Bird Sauna
It's been cold outside, eh? Apparently, it's been cold enough for Philly's flightless chickens (aka pigeons) to learn how to sauna. For reals. Look at that photo above. They're not fighting over the scraps of somebody's discarded chicken wings, cheesesteak or soft pretzel. They're just chilling on top of a steaming sewer grate taking a steam.
This was the scene January 16, 2009 and I happened to have my camera on me. It was the F3 though so no instant digital gratification; I had to wait to finish up the roll, get it processed and bring it home. But once I looked at it, I just laughed remembering the scene in person from a couple weeks ago.
The rest of my Fujicolor Pro 400H roll is up in this flickr set.
Explore posts in the same categories: Animal Planet, Photography
January 31st, 2009 @ 1:57 am
I shot the same birds around the SAME time!!! I also laughed, and everyone I told about it said, "they must have been eating something." They weren't, they were actually hanging out by the heat, and didn't even move when pedestrians walked by.
I have been photographing pigeons all around the city for years and have never seen them doing this before (although I have seen them opening fire hydrants in the summer, tossing their sneakers up on power lines and double parking on South Broad Street).
January 31st, 2009 @ 11:34 am
That is hilarious! What a fantastic picture.
February 10th, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
Cool stuff. Where do you develop your film in Philly?