Chukars Falling Through The Snow

Two days ago we had great fun with Chukars on Antelope Island.  The afternoon before had been relatively warm, melting the top layer of snow which then froze into a thin crust on top of the snow during the night.  Our timing was perfect as we found a large covey of Chukars flitting between sagebrush and rabbitbrush for cover just as the morning sun was beginning to soften the hard crust.

As you view these photos, keep in mind that most of the sequences were shot in bursts of 8 frames per second.  The action was pretty fast.

 

When these birds were walking, the crust would support their weight but they just couldn’t resist the impulse to run.  And when they did…

 

 

the crust, which had only become soft in the last few minutes, would usually give way…

 

 

leaving a very surprised bird stuck in the snow.

 

 

The bird would then pull out of the snow.  This one almost looks like it’s looking around to see if any of its buddies saw its silly maneuver.

Usually they seemed to know that they needed to walk instead of run, which they did for a few steps but then they nearly always tried to run again.

It was hilarious to watch and it happened repeatedly.  This was one of those few times that I wish I’d been prepared to shoot video but I think the still shots still give a pretty good sense of what was happening.

 

 

Another bird about to get a surprise.

 

 

Even when only one leg sinks into the snow it will still make them come to a screeching halt.

 

 

Yet another bird running across the surface.

 

 

The crust begins to give way…

 

 

and stops the bird in its tracks.

 

One more bird at the instant it falls through the crust.

I got even more images of this happening, but well… you get the idea.

It’s not often that I’m laughing out loud when I’m shooting.  This was one of them.

Ron