The bravest of all the winter birds, in the Wind River Canyon, is the fearless Mountain Chickadee; some people would argue they're also the cutest, but there's no doubt that these year-round canyon residents are easy to get along with.  The Mountain Chickadee seems to be afraid of nothing in particular, and will sit in the junipers "talking" to me while I fill their bird feeder with sunflower seeds.  You can stand next to your bird feeder and really get to see them up close, and if you wear the same jacket and hat, the Mountain Chickadee will begin to trust you in a way few winter birds ever will.  

     A Mountain Chickadee is much harder to photograph than you'd think; they sit in only one place for a few seconds, which gives you no real time to think about your shot.  One trick that works is to watch them and have loads of patience; learn their behavior, and watch for one Chickadee that lands in a spot that makes for a good photograph, focus your camera on that spot, and wait for him to come back:  And he will over and over again, which gave me lots of opportunities to miss and screw up shots @ seventeen degrees!

     Our Mountain Chickadees are actually more special than most people know; there is a Rocky Mountain varietal that's unique to the western wilderness.  They are painted on their sides and backs with a "buff" color, and have broader silver-grey eyebrows.  Chickadees also have talons that belie their cute reputation----used for climbing trees and clinging to frozen, ice covered branches, they are also quite useful for holding down a single sunflower seed as they hack the thing open with their small beak.  Which is another reason we love them, as they're not messy pigs like the Finches; a Mountain Chickadee will take one seed back to his favorite spot, and will never hog the bird feeder.  I guess you could say they're the gentlemen of the winter birds; as for gender, only a Chickadee knows for sure! Mountain Chickadee - Wind River Canyon, WyomingMountain Chickadee in the Snow-Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.       As for this adorable little bird, you can see the snow in the photograph, and it's reflected in his tiny eye.  It took three days this week, and many hours of cold fingers, and digital darkroom work, to get a picture that captures his beauty.  It's shallow depth-of-field shows off this bird well, and it's the same technique I used to photograph a lady's grandchildren recently; they don't sit in any one place for more than three seconds either.

     This week's photograph was taken with the Canon 7D and their legendary 70-200mm f/4L IS lens.  I personally prefer the f/4 over their f/2.8; it's much lighter and almost a thousand dollars cheaper, and as you can see, the sharpness is nothing short of amazing.  But this is not a lens with a long reach, so when using a lens like this with wildlife, we need to get a bit closer.  It's also a great lens for portraits of people; the color is spot on.  As a Christmas bonus I wanted to include Mountain Chickadee-Wind River Canyon, WyomingA Photographic Portrait of a Mountain Chickadee in the Winter, Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. one of my very favorite bird portraits, of a Mountain Chickadee, of course.

     I never use a flash on any wildlife, and you shouldn't either, as a flash scares wild animals, little kids, and grandmothers.  Today's technology, and technique, make using a flash on wildlife unnecessarily jarring to an animal that is struggling to survive a Wyoming winter.

     To all my friends, and fans of Mother Nature, have a safe and Merry Christmas; and remember to "keep your camera ready."  ~ Michael John Balog