Two (mostly) White Birds In Flight
Two keepers of two different species in flight within seconds of each other is a rarity for me.
Tag: american avocet
If You Want To Photograph Raptors In Flight Learn To Anticipate Their Takeoff
One of the skills that can be of immense value to the bird photographer (and of interest to birders of every persuasion) is the ability to predict when they might take off.
American Avocets At Bear River MBR Yesterday
By this time of year many American Avocets have already paired up and some of them are beginning early nesting activities.
American Avocet With A Death Grip On A Rival
No deaths or injuries actually occurred but for a few moments it sure looked like they might.
The Challenges Of Posting From The Road
I never know what might happen to my daily blog posting schedule once I reach the wilds of Montana on one of my many camping trips to my home state.
American Avocets – An Awkward Mating Moment
It’ll come as no surprise to many of us that sex isn’t always a bed of roses. That sad fact also applies to birds.
Avocets And Phalaropes In A Nasty Hailstorm
This trip to Montana’s Centennial Valley was memorable for a variety of reasons, including a hailstorm that literally “rocked” our world and that of the birds around us.
Injured Avocet – I’ve Often Wondered What To Do In Cases Like This
Injured birds are always heart-wrenching and I like to help when I can but sometimes attempting to do so isn’t practical or even wise.
American Avocet “Scything” In The Mud
Deep, soft mud and strong winds make the feeding process a little challenging for American Avocets.
Avocet Mating Rituals
Mating behaviors of American Avocets are complex, ritualized, predictable and quite fascinating.
Anticipating Raptor Take-off
I’ve said before that one of the skills that can be of immense value to the bird photographer (and of interest to birders of every persuasion) is the ability to predict the behavior of your subject and one of those behaviors that can be of most value to predict is take-off.
Avocet Wing-stretch – A Predictor Of Behavior
In my experience American Avocets have two primary “styles” of stretching. When they stretch a single wing they extend it to the side with one leg stretched out behind. But they also use what’s called the “two wing stretch” and this style is often a precursor of imminent behavior – takeoff.
Mating Black-necked Stilts
On a recent trip to Bear River Bird Refuge we were photographing American Avocets when I noticed some tell-tale preliminary behavior from a pair of Black-necked Stilts that told me that mating was imminent. So I set up on them and quickly changed my settings for more depth of field and almost immediately the action began.
Coyotes Like Eggs For Breakfast Too
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
An Unusual Perspective On An Avocet In Flight
In my experience American Avocets are difficult subjects to get in flight because of their speed and erratic flight patterns. I’ve tried often but I sure don’t have many flight shots of the species that are very good. 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light But I do like this one because of the sharpness of the bird, the position of the wings and feet, the nice eye contact, the pretty good exposure on a difficult subject and the somewhat unusual perspective with the viewer looking down on the bird that is flying mostly toward us. However I don’t particularly appreciate those two twigs behind the head so I’ve never posted this image before. Much as I dislike significant cloning, getting rid of those twigs has sorely tempted me more than once but in the end I just couldn’t do it (though I’ll admit to playing with it a little bit…). So I’m asking for critique on the image as presented. How much of a distraction do you think those two twigs are? Sometimes I become obsessed with imperfections (as several of you have pointed out on previous posts) and can’t see the forest for the trees. Perhaps the twigs aren’t as much of a problem as I think they might be. But either way, please be brutally honest. Thank you in advance for any thoughts on this you’d be willing to share. Ron Note: There are conflicting visual cues on this image for rotation. One would expect the twigs in the background to be vertical but when I rotate…
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If You Want To Photograph Raptors In Flight Learn To Anticipate Their Takeoff
One of the skills that can be of immense value to the bird photographer (and of interest to birders of every persuasion) is the ability to predict when they might take off.
American Avocets At Bear River MBR Yesterday
By this time of year many American Avocets have already paired up and some of them are beginning early nesting activities.
American Avocet With A Death Grip On A Rival
No deaths or injuries actually occurred but for a few moments it sure looked like they might.
The Challenges Of Posting From The Road
I never know what might happen to my daily blog posting schedule once I reach the wilds of Montana on one of my many camping trips to my home state.
American Avocets – An Awkward Mating Moment
It’ll come as no surprise to many of us that sex isn’t always a bed of roses. That sad fact also applies to birds.
Avocets And Phalaropes In A Nasty Hailstorm
This trip to Montana’s Centennial Valley was memorable for a variety of reasons, including a hailstorm that literally “rocked” our world and that of the birds around us.
Injured Avocet – I’ve Often Wondered What To Do In Cases Like This
Injured birds are always heart-wrenching and I like to help when I can but sometimes attempting to do so isn’t practical or even wise.
American Avocet “Scything” In The Mud
Deep, soft mud and strong winds make the feeding process a little challenging for American Avocets.
Avocet Mating Rituals
Mating behaviors of American Avocets are complex, ritualized, predictable and quite fascinating.
Anticipating Raptor Take-off
I’ve said before that one of the skills that can be of immense value to the bird photographer (and of interest to birders of every persuasion) is the ability to predict the behavior of your subject and one of those behaviors that can be of most value to predict is take-off.
Avocet Wing-stretch – A Predictor Of Behavior
In my experience American Avocets have two primary “styles” of stretching. When they stretch a single wing they extend it to the side with one leg stretched out behind. But they also use what’s called the “two wing stretch” and this style is often a precursor of imminent behavior – takeoff.
Mating Black-necked Stilts
On a recent trip to Bear River Bird Refuge we were photographing American Avocets when I noticed some tell-tale preliminary behavior from a pair of Black-necked Stilts that told me that mating was imminent. So I set up on them and quickly changed my settings for more depth of field and almost immediately the action began.
Coyotes Like Eggs For Breakfast Too
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
An Unusual Perspective On An Avocet In Flight
In my experience American Avocets are difficult subjects to get in flight because of their speed and erratic flight patterns. I’ve tried often but I sure don’t have many flight shots of the species that are very good. 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light But I do like this one because of the sharpness of the bird, the position of the wings and feet, the nice eye contact, the pretty good exposure on a difficult subject and the somewhat unusual perspective with the viewer looking down on the bird that is flying mostly toward us. However I don’t particularly appreciate those two twigs behind the head so I’ve never posted this image before. Much as I dislike significant cloning, getting rid of those twigs has sorely tempted me more than once but in the end I just couldn’t do it (though I’ll admit to playing with it a little bit…). So I’m asking for critique on the image as presented. How much of a distraction do you think those two twigs are? Sometimes I become obsessed with imperfections (as several of you have pointed out on previous posts) and can’t see the forest for the trees. Perhaps the twigs aren’t as much of a problem as I think they might be. But either way, please be brutally honest. Thank you in advance for any thoughts on this you’d be willing to share. Ron Note: There are conflicting visual cues on this image for rotation. One would expect the twigs in the background to be vertical but when I rotate…