By Scott Shephard

He comes for the cracked corn, not because my camera beckons. In fact, once he was aware my presence a few feet on the other side of the patio door that separated us, he flew off. He did return but was much more furtive and therefore much less photogenic.

The ring necked pheasant is South Dakota's state bird, incidentally. But it's also the bird that people from all over the world come to shoot. That seems paradoxical to me. But I only hunt with my camera . . . . 

Canon 5DIII 1/90s f/2.8 ISO400 200mm