Behind the camera.
I like birds and have enjoyed watching them for over 35 years. For the last 10 years I've focused on photographing them, much to my continued delight. The most singular events have been when a particularly shy individual or species finally accepts me and my camera rig as an unthreatening part of their landscape and approaches while performing a normal, natural, behavior. Certainly, it's keeping an eye on me, but in a relaxed manner, not at all jumpy and nervous.
On one occasion a rare visitor, a Western Grebe, was foraging on a marsh at a great distance, circling the edges, but keeping well away from where I was parked. I studied it from the window of my car along with the usual suspects in the area for a couple of hours until I noticed it swimming in my direction. While still at a distance I started photographing it simply for the sake of a record and to confirm it's ID. To my great surprise, it swam right up to the earth bank beneath my window and went to sleep! I'm pretty sure that all it wanted was a calm spot out of the strong wind and my car was the nearest wind break. See the image of the Grebe in the gallery for one result of that wonderful event.
Another species that I've always found to be wild and rarely approachable is the Belted Kingfisher. While not as singular an event as with the Grebe above, since Kingfishers are plentiful in my area, still, it has always taken me repeated days of scouting and haunting a spot for hours at a time to get lucky. One time, however, while I was watching from a raised bank some wading birds on a mud flat, a Kingfisher landed on a hunting perch well within camera distance of my parking spot. Fearing to make the slightest move, I waited until it flew out of sight, then repositioned my car and camera to be able to turn the lens toward the perch and wait for the bird's return, which it did repeatedly over the course of the next few hours. That's the image of the Kingfisher on the leafy branch in the gallery.
This great pleasure has been enhanced by Karen Saul and Joe Allan of Andante Vineyards who have given me the freedom to roam their property to capture images of their native birds. My Great Egret logo is a tribute to them and their fine wines. https://andantevineyard.com/visit will get you an appointment to see a few of my prints and have a sensational tasting experience with wine and the best food in the area.