Shutter Speed and Take-off Shots

Just a single image today, to illustrate a lesson I’ve learned before but “relearned” yesterday. I shoot lots of birds at take-off, particularly raptors.  For those larger subjects relatively slow shutter speeds will usually freeze the motion, even in the wings.  Typically, 1/1200 or 1/1600 will do just that.   1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, cloned out an OOF sunflower stalk to the right of the bird  So yesterday after I’d taken a few perched shots of this shrike I set up for a take-off since it was facing to my right and I figured it would take off in that direction, giving me both good light and a take-off posture that would require relatively little depth of field so f/5.6 would suffice.  Then I noticed that I had a shutter speed of 1/3200 and I remember thinking that might be a little excessive and I should dial back to f/ 6.1 for slightly more DOF and less shutter speed.  But I knew that if I took a moment to change my settings the bird would choose that instant to launch and I’d miss the shot.  So I stuck with my settings. I’m glad I did.  Wing motion in these little birds is incredibly fast!  Here, even 1/3200 didn’t completely freeze the wings. Don’t get me wrong – a little motion blur in wings of birds in flight isn’t an issue with me and I’m perfectly happy with this image the way it is.  But for my tastes I’m glad there’s no more motion blur than there is. Ron

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The Return of Long-billed Curlews and Rhyncokinesis

Each day for the past several weeks while on our way out to the island either Mia or I will say to the other “I wonder if we’ll see or hear the curlews this morning”.  For both of us the return of the curlews is a sure sign that true spring has finally arrived.  And each morning we’ve been disappointed. Until yesterday!  We first heard them while waiting for some magpies to return to their nest and then looked up and saw several flying toward us.   1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird is one of them – a truly unremarkable photograph except for its significance to us.  It’s almost like this bird (and its companion) were flying over us to personally announce their return to us.  The curlews are back – finally!      1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  It wasn’t long before we were able to find several curlews foraging on the ground and they even let us  get close.  This one is busy preening in the morning sun.      1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Rhyncokinesis (rhynco – upper beak or bill, kinesis – movement or motion) is the ability of some birds to bend or flex their upper bill.  Only cranes, shorebirds, swifts and hummingbirds are known to be capable of doing so.  The bill is made of a protein called keratin (like hair or fingernails) and it’s quite a remarkable feat to be able to control its shape to some degree.  Notice in the photo above that the shapes…

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Western Kingbirds

Yesterday was a slow day on the island, though we did see our first Western Kingbird of the year (I should say that Mia saw it as I missed it – one of the disadvantages of being the driver…).  The sighting got me to thinking about these aggressive tyrant flycatchers and reminded me of how much I’ve missed them these last few months so I decided to devote a post to them. They’re called “kingbirds” because of their belligerent behavior and fearless nature.  Kingbirds are very aggressive toward other birds and it’s not unusual to see them attacking almost any species – including hawks and American Kestrels.  They’re extremely agile in flight and can get away with such seemingly foolish behaviors.    1/800, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In this shot you can see most if the important field marks – pale gray head and breast, darker mask through the eyes, underparts yellow, tail black with white edges and black bill.  The sexes are similar.  Most folks are unaware that the species has a small orange-red patch on the top of the head but it is nearly always hidden except while performing certain behaviors.      1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These birds are almost unknown to walk anywhere – virtually all locomotion is by flight.  Typically they hunt from elevated perches so they flit from perch to perch looking for insects mostly.  When I’m lucky I find them on natural perches like this dried thistle…      1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4,…

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Just A Shot That I Like…#24 – Western Bluebird Taking Off

I’ve always been a sucker for unusual poses and flight postures.   1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  This female Mountain Bluebird had been flitting around in the brush all morning while looking for cicadas to feed her brood.  I didn’t have much light for the shot (I was surprised to get a catch light) and there’s a lot going on in the background but for me  the wing and tail position and the somewhat unusual angle of take-off helped to make up for it. I’m sure looking forward to spending more time with these birds up north this summer. Ron

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Short-eared Owl Hunting From A Post

We were driving out of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge on our way home when we spotted this Short-eared Owl perched on a large double post at the top of a long, grinding hill.  I was pulling the camping trailer so we made a lot of racket and raised a huge cloud of dust on the gravel road so I figured there was no chance this bird would let that big noisy rig close enough for decent shots.  But it did – though just barely.    1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Here it was trying to decide if we were enough of a potential threat to fly off but soon it relaxed and seemed to accept our presence.       1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Almost immediately the owl began to scour the slope to the right for potential prey.      1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  When it spotted something it took off…       1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  gained speed as it descended down the relatively steep slope…       1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  and this is the last decent shot I got as it got close to the grasses and I lost focus on the bird.       1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  But the owl obviously liked that post as a hunting platform and almost immediately returned to it (though these last shots are from an earlier sequence).   It very quickly spotted what was probably…

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Kiting Male Northern Harrier

On this morning at Farmington Bay we weren’t having very much luck with birds so Mia suggested that we hang out next to a high dike where the south wind was creating an updraft that we’d seen a male Northern Harrier kiting in earlier.  Despite the less than perfect light angle it turned out to be another one of Mia’s good ideas because it wasn’t long before the harrier returned to play in the updrafts and hunt the dike edges.  1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Two things made this an especially interesting situation – the fact that the harrier was kiting (giving us more time with the bird) and the variety of backgrounds we got when the harrier would move just a few feet in the air.  It was a partly cloudy day and the bird was usually hanging just above the snow-covered Wasatch Range to the east so at times I got thin white clouds in the background, or a mix of clouds and blue sky, or both sky and mountains or the mountains alone.   Throw into that mix the fact that the light was constantly changing because of the clouds and you’ll understand the exposure difficulties that morning.      1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Because of the challenging light angle much of the harrier was often backlit but the head turn in this shot giving light on the head and eye made this image work for me.     1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4  Here the light was…

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Fighting Chukars

Obviously I’m not posting this shot for its image quality – it’s distinctly lacking in same.  But what an experience we had with these Chukars this morning. We could see them fighting as we approached because they would occasionally jump up above the thick grasses while clawing and biting at each other in the air.   I was amazed both by how vicious these fights were and by the incredible speed of these plump, roly-poly birds.    1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We watched several of them fighting for perhaps 5 minutes but very few of my shots turned out because of the fast and furious action in low light and especially because my focus kept locking onto the foreground grasses. But this image should give you a flavor for what it was like and for what my latest photographic goal is – to find some fighting Chukars in better light and out in the open.  I’m gonna work on it! Ron

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Bathing Willet

Last summer at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge I slowly approached this bathing Willet in my pickup, fully expecting the bird to either fly off or wander further away in the shallow water of Lower Red Rock Lake.    1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  It eyed me warily until I had turned off the engine…        1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  but it was so intent on its bath that it quickly went back to minding its hygiene.        1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc For this shot the Willet turned its back on me a little but I liked the shot because it shows the furious action at the rear of the bird.         1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc With water and feathers flying everywhere…         1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc   it finally gave me a bit of a head turn again as it spread and raised its tail feathers for a good cleaning.         1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4 Then it hopped up on the shore for a vigorous shake.         1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4  By this time it had approached me so closely that I had to take off my teleconverter but even so I was tight enough on the bird that I wasn’t able to get the composition I would have preferred for these last three shots.         1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400,…

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Northern Harrier Vomiting

No great photography today but some interesting behavior. I’ve often seen and photographed various bird species hacking up a pellet but this was my first experience with one vomiting.    1/500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  When I first got this Northern Harrier in my viewfinder I thought it was acting slightly odd – it seemed lethargic, reluctant to fly and its head was hanging low.  Then it suddenly vomited.      1/500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The vomitus was thick, mucus-like and stringy and I’m quite sure no pellet was expelled. I had an email discussion about this behavior with a friend (thanks once again Ingrid) and sent her these photos.  They were forwarded to the Cascades Raptor Center who said that this behavior is something they’ve not seen before and that it isn’t “normal”. When this bird had finished vomiting it stayed perched (very unusual) as I drove through a gate perhaps 25′ to the right of the bird.  I drove down the road to let it recover in peace and when I returned about a half hour later it was gone. Ron

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Meadowlark Take-off

Just a single image this time. While photographing magpies at their nest this morning this cheeky Western Meadowlark had the gall to land right next door to the nest for a few seconds before it took off again.    1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, f00 f/4 I’d taken the teleconverter off for the larger magpies so it’s a bit of a heftier crop than I’d prefer and I wish I had a little more room up top for composition.  And there’s some “stuff” in front of the bird but despite all that I liked the shot anyway. These meadowlarks are beginning to sing up a storm out on the island. Ron

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Golden Eagle In The Wind And Cold

It was a brutal morning on the island yesterday with 25 degree F temps, winds of over 4o mph, fresh snow and icy roads.  It was eerie-sounding to drive on the roads as the night before the snow had partially melted and then froze hard into a bumpy, icy and noisy sheet.  I knew there’d be no sneaking up on any birds because my pickup sounded like a freight train approaching on that crunchy ice.   The gulls were just about the only birds out and about.  They seemed to enjoy soaring in the wind but when they’d settle into the water they chose areas partially protected from the wind, like this cove where the causeway meets the island.       The night before the wind had pasted snow onto the sides of the bison and then it froze to their hides.  Some of them were mostly covered with ice.  This image and the next one should give regular readers of my blog some idea of why I occasionally grumble about all the dried sunflowers we have this year.  They make it virtually impossible to get a clear shot of any subject on the ground.       1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We had just about resigned ourselves to being essentially “skunked” for the morning when we spotted this Golden Eagle not too far from the road.  It was feeding on what I assume was a jack-rabbit (it was relatively large and there are lots of them in the area) but of course it was buried in the sunflowers and I…

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The Little Things That Change Our Lives

I recently received an email from one of my blog readers (thank you so much Ingrid Taylor!) that has caused me to pause for some serious reflection.  Ingrid had noticed in one of my posts my mention of the fact that I had raised pigeons as a youngster in southern California.  She loves pigeons and when she and her husband rescued and fostered two homing pigeons, “Chauncey and Clive”, they became deeply attached to them.  In her email Ingrid asked me if I “retain any similar affections for pigeons” left over from my childhood. Do I ever!  When I think back on just how much those few years with my pigeons changed my life for the better I’m simply astounded.   When I was in 6th grade and living in Poway, California my friend Dennis (on the right in the photo, that’s me on the left) introduced me to the joys of raising pigeons.  We each kept a variety of breeds – homers, tumblers, rollers, fantails, tippets, helmets and others.     This is the pigeon coop that I built from scrap lumber and chicken wire at age 11 in 1959.  I spent countless hours in that coop with my pigeons – caring for them, watching their behaviors and reading and then re-reading the huge book you see in my hand – “The Pigeon”, by Wendell Mitchell Levi.  My parents supported and nurtured my obsession with my birds, largely for a reason I found out years later – that it “kept me out of trouble”.  And they were probably right……

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Just A Shot That I LIke… #23 – Prairie Falcon Take-Off

This morning I found this Prairie Falcon on top of a huge boulder – big enough that I was looking up at the bird.  Its tail was hidden for the perched shots so my best hope was for take-off photos.   1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc When it did lift off it started out in my direction which didn’t give me the best light on the bird.  After the first wing beat it banked to the birds left which was ideal for good light.  Only problem – I clipped a wing on all those shots.  Maybe next time I’ll remember to take off the teleconverter! Ron

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A Wonderful Antelope Island Morning – Including A Long-tailed Duck

It’s been a frustrating photography week for both Mia and I for a variety of reasons but it’s primarily been because the weather and light have seriously sucked – big time!.  So when yesterday’s dawn showed promise we headed for the island with high hopes but low expectations because there haven’t been many bird opportunities out there recently.  We were in for some pleasant surprises. I’ll present these images in the order they were taken to give a feel for the morning.    1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We had barely made it onto the causeway before this Rough-legged hawk began to entertain us.  We watched as it ate a vole and then it immediately walked about two feet to its left and picked something else up with its foot.  At first I assumed it was another vole, either alive or from a food cache.  But in looking at close-ups of some of the photos I’m pretty sure it’s only a rock with old brine fly larvae cases and small twigs frozen to it.   Then this hawk did something strange – it transferred the “rock” to its beak and deliberately flung it a good distance – here it’s flying through the air  Then the bird walked over, picked up the rock in its left foot and flew off with it.  My curiosity is killing me as to just what was going on.  Obviously this isn’t a great shot but I was fascinated by the behavior.         1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Next this Northern Harrier gave us…

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A Bevy Of Barn Owls

This past summer we found a wonderful family of Barn Owls on Antelope Island.  Of course they preferred one of the ugliest perches on the planet but what a treat to be able to photograph such a handsome familial group – presented here in ascending numbers of birds.  I’ll let the owls “speak” for themselves.    1/125, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4     1/100, f/6.3, ISO 400, 500 f/4        1/125, f/8, ISO 640, 500 f/4      1/80, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4      1/20, f/13, ISO 500, 500 f/4 These birds hung out together until mid-summer and then most of them dispersed.  I was delighted that the entire brood was raised successfully and hope the same thing happens this coming season. Ron  

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