Back in the Dutch winter, it was time to have a look at how the feathered friends in the forest were coping with the cold and snow. Well, probably not too bad, as it was very, very quiet at the feeding station. Somehow the birds did not need the extra treats and found anough food elsewhere.
Only the Nuthatch couple, a handicapped Great Tit and a Robin were kind enough to pay me a visit and give my index finger a bit of exercise. No Crested, Coal, Willow or Blue Tits anywhere near.
For this particular image, I gathered some snow from the forest floor (we have not had much snow in this area) and covered a small oak branch on the ground. I made a small indent in the snow and placed sunflower seeds in there. That way, the birds would sit on top of the little snowy hill and the seeds would stay out of view. After a few succesful landings, the top of the hill had become snowless, perfect for the Nuthatch to use as a vantage point. The most difficult part of taking a good photograph, was to make sure the Nuthatch had no seeds in the bill. Very hard, as they tend to gather many seeds and digest them elsewhere, only to be back after a minute or so to repeat the process. In this image, the Nuthatch took a frosty bite, it is snow that you can see in the bill.
Nuthatch in Snow; Canon 1D Mark III with 500/4; 1/300s at F5 and ISO400; Gitzo tripod from hide.
