Here is a photo of a newly fledged Tufted Titmouse I photographed in the Great Swamp recently.  I took a few photos, then I decided to squat down and shoot from eye-level of the bird.  I’ve found that eye-level shots are more appealing.  What I didn’t anticipate was that the bird might see its reflection in my lens, and think that it was seeing another bird.  The titmouse flew straight at me and landed inside the lens hood of my camera.  It stayed there for about 10 seconds then flew down and landed on my leg. I was alone, with no one else to take a photo of this amazing encounter.  My camera with large telephoto lens was too close to capture the photo, and I could not get my phone out of my pocket without disturbing the chick.  I’ll have to start carrying one of those selfie sticks with me on future outings.

 

[Note: Ed is a member of RHA and a regular birder at Fairview Farm.]