Dancing Along With the Dark-capped Bulbul (Tiptol)
After many years of photographing birds, I have come to the conclusion that it is mostly luck. If you managed to be standing in that particular spot, and the little friend flies to a specific branch, you are merely lucky to have that shot.
Standing in the Kruger National Park recently, I stood at a lookout point and this dark-capped bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor) flew to a branch just in front of me. I did not move. I just leaned into it and took some photographs of this little friend. But then a starling came and scared the little friend. Luckily, I could get these photographs.
He is so small, I think the size of a human hand. But he is so beautiful, the colorful yellow feathers hiding from us, the dark-capped face. It was cold so he puffed himself up a bit.
Normally, they sit on high tree tops. I could never get close enough to them to take photographs of them. For a week long, I could hear their call but they never moved down the tree. But in the park, it sat at eye level with me.
It was at this point when the starling wanted all the attention. It literally flew to the branch of the Bulbul friend. I tried to take more photographs, but the friend was too scared to come back. The mean starling wanted to be the center of attention.
In any case, this little friend was so beautiful and I wanted to share it with you. We are often so busy with our things that we miss the beauty of life right in front of our eyes. We should just go outside and look a bit. So many people work from early the morning until late the night, never seeing the beauty of life. Someday it will be too late, life will no longer be the same. It is a sad fact about life, but it is true. If we do not grasp every moment and make the most of it, we will never get it back.
For now, happy birding and stay safe.
All of the photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens. The musings are also my own.
Too precious.. kinda reminds me of a woody woodpecker and a robin in one. Adorable!
Thank you so much! Indeed, I love these little friends. But they are so quick and agile. They never sit still for you to take photographs of them haha.
Such a sweet little bird. When I lived in Pretoria, many moons ago, I rescued a Bulbul baby that had fallen out of his nest during a terrible storm. I called him Stormie, initially thinking he was a she. He had feathers but was still teeny and far from flying. I adopted him. Fast forward to an adult Stormie and he eventually brought a young wife home. She was not thrilled about humans. But for about two years he persisted in trying to get her to become human. And then suddenly he realized that actually he was not
Awh, that is so sweet! I love that. I would have loved to also have one as a pet haha. Even though I know this is not optimal. I am always reminded by the lockdown stories of wild animals that got so used to people feeding them that they kind of struggled without us.
But the story is so sweet, I really love it! Better for her to not also become human I guess.
Lovely photos of this little bird! And yes, often it is pure luck whether we get the good shot. Unless you're a National Geographic photographer who gets to just set camp in one place for three weeks to get one perfect shot.
I think in some sense that sounds so nice. To camp for weeks trying to get that shot. But I guess it is really frustrating if your livelihood depends on that one shot.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Pure luck in my case.
Such a lovely little bird 🙂
It is so very true about the luck when it comes to photographing birds. And that's what it makes such photos like yours so precious.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. Credit goes to the little bird that sat still just long enough for me to take the photographs.
You are welcome! 🙂
Credit can go to the birdie, but the photographer caught it. 😀
Just a lucky catch! But thank you so much, I appreciate it. Sorry for only responding now. I hope you are well!
This post was curated by Visual Shots to support your work.
Manually curated by @dimascastillo90
Be part of our Curation Trail
| 25 HP | 50 HP | 100 HP | 200 HP | 500 HP | 1000 HP |
Very good shots, capturing birds is usually quite complicated but these photos are great.
!discovery shots
!VSC
@dimascastillo90 has sent VSC to @fermentedphil
This post was rewarded with 0.1 VSC to support your work.
Join our photography communityVisual Shots
Check here to view or trade VSC Tokens
Be part of our Curation Trail
@dimascastillo90 ha enviado VSC a @fermentedphil
Éste post fue recompensado con 0.1 VSC para apoyar tu trabajo.
Únete a nuestra comunidad de fotografía Visual Shots
Consulte aquí para ver o intercambiar VSC Tokens
Se parte de nuestro Trail de Curación
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. All credit to the small bird. And it was pure luck that I was in the right place at the right time. Keep well, my friend.
This post was shared and voted inside the discord by the curators team of Discovery-it in collaboration with Visual Shots community.
Discovery-it is also a Witness, vote for us here
Delegate to us for passive income. Check our 80% fee-back Program