Birding

I love birds. They're just so amazing to me. I think they're the most unique animal on this earth... but that might just be my opinion. :) I mean, if you think about all the different animal groups. There's mammals, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic life... and then there's birds! They have their own separate group! I don't know about you, but that group seems to stand out from all the other groups to me. :) but anywho... end rant!
I went out with my new camera yesterday morning to test it out and see if I could get any decent shots of my feathered friends. This was my first time ever going out with the mindset of taking pictures of specifically birds. I was quickly surprised at how elusive these guys were. I could hear them all around me making a considerable raucous, but I couldn't seem to catch a glimpse of who was making the noise. I mean, I knew bird photography wasn't a walk-in-the-park by any means. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance, but I still wasn't expecting it to be that "bad".

That's when about 30 minutes into my adventure, a cardinal flew into view and perched on a branch about 30 yards away and started to sing its heart out. It definitely gave me some renewed hope! Coincidentally, about 60 seconds later, a blue jay popped into view only about 10 yards away. It seemed as if it was almost posing for me! It was awesome. :) Although I did see some other birds briefly, the rest of my time was mainly uneventful.
Overall, I was satisfied with the outing and I definitely plan to do it again sometime! The following pics are the two best shots that I managed to get.
(FYI - If you click on the pictures, they'll get a lot bigger!)

The Cardinal.

The Blue Jay.