In my recent post I mentioned the Waiomu Beach Cafe as a good spot for coffee (and pies, cake, ice cream….) This knowledge is not limited to human visitors and there is a flock of devoted passerines waiting for food to fall off humans. While sitting at our favourite spot in the sun on the porch some sparrows popped up and waited on a colourful succulent just centimetres from us.

I am a fan of all birds and enjoy watching them so this was an enjoyable addition to our post picnic stop. More than watching birds, I enjoy making images of them that celebrate their beauty. My realisation of my self as a bird photographer over a bird watcher came when I found that I got more joy from making a good image of a common bird than a record image of a never before seen exotic. Sparrows are a great opportunity to put this into practice.

While the male in the first picture is a little scruffy this female is quite neat. What had really caught my eye was the interesting plant they were perching on and the opportunity to use the tarseal road as a uniform grey background that would show off the warm colours of the birds and plant. Finishing my coffee I retreated to the close focus distance of my lens with the light at my back and framed up a composition and waited for the birds to cooperate. Pretty sure the other patrons considered me a bit nuts but one of the joys of age is no longer caring as much about insignificances.

These images are a pleasing reminder of our stop and the little, often overlooked or denigrated creatures that have adapted so well to our alterations of the world. The pleasure from these images lasts a lot longer than the taste of coffee or cake and carries no calorific cost.

Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S although equally achievable with almost any camera and telephoto lens