Plus a surprise critter a few minutes earlier yesterday morning.
This Downy Woodpecker series is something a little different from me – a bird small in the frame. But I like the composition and I think the behavior is interesting.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains while I was attempting to photograph other birds this male Downy Woodpecker landed in a faraway tree. I was disappointed he wasn’t closer and almost didn’t train my lens on him but I’ve learned from experience that with birds you just never know what might happen to make your photos more interesting so I took a shot to check my exposure but mostly just watched.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
He started doing some half-hearted preening and suddenly pulled out one of his feathers.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
He manipulated it in his beak for a second or two and then deliberately discarded it.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
It passed on the far side of the branch and he nonchalantly…
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
didn’t even watch it fall to the ground. Many birds seem to be fascinated by their own falling feathers but he sure wasn’t.
The behavior of course is no big deal but I thought it made a composition that pleased me even more interesting. My primary nit about the series is that the leaves above him intersect a small part of his head but that doesn’t ruin the photos for me.
Thirty nine minutes earlier while I was in another area photographing birds I had a fun and noisy surprise.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 188mm, not baited, set up or called in
A bull moose with still-small antlers came crashing out of the older and much taller willows near the stream below me and began chowing down on all the young willow shoots around him. Although it may not look like he’s standing, he is – those young willows must have been almost 5 feet tall and he was standing on a steep slope.
I never did get a good look at all of him and he nearly always had his back to me but for this photo he turned his head as he was munching and I even got a catch light in his eye.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 188mm, not baited, set up or called in
Once, though it wasn’t when this shot was taken, he took a willow branch in his mouth and pulled it through his teeth by moving his massive snout to one side which stripped at least 3 feet of leaves off of that branch in an instant. I saw him do it through my lens and I saw the leafy branch before it happened and the completely naked branch after. I was very impressed by his feeding prowess.
Moose are the largest member of the deer family on earth and they can eat as much as 70 pounds of food in a day. They truly are eating machines.
Ron
Note: Speaking of subjects “small in the frame” my good friend at Wickersham’s Conscience makes an excellent point in his post this morning about the importance context often has in our images. Talk about good timing!
I think it’s worth taking a look. Here’s the link.
Catching up on a few past posts and want to tell you I love the Downy images! It seems you so rarely see DWs sitting on a tree branch like this one — they’re usually facing away, clinging to the trunk looking for bugs. (Ivecseen ine exactly once on my suet feeder.) And the moose! I think in the first shot he’s looking at you like, “Oops, caught me…” Love it, have always loved the animal, and have been fortunate to see them (in fairly close but safe proximity) at several national parks thru the years.
And … now you’ve done it: the WC blog has a new subscriber … as if I needed more reasons to spend time online. Not. 😑
Good grief, Evil iPad is at work here today! (“I’ve seen one …”) is how that’s supposed to read above. 🙄
Wow Ron! What a treat to see your pics of the moose. I’m from Eastern Canada so we see plenty of them but these photos really are lovely, with him surrounded by the foliage.
Of course I love the woodpecker as well but the moose was a nice surprise – such a magnificent creature, despite the havoc they cause on our highways. Thank you for sharing.
He was a nice surprise for me too, Donna. Thanks.
Nice shots of Downy…like composition, colors, of bird, background,branch and leaves…wonder why that particular feather was plucked…loose? Moose reminds me of baby moose crossing road at Lizard Creek, Wy..–tourists rushing toward it until I yelled, “STOP,” and surprised, they did…Mama soon appeared out of the brush behind baby…could have been messy!
I dunno, Patty. Maybe it came loose because he was molting…
Love the series. The dropping feather is wonderful as is the Moose. Great photos!
Thank you, Joanne.
Nice Moose, appears to love posing for you.
Janice, Actually he was a pretty uncooperative subject. He rarely even pulled his head out of the willows.
Beautiful pictures Ron. The first pic of the Moose looks like he is smiling. It’s amazing on how tall the Willows are.
I kinda see what you mean about the “smile”, Jean. Thanks.
Moose!!!!! 🙂 the DW was fun too. But MOOSE! 🙂
A moose sighting doesn’t happen every day, Arwen – that’s for sure.
Beautiful. I know the smokey air is a pain but it is making for warm colors in the photos. The light is interesting this year.
Moose make me nervous. I have backpacked and camped a lot in the back areas of Yellowstone in the 80’s. One trip to Heart Lake we had a moose take a disliking or interest, not sure which, to our tent and it stompled it. It seemed to be playing with our tent the young moose seemed to be interesting in how it popped back up after being stepped on. We were glad we were not in it.
In certain situations they make me nervous too, April and I haven’t had an experience like you had. Bet that got your attention!
Nice pictures and your blog comments are good. I was thinking the downy was checking for mites on the feather to eat and finding some then got rid of the feather. Funny how we each have different opinions on the same subject. Wow, I love the Moose. They just pop up and can hide their big bodies in a second. I need to make a trip to the Bighorns soon to check them out. Hope you find more Moose in the area.
Trudy, I looked for that moose in the same area this morning but he was a no-show.
Downy Woodpeckers are one of the most interesting birds I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. This one is no exception. I love that you got to see a Moose – I think they are the one critter that I desperately want to see in person, but likely never will. I followed the link to Wickersham’s Conscience, and found it very interesting. I think his photos provided the solution – closeup for detail and distant for context. In thinking about his discussion, I am realizing more how important context is – it’s the one thing you don’t get from baited/set up photos.
Susan, I sometimes post an additional photo taken at a much wider angle to show context but there’s many times when I don’t do it because I don’t want to disclose the location of sensitive species. It’s too bad it’s come to that but it has.
Better out than in! Everything about the Downy shots says Japanese silk paintings to me — the colors, the lighting, the composition. So beautiful! The Moose definitely provides a little comic relief. I’ll bet he was as surprised to see you as you him.
Marty, I was going to mention in my text that I thought those photos looked like Japanese paintings but I didn’t want to plant any seeds in the minds of my readers. Thanks for mentioning it.
I thought that, too…
The context in image #1 helps create an elegant image, and (as far as the moose is concerned) his context is absolutely delicious—a winning post altogether !
I’m glad you like it, Kris. Thanks.
Having been to Alaska, have learned the Moose can sneak up on people and have.
Not a pleasant experience I’m sure.
Interesting and somewhat comical series with the Woodpecker and the feather. Liked the way he just ignored the falling feather. Probably more important things on his mind. Love the moose shots as well. Something I am never going to see here in Prescott. Thanks for sharing.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
You’ll just have to come up north for your moose, Everett. Thanks.
Great series Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
What an absolutely delightful morning.
Love the quizzical look in the last moose shot and he continues with his gob-full.
I like the litterbug Downy Woodpecker too. Rather a lot.
Nice to hear from you this time of day, EC. You must he up late. Thank you.
Voluntary work again. I will be up for a few more hours, and up again a few hours after that.
Your post is a delightful interlude.
I know how stressful that volunteer work is for you, EC. I wish you inner peace and tranquility.
Seconds things first! Love the velvet antlers…and that huge velvet looking ‘snout’! 😍 There is just something special about a moose but I would not want to encounter one close-up and personal. Now the Downy…what a strange action to observe. You caught the exact moment he discarded the feather, kudos! He certainly was indifferent to what he did…it seems like his eyes never moved a flicker from your follow-up photos. Almost as if he is saying ‘well, that was of no use to me anyway.’ Also that background color is different; it reminds me, the way it blends so well with the greenery, of the antique wallpaper one would find in an old hotel. OK, I’ve dissected this post enough…🤓 Love this series today!
Thank you, Kathy. That background color was caused by the combination of dried grass back there and the effect of the smoky air as the morning sunlight passed through it.
Eh – it’s out – don’t need it…;) Love the shots with context for the downy. They are fun little birds that I enjoy watching and listening to. 🙂 Moose are certainly powerful, impressive creatures! Great chance encounter!
Judy, I believe that was the first time I’ve seen a moose in the area and I’ve been going there for several years. When I heard him crashing through the tall willows I just thought it was one of the ubiquitous cows that are so common around there. He was a fun surprise.