Until I began photographing them through a spotting scope, I never had more than a casual interest in birds. They were there, then they were gone. Theirs was a sound in the background, mostly indistinguishable from all the rest. Peering into their world as I do now, I fell I've gained access to a secret place whose inhabitants are well aware of, and by their very nature give support to, the transience of life.
Initially this series began simply as a means of identification, but getting this close look at my subjects drew me in. The soft focus and the vignette created by the scope, appealed to me.
What was here a moment ago is gone and I am left with its likeness, intimate yet vague, like a memory of a dream.