Western Kingbird Wing Flutter

This morning we decided to get out of our rut a little bit (actually, I tend to like ruts) and look for birds somewhere new so we headed to the high country of Morgan County.  We figured it would be a nice respite from the heat, and it was.  We saw some beautiful country and quite a few birds, though most of them were a challenge to get close to.

One thing really surprised me.  I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such high concentrations of Black-headed Grosbeaks and Western Kingbirds anywhere.  Both species were picking off bugs along the road and it was a delight to see so many of them.

 

western kingbird 4287 ron dudley

 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

This Western Kingbird was performing the “wing flutter” that kingbirds are so well-known for.  It’s an aggressive behavior that is usually directed at other kingbirds, as was the case here.  I liked the pose and the way the Scrub Oak framed the bird and helped to break up the blue sky background.

Ron

2 Comments

  1. Thank you Sharon. I know what you mean about not deleting those kinds of photos – I have many such shots in my files and I still enjoy looking at them.

  2. I love this!

    I was in Vernal last month and photographed one of these as it maneuvered like a fighter jet. My photos were so poor that I haven’t shared them with anyone, but I couldn’t delete them because I could still see the fabulous poses they get into when flying.

    I do so admire your work–I think it’s the best bird photography I’ve ever seen.

    Sharon

Comments are closed