Category: Magpies and Ravens

Common Raven Disposing of Eggshells

 When this Common Raven landed on a large rock fairly close to me last week on Antelope Island I could see that it had something in its beak and assumed that it was some type of food.  It wasn’t until I got home and processed the images that I could tell what it was.   Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f 6.3, ISO 500 It turns out that it was eggshell, presumably from its own nest.  In researching Common Raven eggs I found that they have this kind of marking and color (though there is some variability in both) and this shell remnant seemed to be about the right size for a raven so my assumption is that it’s a raven eggshell and not leftovers from a meal from raiding the nest of another bird.  There is a raven nest relatively close to this rock.    Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f 6.3, ISO 500 Here the raven is very carefully placing the shell in a crevice in the rocks.  At the time I took the photo I couldn’t figure out why the bird would simply abandon what I thought was food.      Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f 6.3, ISO 500 Here the raven has dropped the eggshell…     Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f 7.1, ISO 500 and then it hopped to the peak of the rock to “crow” about its accomplishment. Birds of North America Online says this about raven eggshell disposal – “No…

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Black-billed Magpie Nesting Behavior

This past spring and summer I had the opportunity to observe and photograph nesting behaviors of Black-billed Magpies on Antelope Island in northern Utah.  Magpies are common in Utah and much of the western US but they’re typically difficult to approach (and very challenging to photograph well because of the contrast of their coal-black and almost pure white plumage) but this pair of birds was so intent on their nest-building activities that they virtually ignored my presence.     Mated pair of Black-billed Magpies Magpies are monogamous and typically mate for life.  This is a mated pair on top of their domed nest in a sagebrush.  The male is on the left, the female on the right – males are about 20% larger than females so they are sexually dimorphic.  As you can see from the muddy bill of the female they’ve been actively building the mud-bowl found inside the nest.   Typically the male provides the heavier branches and sticks for the nest and the female delivers most of the mud for the mud bowl, which probably explains why the female’s bill is so muddy while the male’s is not.      Obtaining mud for then nest    The mud for the bowl of the nest was obtained wherever the birds could find it.  When we’d had dry weather they would have to fly quite a distance to get any but after a recent rain they would often get it very close by.  This bird has just scooped up a bill-full.  When it’s available they’ll sometimes use fresh cattle or bison dung in place…

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Photographing Birds on Antelope Island

  My previous post was an overview of the geology of Antelope Island and its non-bird wildlife.  Here, I’ll focus on its birds.   Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike begging for food Loggerhead Shrikes are common on many parts of the island during summer.  They can be a challenge to approach but those few that nest close to the road eventually get used to traffic so if you photograph from your vehicle you can often get quite close.  Here this juvenile was begging for food that was being delivered by a parent just out of frame to the left.    Loggerhead Shrike with dragonfly  Shrikes are often called “butcher birds” for their practice of temporarily impaling their prey on thorns or other sharp projections.   This juvenile had done just that with the dragonfly but it wasn’t very good at it yet and in the end just decided to eat it instead of store it away.     Loggerhead Shrike with spider Shrikes are opportunistic carnivores known to feed on insects, spiders, amphibians, small reptiles, rodents and other birds.   This one also attempted to impale the prey before eating it.     Juvenile Burrowing Owl practicing its parallax technique on me Burrowing Owls are one of my favorite species on the island though they can be difficult to locate from year to year as they often don’t seem to nest in the same burrow the next year.  In the summer of 2009 there was an entire family of owls along the causeway to the island nesting under concrete rubble, as in the…

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