The Haunted Tree

San Juan Islands, Washington

Cowbirds circled this old apple tree in response
to my presence as I stood huddled in the rain.

The birds flushed and returned noisily as I set
up my camera, barely alighting upon the branches.

The birds seemed to be taunting the tree as children do
to each other in a playground. The sound of their calls
gave an eerie drama to this brief display of behavior.

I had dreamt of a vortex of swirling birds years earlier,
and had hoped to someday capture such an image on film.

The image has been my most sought after to date.

It is a combination of the best of three exposures.