I went birding yesterday. For a rookie like me, that means taking a walk somewhere scenic with my camera, aiming and shooting (the lens) at birds, hoping my amateur work churns out something recognizable, then researching and identifying the species.

Bee in action on Palo Verde tree

As I moved along from tree to tree and bush to bush, detecting movements and sounds, I felt myself identifying a couple of birds by their calls, and hunting them out in that way. Suddenly it felt as if the volume was turned up – I tuned into the busy conversation that was going on above my head. Continue reading →