Chukar with Black Mustard

I know, my title sounds like a recipe title or an entree from a fancy restaurant.  Couldn’t resist… I’ve been photographing Chukars on Antelope Island for several years now and I’m often pleasantly surprised by the lovely backgrounds the island provides.  Since these birds like to perch on the boulders that are common on the island they are often separated from their backgrounds by enough distance to provide a pleasing out of focus backdrop of earth tones from the dried grasses.   Canon 7D, 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4 But until recently the background has never included attractive flowers that I recall.  What a treat it was to find this bird immediately after we got on the island just as the sun was peeking over the mountains to the east which made for some some nice warm light and for the bird to choose a perch with such a pleasant background.  In this case the flowers are Black Mustard (named for the seed color – not the color of the flower, obviously – thanks for the flower ID Mia!).   I liked the calling pose in this full frame shot.     Canon 7D, 1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4 And to make things even better this bird cooperated for quite a while – providing a variety of head turns and poses to take advantage of the light and the setting. Chukars like to perch on, and call from, boulders.  That can be a problem because most of the rocks on the north end of the island where these…

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White Pelican Stretching Pouch in Flight.

American White Pelicans are known to do some pretty strange things with their pouch – one of them is pouch stretching (I’ve been unable to find an official term for the behavior).      A four year old image – I no longer have the original file so can’t access exif data They pull their head back and force their very flexible pouch down over their neck and upper chest in a process that looks, well.. bizarre.  I don’t think this behavior is particularly unusual as I’ve seen and photographed it several times.  According to Birds of North America Online the function of this display is “uncertain”.      Canon 7D, 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500 However, these birds are also fully capable of pulling the bottom of their pouch up above the level of the lower mandibles without having to pull the pouch down over their neck.   I don’t fully understand how they’re able to do this since the pouch itself is non-muscular.  Internet research on the subject has been unproductive.   I assume there must be some form of bony or cartilaginous rod that extends from the throat area down the middle of the bottom of the pouch about half way to the tip of the bill.  With muscular control of the base of that extension in the throat area they would be able to raise the bottom of the pouch above “horizontal”.  I’ve seen them do it twice – the  first time without a camera while the bird was perched.  But the second time, a couple of weeks ago, it was done in flight which…

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Agonistic (fighting) Behavior in Male Short-eared Owls

I recently returned from one of my favorite places in the world – Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  Last year I was able to photograph nesting Short-eared Owls carrying voles to their young but this year, because of the very cold spring, nesting hadn’t even begun.  Instead the owls were competing for territory and mates and pairing up.   On one morning I was incredibly lucky to find two males trying to impress a female with their aerial prowess and fighting skills.  They were so engrossed in their activities that they pretty much ignored me. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Often one male would be on the ground when the other male would swoop in on him.  Here the foreground bird has just lifted off to meet his adversary. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc As was often the case the birds didn’t make actual contact.  In researching this behavior I’ve learned that they will sometimes lock talons and fall to the ground before releasing.  I suspect that as they rush toward each other they look for a weakness in defense – if they spot one in the other birds defensive body position they would likely make aggressive contact.   Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Most of the time both birds stayed on the ground or flew very low but occasionally one of the owls would fly several hundred feet up and circle over the other male (and the female, who was…

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Antelope Island Potpourri

My last few visits to Antelope Island have yielded a mixed bag of bird and mammal photos that I enjoy so I thought I’d share a little of what it’s like to experience the wildlife out there during late spring.    Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This take-off pose is one I’ve been after for some time so I was glad to get it from this Loggerhead Shrike, despite the foreground twig in front of the right wing-tip.        Canon 7D, 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I believe this to be the same bird as in the previous photo.   It had captured what I think was one of the Ichneumon wasps and toyed with it a while before dropping it.  I was happy to get the wasp unobscured by the branches or the birds toes as it fell.  The shrike watched where it fell and retrieved it.      Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc There are presumably many pronghorn fawns on the island this time of year but I’ve found it difficult to get close to them or even to spot them at a distance – probably partially due to their instinctive behavior of lying low in the tall grasses much of the time.  This one was in a playful mood and spent several minutes romping through the grass around its mother.      Canon 7D, 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This is the same fawn a few minutes later, just after nursing. …

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A Willet Expelling a Pellet

Yesterday I got a shot of a Willet expelling a pellet.  It’s a behavior I’ve seldom seen and rarely photographed because it typically happens very quickly, many birds  don’t do it at all and it often occurs only once per day or so with many species.  A pellet, sometimes referred to as a bolus, is a clump of indigestible material that is formed in the crop and eventually regurgitated.  Depending on the diet of the bird it may be made of feather, bone, fur and/or chitin from insect or crustacean exoskeletons.    Canon 7D, 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc At first I wasn’t taking many photos of this Willet because its lower legs were cut off by the rock perch but I did adjust my settings for quick action in case it took off or performed some other interesting behavior.      Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The first indication I got that something might happen that would be interesting to photograph was when the bird pulled down its neck and there was a slight bulge in the throat.     Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Then the Willet began trying to expel the pellet.      Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc What happens next appears to look almost like a gagging reflex.     Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The pellet popped out so quickly that I didn’t even see it through the viewfinder…

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