Just A Shot That I Like… #26 – Rough-legged Hawk In Flight With Prey

I’ve been lucky in the past to get some nice shots of Short-eared Owls in flight carrying prey but my luck with hawks in the same situation has been abysmal.  Whenever the opportunity does present itself it’s usually when the hawk has taken off away from me so all I get is another butt shot with the head and eye hidden.    1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These birds typically want to take off into the wind and on this day the wind direction was just right so that the hawk didn’t fly away from me as it lifted off.  So I got good light, an acceptable wing position and even a nice look at the vole with its eye visible. Ron

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Bathing Killdeer

Two days ago we woke up to a cloudy morning so we put our shooting plans on hold for the day but soon the clouds began to clear from the south so we decided at the last minute to head for Farmington Bay which is not only a shorter drive but it’s further south than Antelope Island, which gave us a better chance for some decent and relatively early light.  I’m glad we did – if for no other reason than this cooperative Killdeer.    1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The Killdeer was a little wary of us as we approached but as soon as I turned the engine off it settled right down for its morning bath. A note about shutter speed for these shots:  When birds are bathin’ and shakin’ the feather movement is very fast and since I had plenty of light and wanted to freeze that movement I made the conscious decision to go for a minimum shutter speed of 1/3200.   I think it worked out pretty well to stop the motion of both the feathers and the water spray. All images are in the sequence that they occurred.      1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc First the Killdeer seemed to be testing the water temperature before proceeding.      1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Since the bath water seemed about right the bird began to bathe with gusto.      1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  For these first few shots the Killdeer…

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A Mixed Bag Of Recent Birds

These images were all taken over the last eight days, either at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge or Antelope Island.  Another one of my “potpourri” posts with no common theme except “feathers”.    1/640, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4 The Willets have finally come up on the island for their mating activities (as opposed to the shoreline for recuperation after migration) and I like to try to catch them perched high on the sagebrush where they call loudly to other Willets.       1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Western Meadowlarks are in their glory right now and their distinctive songs reverberate all over the island.      1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I got closer to this one than I usually can.      1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4  This Loggerhead Shrike was grooming peacefully when I noticed a distinct change in its behavior.      1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 A Common Raven flew low overhead and this was the shrike’s reaction.  It flattened its body out almost into a bullet shape and pointed that bullet at the raven as it passed.  I’m guessing it was an instinctive behavior to present the smallest profile possible to a larger bird that might be a potential threat.  It was comical to watch it turn as the raven flew by to keep its body pointed in the larger birds direction.      1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’m always happy to catch a Chukar perched on a boulder, especially when it isn’t one of the…

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The Timelessness of a Buffalo Chip Perch

The American Bison is a relative newcomer to North America, having migrated from Eurasia over the Bering Straight about 10,000 years ago.  As is common knowledge they once roamed in massive herds across most of the continent until commercial hunting and slaughter reduced their numbers to a few hundred by the end of the 19th century.    1/500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Today a herd of approximately 500 animals roams free on Antelope Island and that many large animals produce a lot of poop – commonly referred to as “buffalo chips”.  Those chips are all over the island – like small dark islands in a sea of prairie grasses and tiny flowers and they’re tempting perches for a variety of bird species like Horned Larks and Meadowlarks.  But this past week I was able to catch some larger birds using them as perches.      1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In the spring some of the shorebirds and wading birds come up from the shore of the Great Salt Lake to higher ground on the island for their breeding activities – Long-billed Curlews among them.  It seems that the added height of only a couple of inches provided by the chip is enough to significantly improve their view of the landscape for potential predators and also to help them keep an eye on other curlews in the area – there’s a lot of fighting and mating activities going on this time of year. To some viewers such a perch may have no aesthetic draw but I’m…

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Behaving Badly On Antelope Island

Mia and I spend an inordinate amount of time on Antelope Island photographing birds so naturally we run across a lot of other folks out there enjoying that wonderful place too – hikers, photographers, campers, swimmers, educational groups and everyday sightseers to name a few.   Most of the people who visit the island seem to be considerate of others and mindful of the regulations in place that are meant to make a visit to the island an enjoyable experience for all and protect the natural assets of this jewel in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.   There are glaring exceptions though and occasionally (all too often) we see folks doing things that leave us shaking our heads in bewilderment. I decided to post about this issue in the hope that it might be a reminder to some of the “fringe element” who may be considering a visit to the island that if you flaunt the rules you may pay a price. Where recognizable, faces have been blurred in these photos.  If the image file numbers (seen by passing your cursor over the photo) don’t seem to make logical, sequential sense it’s because I used multiple cameras and lenses for the images.     Last Friday morning as we left Bridger Bay Campground we noticed that this guy in a Jeep had decided to go for a cross-country joy ride across the prairie grasses to get a closer look at a couple of bison, despite the fact that they’re nearly always easy to find right next to the road.  In the foreground you can see the…

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Fighting Curlews And This Photographer’s Rookie Mistake

Occasionally I’ll make a post that illustrates a mistake I’ve made as a photographer in the hope that it will help me to learn from my error and possibly even enlighten some of my viewers who may be bird photographers.  Well, last week I made a doozy of a mistake! I had been photographing a pair of Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island and as per usual for me I was using my 500 f/4 with attached 1.4 tc, which when combined with the crop factor of my Canon 7D gives me an effective focal length of 1120mm.   Suddenly a second male unexpectedly flew in to challenge the original male and immediately all hell broke loose.  The action was incredibly quick with wings, legs, long bills and tails flailing in every direction and it turns out that I was simply too close to the birds with my lens and tc combination to prevent clipping body parts in most of my images of the fight.  I remember thinking I should take off the tc but I was afraid that by the time I had done so the action would be over.  That was a mistake – the altercation lasted for several minutes and I had plenty of time to switch. I decided to post some of the series anyway because the tightness on the birds gives an intimate look at some of the details of the squabble but I’ll be the first to admit that I’d trade those details in a heartbeat for having not clipped and cut off body parts.   There were no preliminaries.  The battle began immediately after…

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Bill Deformities

I’m seeing more bill deformities “out there” than I used to and that disturbs me.  The latest example was a Sage Thrasher we found on Antelope Island four days ago.   This is what a normal bill on a Sage Thrasher looks like.  Notice that the upper mandible is slightly longer than the lower one with a curved tip at the terminus and that both mandibles fit together tightly showing no evidence of a gap between them.     But in this thrasher the upper mandible is significantly shorter than the lower and the curve of the two mandibles doesn’t match so they don’t fit together well, leaving a gap.  This is definitely not a temporary, voluntary position of the bill as I have about a dozen shots of the bird over a period of about a minute that show the same thing.  The two mandibles never fit together cleanly and the upper one is definitely shorter.     With this head turn you can see the other side.  I can only imagine how this would interfere with normal preening as the bird attempts to draw the individual feathers through the bill to lock the barbs together.     An extreme crop of the previous image.  Notice how the back of the mandibles touch each other and prevent the rest of the bill from coming together because their curves don’t match along the entire length of the bill.  At first I thought that the end of the lower mandible looked damaged or eroded but perhaps there’s just something on the bill that…

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The Harrier And The Dumpster

Multiple times in the past few years there’s been a Northern Harrier perched on one of the bushes around this gravel parking lot but without exception every time I’ve tried to approach the bird it has flown off before I could get close enough for a quality shot.  Frustrating… So earlier this week when I spotted a handsome male on the large darker bush to the right in the photo below I decided to try a different tack.  Birds very often seem much less inclined to spook if there’s something between them and the photographer and it doesn’t have to be anything very substantial – even a few twigs will often do.  Having something physical between them and a potential threat seems to give them a sense of security.  So even though I’ve often cussed this ugly old dumpster over the years (I realize it’s there for a very good reason) I decided to try to put it to good use for my purposes.   I slowly drove to the left of the dumpster, turned around and approached the bird with the dumpster between me and the harrier.  The harrier obviously knew I was there but with the ugly old hunk of metal between us it didn’t fly off.  Then as I got very close to the dumpster I slowly turned to my right just far enough to give me a look at the bird through my lens from my pickup window.     1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  As you can see the harrier was…

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The Swainson’s Hawks Are Finally Back

This morning we headed north once again in quest of Golden Eagles.  We found a few but they were too far away for decent photographs.  The consolation prize was this cooperative Swainson’s Hawk – our first of the season which delighted us.  In fact there were two of them, hanging out in the same general area.    1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird was particularly fond of a couple of telephone poles in northern Box Elder County.  Here it is returning to the pole after leaving it for a short and unsuccessful hunting foray.   I’m not particularly happy with the wire and insulator but I liked the landing pose.       1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Sometimes this hawk perched on the top of the pole but one time it landed on the second wire strung below the first one.  Here it is taking off from that position with the pole directly out of frame to the left.  I like the dynamics of the take-off in contrast to the greater concentration demanded during landing.       1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I got a few shots of the hawk in full flight with legs tucked away cleanly.       1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Another take-off and for this one I had to clone out a small bit of the wire at lower left.  Cloning is something I don’t like to do but I do succumb to the temptation occasionally in certain situations.  A judgement call…       1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I was…

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Caspian Tern In Undignified Flight Pose

This one’s just for fun.  Occasionally I just need a little “silly” in my world…    1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I had been trying  all morning to catch a Caspian or Forster’s Tern with a fish as it emerged from the water when this Caspian decided to give a vigorous shake in flight to rid itself of a huge water load.  This was a difficult exposure and I wish I’d had just a bit more shutter speed for the action but liked the goofy flight posture and flying water. Ron

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A Recent Potpourri Of Birds From Antelope Island

Antelope Island always has an interesting mix of birds for the photographer and birder.  During the winter months raptors are one of the primary attractions for me but soon after the cold months are over they begin to thin out and the migrating spring birds begin to appear.  The last several weeks have been in transition with fewer raptors but many migrating species are beginning to show up – in addition to the many year-round residents on the island. With this post I thought I’d present a few shots from the past week or so as a small representation of some of the common birds right now.    1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Black-billed Magpies are year-round residents of the island and they’re in a nesting frenzy right now which allows for some interesting opportunities for the photographer.  This bird is landing on a bush very near its nest.    1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Springtime is my favorite season to photograph Chukars because they’re all dolled out in fresh plumage and they’re very approachable when they’re calling from rocks.  For much of the rest of the year they spend their time scurrying around in the vegetation and it’s quite difficult to get a clean shot.  This one was calling with a lot of enthusiasm!      1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Some of the Loggerhead Shrikes also remain on the island year-round but their numbers increase noticeably in spring.   1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It’s always a treat when the Long-billed Curlews return to…

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Just A Shot That I Like #25… Male Short-eared Owl in Flight

This is the male SEO that I had so much fun with at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.   1/1000, f/5.6. ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  I like the flight posture and the background formed by the sagebrush flats at bottom and the shaded Centennial Mountains up top.  As per usual I was fighting for light up there but despite that I still like the way this turned out. Ron

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The Western Kingbird and the Beetle

This will be another behavioral post – yes I am fascinated by interesting behaviors, perhaps overly so… I found this Western Kingbird hunting from a barbed wire perch which is quite typical for the species.  It was so focused on its prey that it let me get quite close so I was able to get better detail of the feeding behavior than I normally do.    1/500, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  The kingbird has spotted prey on the ground      1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  so it flew down to retrieve it.  In this case it happened to be a beetle.  You can see it clinging upside down to the darker diagonal twig just in front of the bird.      1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Here’s a highly cropped version of the previous image to show the beetle better.      1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The bird grabbed the beetle but as you can see it had reached “through” the twig to get it      1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc so it got more than it bargained for.  The end of the twig broke off and wedged between the beetles abdomen and the upper mandible.      1/1000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc So it flew back to its wire perch and tried to figure out what to do about the dilemma.  It actually spent about 15 seconds just sitting there and staring at what was in its…

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