Favorite Locations – Page 103 – Feathered Photography

Magpie In Flight And The Varying (and unpredictable) Effects Of Fog

I’ve become quite interested in the effects of fog on some of my avian subjects. Often I don’t like those effects but occasionally I find them visually interesting.

Antelope Island Burrowing Owl

I’m always thrilled to find a cooperative Burrowing Owl on the island. It hasn’t happened often this year.

Mountain Chickadee On Antelope Island

I was photographing sparrows on Antelope Island six days ago when this little cutie popped up right in front of me.

WC Sparrow In Flight (a shot I’d have missed without the 7D Mark II)

Getting a sharp image of any passerine in flight is not an easy task, especially when they’re coming toward you. I’m convinced I’d have missed this shot if I’d still been shooting with my Canon 7D.

(I’ve also included a whimsical shot of the same species for “dessert”).

Magpie In Flight In Magical, Foggy Light

Under the right conditions I like what fog can do to light when it isn’t too thick. Antelope Island at dawn this morning was a jumble of moving, thick pockets of fog. I drove around in an attempt to find some clear spots with birds present but when I would find some sun it wouldn’t take long for the fog to envelope me again. But in one spot, just for a couple of minutes, the effect of the fog on the light was dreamy and ethereal and I loved it.

Loggerhead Shrike On Winter Rabbitbrush

I finally photographed another Loggerhead Shrike in a nice setting this morning. It’s been a while.

Sidelit Chukar

Sometimes it really is “all about the light”.

Magpie Take-off From Nest Sequence

I was able to get five consecutive shots of this Black-billed Magpie as it took off from the top of its dome-shaped nest last spring on Antelope Island.

Western Meadowlark Acting Silly

I took many, many shots of this crazy, mixed up Meadowlark this past spring and I posted a few of them previously. This is another one that I like.

Red-tailed Hawk Just Prior To Reaching Prey

This first photo isn’t a classic buteo flight shot but I believe it’s fairly unique for a non-baited image. I’ve occasionally been able to capture raptors as they’re about to land on a predictable perch but this is the first and only time I’ve been able to get a shot I like pretty well of a raptor as it’s about to (or attempt to) “land” on prey it’s seen from a far-away perch.