See Me Now?

“There’s a Keel-billed Toucan” When Harry said that, I instantly looked up as it was a new bird for me. To say I looked up is an understatement because even standing on a second story deck, I was straining my neck to look up in the canopy to find this large bird. The bright sky, the dark canopy, the neck strain, while I saw a new lifer, it was a challenge. As the week ticked off, I saw them more and more learning somewhat their pattern seeing them early in the morning the best. It was then I noticed that the trees they preferred were few and far between in the rain forest. This helped me find them but it sure didn’t help them as their habitat had definitely been reduced. It’s then it smacked me in the face that though I was in a gorgeous location, it was a massively degraded habitat and the birds were taking the hit. It was then I was reminded why I first decided not to be an “eyeball” photographer. It is because critters depend on a whole lot more of the world than what one might see in a frame filler photo of that critter. Their world is as important in their portrait as they are! The weird thing was, when my mind came racing back from my decision of forty years prior and my thought process, this Keel-billed Toucan perched in what for me was the perfect click. Evolving bill, colors and habits to thrive high in the dark canopy, they now have bare branches where they stick out. I took it as a plea, a simple statement with many meanings, you see me now?