Spring and the Mountain Bluebirds
Mountain Bluebirds Migrating into RMNP
I’m sure when prominent Estes Park photographer Richard Hahn reads this, he will be proud of me. Such a talented bird photographer, Richard has been a mentor throughout my years in Estes Park and RMNP. His book, Finding Rocky Mountain National Park Birds, has guided me as has Richard when I see him in the field.
I remember one morning a couple of years ago, I saw Richard standing in the middle of a group of aspen trees in the park. Feeling as if I might be intruding, I stood beside my SUV. When Richard saw me, he waved me in, and I joined him among the white barked trees.
Richard pointed out holes in a couple of trees describing the birds making their nests. There was a mountain bluebird and northern flickers. We watched for them to return to the nest hole while a Stellar’s jay flitted from tree branch to tree branch. He explained the best camera settings to capture the birds in flight particularly when they left the hole in the tree. As he explained, Richard was kind, generous, and instructive.
This spring throughout April, I had the chance to capture images of mountain bluebirds migrating into RMNP for the breeding season. Seen in their favorite habitat, they flew along the same road where Richard had stood in the aspen grove.
As Richard had instructed, I set my camera at a low f-stop and fast shutter speed to capture the action. Using the eye-focus of my mirrorless Canon R5 camera and the length of the 100-500 lens fully extended, I would bring the bluebird into a crisp focus.
For a while, the bluebirds simply sat on bushes and branches, the males posing in beautiful full blue with the females in gray highlighted with the same aqua blue wings. I was thrilled to capture the details of their feathers and the brightness of their color.
Then one morning, it snowed. I was on the road with my lens out the SUV window focusing on a male mountain bluebird about forty feet off the road. It perched delicately on a snow covered branch of a winter bush. I steadied the camera, supported the lens, and set a high shutter speed.
Hoping to catch the male bluebird at the moment it took flight, every time the bird moved, I pressed the shutter. I probably took a couple of hundred pictures. I knew most would be deleted, but on images 198, 199, and 200, as my shutter responded in high action like a quiet machine gun, I captured the moment of flight.
So my month of April was highlighted by mountain bluebirds. At times, they sat handsomely on a branch, their wings tight to their bodies bringing out the male’s rich, beautiful blue. The female’s gray chest highlighted the details of each feather while the males might fluff up showing a lighter aqua blue giving them a softer, delicate color.
One morning with the sun forcing through the haze, I focused on capturing the birds in flight, their wings brightened by the light. They would flitter from branch to branch, and I would watch the sun with my camera at the ready. That was when I captured two in potential courtship, their brightly colored wings extended as they faced each other in mid-air.
I took the photos, but they are Richard Hahn’s too. Without his depth of knowledge, camera instruction, and field guidance, I would not have had the wonderful April of mountain bluebird photography I experienced.
Thank you Richard for your kindness, support, and friendship as you helped me continue to grow as a photographer and guided me in the joy of capturing dynamic mountain bluebird images.
