Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are usually active very close to the ground in the undergrowth. I was therefore quite surprised when one recently flew into a tree at almost eye level as I sought to track a different bird. The minimum focusing distance for my telephoto lens is almost 9 feet (270 cm) and although this little bird seemed to be really close, it was apparently a little beyond that distance.
I managed to quickly focus on the wren and capture this shot before it flew away. It is always cool when I am able to be at eye level with a bird, because I think that it tends to show the personality of a bird more than a shot from a lower or higher angle.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
I’m sure I saw a wren (Carolina or otherwise) in the shrubbery at my new place on Monday. What I’ve lost in terms of sky and clouds, it seems I’ve gained in birds. This is a nice shot.
Nice Mike! Looks like it was posing for you!
Caught the wren’s best side.
Nice shot, Mike. We don’t get many up here in MA, but I love seeing and hearing them when we do.
A beautiful portrait of this wren, all puffy against the cold. I love their astonishingly loud call, so unexpected for such a small bird.
Thanks, Nina. Their loud call should make them easy to spot, but I usually have troubles seeing them because of their small size and propensity to hide in the brush.
I have them this winter on the Seacoast of NH.
Amazes me you were able to get such a detailed photo. What a pretty bird.