Wow- December is a cold month. Seriously cold. Here in SE Michigan we have been visited by more than half a foot of snow and temperatures in the teens this week.   It has been a goal of mine to post images of landscapes, details or animals that display the season but I have just been swamped with clients, projects and Christmas preparations this year.  Until yesterday. Yep, you read that right- yesterday!   There is a snow covered berry tree outside my window that was the hottest spot in town for quite a few birds and I thought I should take advantage of this visit by capturing some of them with my camera.   The tree was cleaned out in less a few hours… and today it sits fruitless. 

Have a look at some of my captures:

I know that the snow looks beautiful, puffy, fluffy and white… but it was ICE cold; in fact, there was ice atop and below it.  And with the wind chill it was close to -7.  My fingers ached after just 4 minutes of taking photos.  These were taken about 2 hours before sunset.

The following morning all of that snow started to melt a little and the berries were easier to access for the birds….

 At times they would sit peacefully next to one another and other times they would become aggressive and fight off the others … especially as the berries grew fewer in number.

Yummy, right?  Its not super easy to do, but I enjoyed catching the birds in action- whether swallowing a berry or in flight.

And the Robbins looked so chubby and soft… I wondered how warm they really were?  not very,  I am certain.

I will admit that the blue sky against the red berries was an added bonus- it really makes for a nice color combination in these images don’t you think?

  This was a really fun little shoot to do…. it was a nice change for me!  Hope you enjoyed it and will visit me later in the week.  I have a couple of model shoots before Monday and will be posting little previews, if possible.

Stayed tuned for more… and stay warm out there.