Meet my new little friend and the best photographic model I've ever had the pleasure of working with. This baby bird, most likely a cardinal, never moved while being photographed. He had just fallen out of his nest in a shrub tree when I noticed the bird chirping and hopping up and down trying to either get back in the nest or have his momma rescue him. At this point, my little bird friend could not fly, and in the absence of flight and not possessing the ability to fight, he froze in fear as the big camera came towards him for his first baby pictures.

After taking a few photographs of this very still subject, I went back inside the house to cool off, review the pictures and continue watching the bird through a window. Assuming me to be out of view, the bird decided he better learn to fly – and quickly too! He began to open his wings and move them. Using his new wings and hopping up and down, he was able to elevate himself a couple of inches off the ground. He kept trying and trying to fly in triple digit heat. After witnessing this, I attended to some other things for about 10 minutes then decided to go outside to check on the bird and maybe take some more photographs.

Much to my surprise, when I reached the shrub tree, the little bird was not to be found. I looked for him everywhere on the ground but to no avail. So, I started to separate the dense shrubbery in an effort to locate the nest and my little bird friend. This lasted only a few seconds however, before momma bird quickly issued a warning by buzzing by me very fast. But, I was able to hear a small series of chirps from inside the bush – coming from a baby bird! So, all went well for this little guy, I got some pictures and I got to see a baby bird learn to fly! Thanks for visiting and please come back often!

One Little Bird  No. 1 ©2011 Eric Hatheway

One Little Bird  No. 2 ©2011 Eric Hatheway

One Little Bird  No. 3 ©2011 Eric Hatheway

One Little Bird  No. 4 ©2011 Eric Hatheway

One Little Bird  No. 5 ©2011 Eric Hatheway