This morning I shot a bird, but not in the sense of hurting it. As I walked a local park right after sunrise, I spotted this cardinal alight on a tree branch. It was rather far away so I had to go full zoom to capture it. Although not the clearest of photographs, it was worth taking anyway. These birds are timid and difficult to capture through a lens as they seldom stay in one place for but a few minutes, and they hide in thick-branched trees. He was happily singing away right before I shot this image.

Cardinals are native to the Midwest, but I also saw several other bird species which are not. The avian migration period is coming to an end so we will see less and less foreign birds who are moving on to their specific geographical regions for the summer. Thankfully, we have our resident robins and blue jays, starlings, doves, and a variety of song birds to bring us enjoyment all season long.

I have always wondered what it would be like to be “free as a bird”…to take flight at the slightest whim, to pause wherever I wanted, and to have a “bird’s-eye view” of our sphere of domain. I can only imagine. What birds take for granted, it would be sheer delight for humans to fly without the aid of machines. I can only imagine.