Away from the Feeder.

The easiest way to get pictures of wild birds is to feed them! Squirrels too. But I'm more excited to get decent photos of them away from the feeders, because then they look more natural.

I have hundreds of pictures of birds and squirrels at the bird feeders. Here are some that are not, starting with a red-bellied woodpecker and a gray squirrel.

Next we have a grackle. He looks splendid when the light is just right, bringing out the iridescence of his feathers.

This Northern Flicker is a female. The males have a "mustache" streak. Flickers often find insects in the ground, so I guess that's what this one was looking for.

I used a zoom for these photos and then cropped them to look up-close. A zoom lens eats up light so sometimes you don't get much depth of field. I was lucky that the House Sparrow stayed still long enough to get his face in focus.

The last bird of the day is unreal. 😉

Sharing with Saturday's Critters and 

I'd Rather Be Birdin.