"The Sum Of All Fears". The April 13th snowstorm was an adverse experience for the Western Bluebirds. The males and females huddled together on a southwest facing rock wall. They are all puffed up and getting close to each other to prevent hypothermia. The forecast is better in 24 hours, so I think they'll be okay, but I am worried. Canon 5Dmk3, Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM, 04/13/14 2:57pm. f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO 800, lens focal length 400mm.
[Apr. 16th, 2014 04:48:12 PM]
Amazingly low score on this early on. I'm guessing people don't understand what they are looking at. This is a migrating flock of Western Bluebirds trapped by severe cold and snow. They are huddled on the rocks because the rocks hold warmth from the previous days warmth. It's the first time I've ever seen this phenomenon. I know no other DPC member has ever seen this happen. The image is being treated as way below average. It's a very rare sighting.
[Apr. 22nd, 2014 02:49:51 PM]
All adult Western Bluebirds. No chicks in the area until late June. The flock in the severe cold and snow is the story. I have plenty of closeups of individuals , but the flock is a much more interesting (to me) story.
I guess I am stubborn enough that I refuse to enter a dumbed down image, but that's the kind of image which would score better at DPC.
[Apr. 22nd, 2014 02:51:41 PM]
….at the 800 pixel constraint, which is not something I am going to do.
Statistics
Place: 64 out of 96 Avg (all users): 5.4846 Avg (commenters): 6.7500 Avg (participants): 5.2157 Avg (non-participants): 5.6582 Views since voting: 481 Views during voting: 245 Votes: 130 Comments: 6 Favorites: 0
I love the story. It's a remarkable find and an affecting image. Not enough "subject" for DPC: the single-bluebird shot would have done way better. But you've showed us something none of us have seen and few have heard of, so kudos to you :-)
Unrelated subject: I'm sure you've heard of Utah's "Pando", the massive organism of Aspen shoots? I just read about it and I was stunned...
Richard, this is a really great shot that suffers from the small file size, I'll bet this looks great at full size and it is a capture of a really unique sight. Great capture!
Bluebird chicks? We don't have any birds as delightfully coloured as this in the UK. I assume these are fledglings that have just left the nest and are at their most vulnerable, hence your title. Clarity is lacking a bit.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
