Hooboy, February last year must have been a humdinger. Going through my archive, I find just two photography outings and neither of them amounted to much.

I was at Camp Hardtner, but for a meeting and as I was leaving, I stopped in my car on the road to take 6 shots of a flock of robins in the trees along Fish Creek at the edge of camp. Mostly, they showed me their behinds. And I visited Black Bayou Lake NWR once and made about 10 shots, none of which are worthy of standing for the month of February.

But I was at Black Bayou Lake NWR January 31 for a more extended and successful visit. It was the field trip day of the Louisiana Ornithological Society’s winter meeting, so I was with a bunch of birders far more skilled at spotting birds than this birding beginner.

I came home from that day with a number of decent bird shots, but this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is the best. We first heard the sound of the bird drumming the rows of holes in the trunk of a tree that are so characteristic of this species, but it didn’t take long to spot that colorful head just off the boardwalk leading out to the observation deck.

So… when you can’t satisfy your own criteria–in this case, one photo taken during a month to stand for the month–adjust the criteria! This photo taken hours before the end of January will have to stand in for February.

And if you are interested in learning more about birds, joining the Louisiana Ornithological Society is a good way to do it. You don’t have to be an expert already!

#BestOf2021