GoldFinch Surprise
July 5th, 2026
I was walking along Iverson where the bushes on both side of the trail have started to bloom and produce fruit. This attracts birds from all over the area and you see them flitting in and out quickly as you walk. It can be pretty frustrating when you pull your camera up only to have the bird flit away just as you get the pesky animal in your viewfinder.
All the sudden I spotted a goldfinch perches right near me. The lens was focused for far away birds. Autofocus works better when you are focused closeup first. Focusing from far away to closeup confuses modern auto focus. There is a fix, move the viewfinder to fill with nearby folliage, focus on that first then go back to the bird. It is better to be focused close by a a default but I often forget. Works everytime to avoid losing a good shot. This was a case like this.
