Bald Eagles And The “Good Old Days” At Farmington Bay
This morning I felt like reminiscing a little about the old days at Farmington Bay and the Bald Eagles there in winter.
Tag: baiting
Short-eared Owl On An Interesting Wooden Fence Post (and some thoughts on natural perches)
A Series Of 5 Images Of A Bald Eagle On Landing Approach
I enjoy seeing the flight adjustments made by a large raptor as it comes in to land.
Three Consecutive Shots Of A Barn Owl In Flight
This Barn Owl was hunting near the road in front of me so I pulled over and angled my pickup for a lucky shot or two just in case the bird came my way.
Bald Eagle And Northern Harrier – A Retrospective On An Old Camera And Old Habits
It’s been a very long time since I’ve gone back and looked at some of my earliest images after I started photographing birds. I did so last night and the process was both enlightening and painful
This Short-eared Owl Very Nearly Flew In My Pickup Window Yesterday Morning
A visit to Box Elder County yesterday morning resulted in a very close encounter with a female Short-eared Owl in flight.
Short-eared Owl In Flight With Prey (and the perception of baiting)
Farmington Bald Eagle Update
For the past several weeks I’ve been receiving almost daily requests for the current and anticipated Bald Eagle situation at Farmington Bay WMA so this morning I’ve decided to be a little proactive with a blog post that covers most everything I know on the subject.
Red-tailed Hawk Just Prior To Reaching Prey
This first photo isn’t a classic buteo flight shot but I believe it’s fairly unique for a non-baited image. I’ve occasionally been able to capture raptors as they’re about to land on a predictable perch but this is the first and only time I’ve been able to get a shot I like pretty well of a raptor as it’s about to (or attempt to) “land” on prey it’s seen from a far-away perch.
Setups in Bird Photography
Pond Dramas
Sometimes one can sit at a pond full of birds when there seems to be nothing going on. But if you pay close attention there’s often a host of little dramas playing out right under your nose.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Owl Head-on Flight Shots Don’t Have To Be Baited
Head-on flight shots of owls have often been baited using live, store-bought mice. I’m of the opinion that baiting raptors is not only unethical (a debate I’d prefer to not get into here) but unnecessary for those kinds of images. However they typically require patience, intimate knowledge of the subject, a keen eye for interpreting behavior and even a little luck.
Yet Another Reason Why I Dislike Baiting
Baiting birds into close proximity for photographic purposes is a highly controversial subject, especially when it’s done to raptors. Often live bait such as store-bought mice are thrown in front of the photographer so that photos can be obtained of the bird in flight as it swoops down for the rodent.
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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Short-eared Owl On An Interesting Wooden Fence Post (and some thoughts on natural perches)
A Series Of 5 Images Of A Bald Eagle On Landing Approach
I enjoy seeing the flight adjustments made by a large raptor as it comes in to land.
Three Consecutive Shots Of A Barn Owl In Flight
This Barn Owl was hunting near the road in front of me so I pulled over and angled my pickup for a lucky shot or two just in case the bird came my way.
Bald Eagle And Northern Harrier – A Retrospective On An Old Camera And Old Habits
It’s been a very long time since I’ve gone back and looked at some of my earliest images after I started photographing birds. I did so last night and the process was both enlightening and painful
This Short-eared Owl Very Nearly Flew In My Pickup Window Yesterday Morning
A visit to Box Elder County yesterday morning resulted in a very close encounter with a female Short-eared Owl in flight.
Short-eared Owl In Flight With Prey (and the perception of baiting)
Farmington Bald Eagle Update
For the past several weeks I’ve been receiving almost daily requests for the current and anticipated Bald Eagle situation at Farmington Bay WMA so this morning I’ve decided to be a little proactive with a blog post that covers most everything I know on the subject.
Red-tailed Hawk Just Prior To Reaching Prey
This first photo isn’t a classic buteo flight shot but I believe it’s fairly unique for a non-baited image. I’ve occasionally been able to capture raptors as they’re about to land on a predictable perch but this is the first and only time I’ve been able to get a shot I like pretty well of a raptor as it’s about to (or attempt to) “land” on prey it’s seen from a far-away perch.
Setups in Bird Photography
Pond Dramas
Sometimes one can sit at a pond full of birds when there seems to be nothing going on. But if you pay close attention there’s often a host of little dramas playing out right under your nose.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Owl Head-on Flight Shots Don’t Have To Be Baited
Head-on flight shots of owls have often been baited using live, store-bought mice. I’m of the opinion that baiting raptors is not only unethical (a debate I’d prefer to not get into here) but unnecessary for those kinds of images. However they typically require patience, intimate knowledge of the subject, a keen eye for interpreting behavior and even a little luck.
Yet Another Reason Why I Dislike Baiting
Baiting birds into close proximity for photographic purposes is a highly controversial subject, especially when it’s done to raptors. Often live bait such as store-bought mice are thrown in front of the photographer so that photos can be obtained of the bird in flight as it swoops down for the rodent.
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…