Western tanager - the search is over.

A male western tanager found at North Thompson River Provincial Park.

The expression, "It's for the birds," is meant to imply a certain level of disdain for some thought or idea.  Yet in my mind, it speaks of care for the environment and respect for nature.  We have lost billions of birds over the last few decades from the many obstacles facing them on a daily basis.  As a result, many of their numbers are in rapid decline.

A good example of this is the western tanager.  It is a remarkably colourful example of avian splendor, especially in the Pacific Northwest where I spend most of my time.  I saw one once down in Leavenworth, Washington.  I marveled at its magnificence even though it was very far from me and my camera did a poor job of rendering its image.  Then it was gone, leaving only a desire to get a better look at one and hopefully get a few photos in the process.

That was more than 15 years ago.  I have not seen one since.  I had heard there were some nesting at a bird sanctuary near where I live, but many outings there failed to substantiate that claim.  I have been camping at Clearwater, BC, and did some bike riding at a local provincial park.  While cycling through the campground a flash of red and yellow caught my attention.  Could it be?  The hope was too much as I gazed in the general direction the colourful blur had gone.

There, to my surprise, was the bird I had hoped for so long to see.  The male, a vivid yellow with a red face, and a plainly clad female, were foraging amongst the vegetation.  My guess is that they were used to seeing people as my presence did not seem to bother them.  I had brought my compact all-in-one camera with me and pulled it out of the backpack attached to the carrier on the bicycle.

The lighting was poor but I managed to get about 30 shots of the male as he expertly glided from branch to branch gleaning insects as he went.  I have a fair shot of him consuming what looks to be a crane fly.  He was fully aware of my presence (I have a photo of him looking straight at me) but didn't seem to mind my stalking pattern.  I moved slowly with great intent shooting as I went.

I later processed the images on my computer.  I shoot in RAW mode so as to capture the best images possible.  Although the small sensor, high ISO, and low shutter speeds were a caveat to the process, on the whole, I got some pretty good shots.  I brought my camera with me because a situation may come up that behooves my attention.  I was glad I did because it turns out this was an incredible opportunity.  The real reason I had it though was for the birds.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen