I took this picture today while walking through the bird sanctuary of Harewood House near Harrogate, England. In case you don't know, Harewood House is the current home of Queen Elizabeth's cousin, the Earl of Harewood. It's an impressive estate filled with original, specially-commissioned Chippendale and fabulous oil paintings by the likes of Titian and Picasso, but in the gardens the birds stole the show.
This photo is of a conure, which may look relatively ordinary, but it's not the bird's appearance that struck me -- it was the bird's personality. Unlike most of the birds, which hid within their habitats or turned their butts to my camera like assholes, this conure flew directly to me and clung to the bars watching me watching it for as long as I stood there. It followed me if i stepped to the left or right -- quite the friendly and curious fellow.
Despite the fact that I despise photographing birds (mainly due to previous bad luck) and also despite the fact that this photo was taken through bars of a human-built habitat, I like how the conure is looking right into the camera. I also dig how it's position on the bars really shows-off its body coloring. It really was brilliant. For these reasons, it's my "Pic Of The Week."
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