Wednesday Wings: Belly Birding

A few weeks ago, one of my tweeps (Twitter people) posted an absolutely superb photo of a snowy egret in Florida. When I commented on the size of the bird, he told me he got that shot while laying on his stomach on the beach. With the return of my spring sparrows, I thought HEY – I bet I could get some neat shots from ground level.

The back of our yard has a dedicated ground feeder area, ie a mess of sunflower seeds and shells that we’re just allowing to build up. This is food heaven for sparrows, doves and all the other birds in the yard. It also concentrates them nicely for great photo ops.

We’re in the process of  putting in a new garden, and last week the wheelbarrow had been left in the middle of the yard for a few days, so the birds were used to it. On one of our rare warm days, I lay down on my stomach beside the wheelbarrow, effectively blocking myself from the birds’ direct line of sight. Within five minutes, all the birds were back at the seeds. (I must have done a good job of laying still – one of the grackles landed on the wheelbarrow and we scared the crap out of each other).

My object that day was white-crowned sparrows – I think it worked.

I was just snapping away, trying to ignore the fact I was loosing circulation in my arms from leaning on my elbows, when something new popped into focus.

I didn’t even realize I had Lincoln’s sparrows in the yard until he hopped in front of my camera.

This was so much fun I decided to do it again the next day, and the day after that. I already have a wealth of ground level bird pictures and videos that should keep me editing for months, and I’m still doing it.

The other advantage of belly-birding is that it doesn’t take very long. I have to give up after about half an hour due to the tingling in my arms and a sore back, but it’s worth it!