Having plenty of room in the frame comes in handy with bird takeoffs, especially when your subject has a ridiculously long tail.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning on Antelope Island this female (based on behavior) Black-billed Magpie was taking a break from her incubation duties. She had left her nest to be fed by her mate, which had already occurred when this photo was taken, and now she was preparing to take off and return to the nest.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
She performed this rather unusual “stick your long tail straight up into the air” maneuver just prior to liftoff. I didn’t expect it so I was just lucky to have enough room at the top of the frame to avoid cutting her tail off.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
And then, when she took off, I was lucky again to avoid cutting off her wings when my shutter caught them at their widest horizontal position. In a heartbeat she went from one extreme to the other and I didn’t cut off any body parts. With my track record that’s almost a miracle.
No big deal but I thought it was an interesting pre-takeoff and takeoff so I decided to post the photos.
Ron
Note: I know this bird is the female of the pair for two reasons.
- Only female magpies incubate the eggs
- While incubating, the female gets virtually all of her food from her mate and I saw (and photographed) their food exchange. She leaves the nest briefly to be fed. Cornell’s Birds of the World has this to say on the subject – “Male provides almost all food the female eats while incubating, at average rate of 1.6 feedings/hour.”
Love the bow before the takeoff — waiting for someone to say, “Ta da!” 😉 These are great shots.
Even with the shortcomings you’ve described, it would be interesting to see the feeding behaviors for documentary purposes only, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a female magpie mob her mate before.
Marty, If I can find one that’s worth seeing, and if I remember, I’ll tack one of those photos on the end of tomorrow’s post. No promises though…
Beautiful images.
Thanks, April.
PS — going back to May 5, I saw that someone had wished you “Happy Birthday” but you said she was 4 days early…so am I now 2 days late in sending my own good wishes? 🎂🍾
(Today would have been my dad’s 103rd birthday…)
She’s a beauty, and each photo is, as Stephen C. noted, visually appealing. And I will echo his question about the mate-feeding-mate photos … those would be fun to see!
Thanks, Chris. See my response to Stephen’s comment.
Well, that’s a bummer, I’d be interested to see if Mama Magpie is as “grabby” as the mama falcons I’ve been watching on two West Coast webcams. Those poor males don’t stand a chance (of course, the females are about 1/3 bigger than they are). Anyway, maybe next time! 😉
The females are about as grabby as they can be, Chris. They literally overwhelm the male with flapping, outsstretched wings while calling loudly right in his face in an effort to get him to give up the food.
Sounds very falcon-ish to me — I guess it’s just life in the bird world! 😂
‘Your’ magpies are much more visually appealing than ours. All of these photos demonstrate that appeal so very well. Thank you.
I dunno EC, your magpies look (and sound) pretty interesting to me, based on the videos I’ve seen.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE our magpies, but they are essentially a black and white bird, without the spectacular irridescence that yours have.
Point well taken. I love the iridescence on our magpies.
Beautiful photos! Each one has something special!
Thanks, Joanne.
Ron,
Great lines with the bush and the bird. Visually appealing.
But then, you rarely post anything that isn’t! 😉
Are you going to post pics of the feeding?
Best,
Stephen
“Are you going to post pics of the feeding?”
Probably not, Stephen. My photos of the feeding behavior aren’t very good. About all you can see is the begging behavior of the female and/or the female literally mobbing him in an attempt to get him to give up the food. But most of those photos aren’t in good light or the magpies are mostly hidden by vegetation.
Awesome shots. I’ve become quite picky myself about cutting any parts of subjects out. There could be an awesome shot, but if a tip or tail is out of frame…. Ugh!
“I’ve become quite picky myself about cutting any parts of subjects out”
Yup, you’re well on your way to becoming a bird photographer, Shane!
Ron – coming back for a 2nd post. I read Judy’s comments after posting. What are the Magpie’s obnoxious traits? We don’t have them here so I am not familiar with their behaviors.
“What are the Magpie’s obnoxious traits?”
Everett, magpies cause agricultural damage (they have a special affinity for cherries), they have a reputation for picking at sores on livestock and making them worse, they steal pet food left outside – stuff like that. But what folks find most annoying about them is the racket they make – especially during breeding season when they can be very, very loud.
They also love to torment pet cats but personally I find that tendency endearing, not annoying… 🙂
Would definitely have been a miracle for me. Maybe even a miracle plus. Great shots Ron. That 1.6 feedings per hour stat from Cornell is very interesting. Their full out wings always make for attractive photos.
“That 1.6 feedings per hour stat from Cornell is very interesting.”
Everett, her demanding behavior keeps the male busy, that’s for sure. But if it were me I’d rather be searching for food than sitting on those eggs all day and night.
The pre-takeoff posture is reminiscent of an Audubon painting. It’s also how I squat just before taking flight, although I prefer short flights of six inches or so.
Geez, I miss the Magpies, and enjoy whenever you post photos of them. Especially since the exposures are just right–not an easy task–and informative.
Thanks for noticing the exposures, Lyle. Needless to say I don’t always get it right with magpies but I do try.
VBG! They are beautiful even if obnoxious birds….. 😉 The incubating info is useful as it’s what’ going on now at at least one nest here…. They are also being MUCH quieter than usual….
“They are also being MUCH quieter than usual…”
Good. They can be aggravatingly noisy, I know that from my own experience in my yard.
That tail in the air photo is so unusual, and all of these show off the beauty of the magpie. Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mary. Thanks.