
Dave – this post is just absolutely beautiful! And you are quite a good writer – I love how you said, “leaves falling in a gentle rain of autumn colors” – great, great descriptive words!
These pictures are wonderfully composed! Is that a live oak? We don’t have them in PA and they have become one of my favorites when I visit my sister in NC.
Mockingbirds are really very photogenic and they have lovely eyes that show up well – yours are very nicely done – bravo!
Thank you, ladies!
Barb, it looks like an oak tree in shape, but the leaves aren’t lobed at all or thin like a pin-oak would be. I went back and tried to identify it from the picture, but I just can’t tell. Have to make another fun trip out there sometime! Raleigh does call itself the “City of Oaks” however. :-)
Great pictures of the mocker. They’re not my favorite bird either — we had one that used to imitate a car alarm outside our window at 2 am lol — but you got some beautiful shots.
That tree is an American Beech, and a really magnificent specimen.
Sweet Bay, thank you very much for the tree identification! Wow…a mockingbird car alarm rendition in the middle of the night…that would be AWFUL! Since you’re in the area, have you ever been to that park? It’s Historic Oak View County Park on the east side of Raleigh…intersection of 440 and Poole Rd. Very nice and few folks seem to know about it.
Hi Dave, no, I have not been to that park, although I must have driven by it many times. I’ll have to check it out. It looks beautiful.
We weren’t too fond of that mockingbird…lol. Especially since he sang in the middle of a quadrangle of apartment buildings that created an echo.
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WOW!Sounds like lunch turned out to a very special time.