It’s a bit early yet for the redwings to start staking out their territory at the edge of South Quigley Lake, my favorite spot to photograph these beautiful birds up close. Still, when I arrived at Ridgefield with my new camera to test, I couldn’t resist a shot of a blackbird near the edge. I wasn’t quite quick enough and missed him in full song, in a few months he might have given me an encore performance that would give me a second chance.

But not now. Not quite yet.