Picture Plymouth Photo Contest Image: Feathered Friends

Gloria Rice’s neighbors must love her. In the 16 years she and her husband, Tim Cassidy, have resided in Plymouth, she has worked to create an ideal spot for birds in her backyard. “I planted serviceberry trees to attract cedar waxwings and robins,” Rice explains. Her viburnum attracts bluebirds, the flowers provide nectar for hummingbirds and her conifers offer shelter for cardinals. In addition to landscaping, Rice also uses grape jelly to entice beautiful birds to visit her neighborhood. She captured this photo of a young male oriole, on the left, feeding the jelly to a baby oriole on the right. “The parents are so intent on making sure the baby gets enough food that they forgo their own food,” she says. Rice believes the older oriole may have been a male helper recruited by the parents to help feed the baby. She posts many of her images to Capture Minnesota, a website run by Twin Cities Public Television that Rice says is “one of my inspirations for taking photos.” With approximately 1 million photos taken in Minnesota on the site, Rice feels it’s a treasure trove for emerging and established photographers. “So many of us take photos that no one will ever see,” she says. “Capture Minnesota gives us an interactive showcase for them.”  With her backyard sanctuary and her interest in photography, it would be a sure bet to imagine more gorgeous bird photos in Rice’s future. & See more of Gloria Rice’s nature photography at captureminnesota.com.