Cooper Creek Park, Columbus, GA

Sunday morning was undecided at best. The weather was eventually going to be good but Mother Nature hadn’t made up her mind as to when to turn those grey skies blue. And then there was me, I would have been content being lazy but knew once I got my butt out of the apartment I would enjoy it. And then she gave me the nod, a ray of sunlight broke through and lit up the trees out my window.

Out the door I went…

Cooper Creek Park was my destination. I wanted to practice capturing the birds. I haven’t had as good a morning as I did that first visit but learning more abut the birds and how to capture them was the goal. I’ve been attempting to be more purposeful with my images rather than the spray and pray method.

Once again the park was practically mine. Very few cars and even fewer visible people. Just the way I like it. Unfortunately, there were not that many winged friends to be found. No problem, an opportunity to learn a little patience. I stood next to the water listening. Waiting. To my left I heard them, a flock of pigeons taking off. Practice is practice…

I don’t have any thought that this one would win any prizes but I was happy being able to capture so many mid-flight. I could have used a little faster shutter speed and the background is a little distracting but I’ll take it.

Wait, what is that sound?

A woodpecker! I have to find that bird! As I started following the sound I saw a chunk of tree branch fall to the ground. Found you! Dang! He was high up in the tree hiding in the leaves going to town on a branch. I attempted a few different positions to get a clear view but the tree was not cooperating. I did capture a few images but he is buried in the leaves. Next time!

I walked around the first section of the park for a little while wishing for a few subjects to show up. Nothing. Not a problem, I drove to the other end of the park which is the opposite side of the “pond/lake”. The situation was not much better but there were a few more little birds flitting around. I can work with that.

I was chasing a cardinal along the path, hoping he would land on something interesting but I think he knew I wanted his portrait and refused to cooperate. I was hindered a little by my 300mm max focal length but I kept giving it a try. And then I spotted her, Ms. Cardinal. At first she was as uncooperative as her male friend. Nothing but hopping around on the ground.

Again, I captured a few images but was not inspired by the results. I continued along the path. Eventually I returned to the location I first spotted Ms. Cardinal. As I approached, she flew up in a tree to avoid me. Maybe being above me reduced her anxiety about me. I was able to get quite close and grab an OK portrait. I would have preferred less branches but practice is practice.

As I worked my way back to the car I spotted a dark mound off to my right.

What is that?

Wait! It moved!

Is that a turtle?

I slowly walked over to see what I found. It was a turtle. I think (don’t know) that it was laying eggs. According to Google Lens, this could be a Yellow-bellied Slider. I’m going to be a little worried for the hatchlings later. She dug the nest in the soft ground of the meridian of the road in the park. Hopefully they will make it to the water when they hatch.

I had spent almost two hours at the park. When I got home, I applied a more critical eye to my images and kept about a third of what I captured. That was fine. Spending the morning in the park was the real reward. I need to do this more often…