Some of you may have heard of a “Hail Mary pass” such as it is used in football.  What you may not know is that bird photographers also have their “Hail Mary photos” where you basically point your camera at a tiny speck in the sky or a clump of bushes and pray!  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Mary was kind to me in South Africa where that tiny speck in Satara Restcamp turned out to be a Brown-headed Parrot.

In Ghana, Mary seemed to be not listening as my prayers in Kakum National Park (trying for African Grey Parrots) and University/Botanical Gardens area in Accra (Red-fronted Parrots) went unanswered as the birds stayed in the bushes and I just barely missed my shots.

A pair of African Grey Parrots had flown just beyond these trees and I glimpsed them through the open spaces but I was too slow to get a photo.

Red-fronted Parrots frustratingly close but refusing to come out and be photographed.

Finally, in Shai Hills, Mary took pity on me and my prayers were answered as some Senegal Parrots zoomed over head.

Point the camera and say a Hail Mary, this time she answered me with these Senegal Parrots!

If you are ever in this situation, and if you get into birding you probably will be, I’d say go for it!  Maybe Mary will be benevolent to you too!