A glimmer of springtime before a winter blizzard.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in
This is the male of a mated pair of Western Kingbirds I photographed in May several years ago on Antelope Island. Kingbirds are extremely defensive of their breeding territories (thus the name “kingbird”) during nesting season and this one endlessly stood guard as the female constructed their nearby nest. They will mob or attack any intruder and this male often did just that. Here he has just taken off from his sagebrush sentry post at right and you’ll notice that he has his eye to the sky. It’s likely that he’s spotted some approaching bird and is rushing to meet the potential threat although at this point I can’t remember what it was.
I like the flight posture, his hanging legs and feet, the clean green background, the sharpness of the bird and his eye to the sky.
I’ve never posted this image in the past because the bird was just a little too close to the left frame edge to give me a composition I liked. But when I stumbled across it again last night and noticed him looking skyward (something that had escaped me previously) I decided to bite the bullet and add canvas on the left.
A little thing like that skyward glance pushed me over the edge…
Ron
Note: When I was previewing images to post last night I deliberately looked for thumbnails that had some green in them. We still have lots of snow on the ground and they’re forecasting strong winds and up to another 8″ of solid water over the next couple of days in the northern Utah valleys (1-2 ft. in the mountains). Green is looking better and better to me as time goes by.
Wow Ron – that is an excellent inflight picture – one of the best
Thank you, Everett. I’m glad you like it.
Terrific take-off photograph! That glance upward is “eye”-catching! If I was a bad bird looking to mess with someone, I don’t think I’d choose the Kingbird, who is fond of lining nests with snake skins.
Interesting, Wally. I didn’t know that about kingbirds and snake skins. Thanks.
I didn’t know that about the snake-skin lining, either. Tick! That’s my something new for today! YAY! All I knew is they’re fierce little survivors!
Interesting! Learn something new all the time………….
Fantastic flight shot Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
I love the pose on this bird! I had to tell you this. I have been watching a Raptor Resourse Eagle Cam since 2011. Yesterday I was growing through their information and I came to “how to tell the age of an Eagle” click here. When I clicked it brought me to your photos from 2012. I was very impressed. I had bookmarked your photos years ago and still go to it when I see a Juvie Eagle that is transforming. Thanks Ron!
Debbie, that’s been my most viewed blog post ever. Thank you.
Spring is just around the corner. It is fun to catch the little personal nuances in the birds.
I have today off and had planned a three day trip to the west desert but this storm cancelled the plans. I really don’t want to be out on the gravel roads in 6-8 inches of snow. So now that there is blue sky (but windy) this morning I am sad I did not at least make a morning trip to Antelope Island.
I stayed home too, April. No fun shooting in fierce winds.
Here we go with that ever-present OH WOW again (and that includes the last several days, too!!). OH WOW! So glad you took a second look at this image!
And I’m wishing you a relatively pain-free day today!
Thanks on both counts, Laura.
Sounds like winter has finally arrived in Utah! I’m glad you posted this one — such a wonderful shot. I especially like the little bit of brush on the lower right; it fills in the story for me.
Yup, it’s definitely here, Marty. Thanks.
He meant business!!! Best to get out of Dodge!!! Fast!!!.
He took his role very seriously, Patty.
Beautiful and perfect timing! Thanks for sharing this image.
Thank you, Elmer.
Just another great capture Ron. Really good and made even better by adding the canvas to balance the image. Bird photography is just damn tough and sometimes you have to “cheat” a bit to make everything come together. For us PP geeks, would you mind telling us how you made the fill on the added canvas. From what I can tell you did pretty darn good job. My guess would be content aware fil with some clone stamp tool to even out any unwanted blemishes.
Thanks again for the posts!
Thanks, Frank. This time I used “content aware fill” and nothing else because after one pass I didn’t notice any “blemishes” that needed touching up. It was a pretty easy background to deal with.
Except for his wing position the legs make him look like he’s just “hanging there” 🙂 Glad you changed your mind about posting the shot! 🙂 Yes, “green” can’t come soon enough for me! At least we’ve had a little sunshine the past couple of days……. Sunshine ALWAYS make it better….;)
Agreed, Judy – sunshine means light for bird photography – a rare commodity around here for a long, long time!