A strong wind was blowing last Thursday as I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the birds that I usually observe were absent from view, probably using common sense to take shelter from the blustery wind. As I was returning almost empty-handed to my car, I spotted several Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) perched low on the roof of a covered picnic area.
Generally I try to avoid including manmade structures in my wildlife photos, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get. I really like the way that I was able to capture some of the feather details of this male Eastern Bluebird. If you look closely, you can see the bird’s windblown feathers, a look that is cultivated by some stylish humans, who often rely on “product” to achieve the effect rather than on the actual wind.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice Mike! Blue Bird with blue sky!
Good shot, Mike. I just love these little birds. They are busy out here in our fields on the farm!
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Thanks, Mitzy. I love bluebirds, though I don’t see them as often as I like. I must be really cool to see them in your fields. (I live in the suburbs, so I don’t get to see very much wildlife activity in my immediate neighborhood.)
For sure they like open fields. We get lots of great birds out here!
I hope he doesn’t mind being photographed while in the gutter.
He only had his lower body there–trying to keep his mind out of the gutter. 🙂 My sense was that the sloped roof was providing some protection from the wind.
😏
I will go with actually windblown over “product” any day. What is the intent look he has.
I love bluebirds
Actually, I love this photo, despite (or because of?) the roof of the picnic shelter. It was a beautiful sunny day with a bright blue sky (but not as bright as the bluebird’s feathers).
Thanks, Nina. I too really like the presence of the roof in this image. The reddish tones of the roof are a nice match for those of the breast feathers and the blue of the sky, as you noted, harmonizes with the feathers of the bluebird. It’s a simple composition that works for me–sometimes I worry too much about things like whether there are manmade objects in a photo. For this bird, those objects are part of its environment.
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