Red And Blue On Red And Blue – American Kestrel

This image was taken several years ago in early October at Farmington Bay.  I’ve always liked the color combinations in the shot.  The background is the deeply shaded Wasatch Mountains.  The reds are caused by the fall colors of scrub oak and other vegetation.    1/125, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It was overcast, with clearing to the west (behind me) so it was bright back there.  This kind of lighting often produces a horizontal catch light in the eye, rather than the more typical pinpoint catch light.  I often like that effect, as I do here. I’ve seen noticeably fewer kestrels this winter and early spring than I have for many years.  I sure hope there’s nothing ominous going on… Ron

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West Desert Red-tailed Hawk

I spotted this adult Red-tailed Hawk perched on the side of a hill and hoped to get some take-off shots as it lifted off and then perhaps some full flight images. I always try to anticipate direction of take-off in this type of situation and I was pretty sure it would lift off to my left in the direction it’s facing. But I was wrong…

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A Chukar Sentry Abandons Its Post

I’ve never been able to get a Chukar in flight or taking off, largely because they’re so hesitant to fly.  Even when they’re perched on an elevated rock they usually just hop to the ground when they’re ready to leave.  And when they do fly, typical of most upland game birds, they fly very fast, low to the ground and away from you which makes for an almost impossible target. But I got one yesterday morning, taking off.    1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 100-400 @260mm, natural light This bird was acting as a sentry (also called a sentinel) for a small group of other Chukars nearby.  It’s observation perch of choice was a sign post that was high enough that it had to actually fly when it decided to leave.  I was too close to this bird for my 500mm lens so I quickly grabbed my 100-400 zoom lens and when it looked like it might be thinking of taking off I zoomed back far enough to give the Chukar enough room to fly into. I had plenty of light for a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the wings of even this buzz-saw flier (those relatively short wings on such a chunky bird really have to churn to get it airborne) and was lucky enough to catch the wings in a position I like.  A more appealing perch would have been nice but I’m pleased with the way most everything else turned out. Ron

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A Great Horned Owl And Old Wood

This adult Great Horned Owl was perched in one of the granary cutouts on my family farm in nw Montana. I’ve had many opportunities with them in such a setting because the owls have been there for years and there’s lots of old weathered granaries and barns there that they like to roost in.

This time I thought I’d go with a composition that brings the wood a little more into play.

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The Alula (bastard wing) Of A Kestrel In Flight

Many extinct and ancient relatives of modern birds had alulae, as do flies (insects of order diptera). I find it fascinating that evolutionary selection pressure has produced this structure in such diverse and relatively unrelated groups as birds and some flying insects. And that man has (once again) copied nature to solve a modern problem.

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Short-eared Owl With Prey, Coming At Me

I’m always happy when I can get decent images of an owl in flight.  If they’re carrying prey it’s a bonus.  And if the bird is flying toward me I often consider it icing on the cake – partly because those kinds of shots are so very often baited, decoyed, set up or called in.  As always for me, these were not. I’ve posted one of these shots before but I hoped it might be interesting for some to see a sequence of images as this adult male Short-eared Owl flew toward me with a vole for its mate before veering off to my right.    1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This first image shows less detail and image quality because the owl was further away as it began to approach me but I decided to include it for context in the sequence.  The lower background is sagebrush flats while the upper blues are Montana’s Centennial Mountains in shade.       1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Four frames later the owl was significantly closer and flew almost directly at me before veering off – a pattern it followed more than once.  I’d guess that it was his way of checking me out for any potential threat before delivering the vole.       1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  Which he’s doing intently here.  Eye contact can’t be much…

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Killdeer Chick With An Extra Dose Of Personality

Well, yesterday may have been the first day of spring but so far I’m not impressed – it’s been dreary and wet and it’s supposed to be very cold through the weekend.  I’ll even have to turn the heat on in my de-winterized camping trailer to keep the plumbing from freezing,  Ugh… So I’ve been stuck in the house and was going through some older images when I came across this series of a very young Killdeer chick at Farmington Bay WMA.  It was in the grasses near a parking lot and it was just as curious about me and my pickup as I was about it.    1/800, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up or called in I’d taken a few shots of this chick just after the sun came up but it was so buried in the grasses that the images weren’t very good but when I came back to the parking lot 51 minutes later it was in an area where the grasses weren’t quite as thick.   At first it just watched me and didn’t do much.   One of the parents was nearby but neither bird seemed nervous about my presence in my vehicle.       1/500, f/11, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up or called in  And soon it walked closer to me to check me out.      1/500, f/11, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up or called in  Then it decided to do some posing for…

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Male Northern Harrier – The Gray Ghost

One of my favorite subjects is the male Northern Harrier. Because juveniles of both sexes are similar to the adult female, to the untrained eye most harriers look like females which is one of the reasons that many folks believe that they rarely see males – thus the name “Gray Ghost” for the ”elusive” adult male.

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My First Western Meadowlark Of The Season

Ok, despite the fact that it’s turning colder again this week I’m now convinced that spring has arrived because two days ago I finally got close enough to photograph a singing Western Meadowlark – my first of the year.    1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light  I was sure the bird would fly off as I approached, just as all the others have this spring, but this one stuck.  I like the somewhat different head angle in this shot.       1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I probably have more trouble with framing this species than any other because their legs are always longer than I think they are when they’re buried in the perch like this and I typically don’t leave enough room for at least one of them.  This time I think I did.       1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light When the bird would break out in song it truly lifted my spirits, as it always does.  They’re just so enthusiastic about it and when you’re close the sound can go right through you – in a good way.  I’m always impressed by the size of their mouth which seems to be exaggerated some by that long beak. I suspect there are a few of my regular readers who are unfamiliar with the call of this songster (Elephant’s Child in Australia, for example) so I’ve provided a link to their song if you’d like to hear it (scroll down about half-way). These birds (and their…

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