Dancing Bluebird
From the moment this flashy male Mountain Bluebird landed on a weathered and sun-bleached Montana fencepost he seemed hyped-up and twitchy.
Category: Favorite Locations
Lark Sparrow With Prey
Last week on Antelope Island this Lark Sparrow popped up onto a sagebrush very close to me with a large, juicy grasshopper. The bird seemed to be deliberately conspicuous about its prize and I briefly wondered why.
Another Ferruginous Hawk Nest With Chicks
Last week I posted images of a Ferruginous Hawk nest with chicks in Montana. I actually photographed two of them. These chicks were slightly older than those in my first post.
Swainson’s Hawk Buddies
On the evening of our last full day in Montana we spotted a couple of Swainson’s Hawks engaging in a playful dogfight down the road in front of us. As we got closer they hopscotched from post to post but allowed me to get fairly close for a few minutes.
Plumage-challenged Chukar
Miscellaneous Montana Moments
This post is a potpourri of photos from last week’s Montana trip. I’ll include shots of mammals and scenery so there will be no common theme that runs through all the images other than the trip itself. Travelogues are not my forte and some of these images aren’t of the highest quality but they illustrate some interesting behaviors that I wanted to share.
Why The Cloning Tool Can Be Such A Temptress
This Red-tailed Hawk image from last week in Montana is an example of what I’m nearly always hoping to get when I’m on a perched raptor while it’s facing away from me and about to take off. 99+% of the time all you’ll get is a butt shot but if you’re extremely (and I do mean extremely) lucky you’ll get a nice look back from the bird as it banks, a widely flared and beautiful tail, good light on the entire dorsal surface, light in the eye and maybe even something interesting in the background other than featureless sky. And this time there was the bonus of a small falling feather below the left foot (something I like but others may find distracting).
Mountain Bluebirds Attending To Nesting Duties
On my recent Montana camping trip I was pleased to note that the good folks of Big Sky Country care deeply about their bluebirds. Nest boxes of every description and age seem to be abundant on both private and public land and along road corridors. Nesting season was in full swing, as were the traditional spats between Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows for nesting rights to the boxes.
On these trips I can never resist photographing the bluebirds in particular as they perform their domestic duties.
Chasing The Light For A Swainson’s Hawk
Mia and I often joke with each other that we’d make terrible landscape photographers because we’d be bored by all the waiting around for ideal conditions such as dramatic clouds and perfect light. We much prefer the excitement, unpredictability and the occasional and unexpected delights of bird photography. This Swainson’s Hawk was one of those nice surprises.
Ferruginous Hawk With Chicks
At the end of one of those very long, rough and dusty drives we came upon this Ferruginous Hawk on a nest. We’d spotted the nest on a previous day but could only see the top of the bird’s head as it hunkered down so at the time we didn’t know what species the occupant was.
Northern Flicker Surprise
A while later I glanced down at one of the holes again and noticed that it seemed to have disappeared or changed shape and color. Closer inspection revealed the reason for the change – the hole was now filled by a gorgeous Northern Flicker looking back at us with one big eye.
American Kestrel With Snake Prey
Anyone who follows my blog knows that I observe and photograph kestrels often but I’ve never before seen one with snake prey. In my experience it’s always been voles, mice, small birds or (less often) insects. When we first noticed this bird it already had the snake on this bush perch.
Black-billed Magpie Fledglings
I’ve been watching a Black-billed Magpie nest in a greasewood bush on Antelope Island all spring but the adults are very spooky and always fly off as I approach (the nest is very near a road and I stay in my vehicle on the road). But I’ve been looking forward to seeing the fledglings and I finally got a good look at all five of them last week.
Coyotes Like Eggs For Breakfast Too
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
Clark’s Grebe Blowin’ In The Wind
Three days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird refuge I had some wind to contend with as I was photographing this Clark’s Grebe. It made the water a little choppy and would occasionally ruffle the feathers of one of the birds when it turned its back to the breeze.
The effect varied fairly dramatically.
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Lark Sparrow With Prey
Last week on Antelope Island this Lark Sparrow popped up onto a sagebrush very close to me with a large, juicy grasshopper. The bird seemed to be deliberately conspicuous about its prize and I briefly wondered why.
Another Ferruginous Hawk Nest With Chicks
Last week I posted images of a Ferruginous Hawk nest with chicks in Montana. I actually photographed two of them. These chicks were slightly older than those in my first post.
Swainson’s Hawk Buddies
On the evening of our last full day in Montana we spotted a couple of Swainson’s Hawks engaging in a playful dogfight down the road in front of us. As we got closer they hopscotched from post to post but allowed me to get fairly close for a few minutes.
Plumage-challenged Chukar
Miscellaneous Montana Moments
This post is a potpourri of photos from last week’s Montana trip. I’ll include shots of mammals and scenery so there will be no common theme that runs through all the images other than the trip itself. Travelogues are not my forte and some of these images aren’t of the highest quality but they illustrate some interesting behaviors that I wanted to share.
Why The Cloning Tool Can Be Such A Temptress
This Red-tailed Hawk image from last week in Montana is an example of what I’m nearly always hoping to get when I’m on a perched raptor while it’s facing away from me and about to take off. 99+% of the time all you’ll get is a butt shot but if you’re extremely (and I do mean extremely) lucky you’ll get a nice look back from the bird as it banks, a widely flared and beautiful tail, good light on the entire dorsal surface, light in the eye and maybe even something interesting in the background other than featureless sky. And this time there was the bonus of a small falling feather below the left foot (something I like but others may find distracting).
Mountain Bluebirds Attending To Nesting Duties
On my recent Montana camping trip I was pleased to note that the good folks of Big Sky Country care deeply about their bluebirds. Nest boxes of every description and age seem to be abundant on both private and public land and along road corridors. Nesting season was in full swing, as were the traditional spats between Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows for nesting rights to the boxes.
On these trips I can never resist photographing the bluebirds in particular as they perform their domestic duties.
Chasing The Light For A Swainson’s Hawk
Mia and I often joke with each other that we’d make terrible landscape photographers because we’d be bored by all the waiting around for ideal conditions such as dramatic clouds and perfect light. We much prefer the excitement, unpredictability and the occasional and unexpected delights of bird photography. This Swainson’s Hawk was one of those nice surprises.
Ferruginous Hawk With Chicks
At the end of one of those very long, rough and dusty drives we came upon this Ferruginous Hawk on a nest. We’d spotted the nest on a previous day but could only see the top of the bird’s head as it hunkered down so at the time we didn’t know what species the occupant was.
Northern Flicker Surprise
A while later I glanced down at one of the holes again and noticed that it seemed to have disappeared or changed shape and color. Closer inspection revealed the reason for the change – the hole was now filled by a gorgeous Northern Flicker looking back at us with one big eye.
American Kestrel With Snake Prey
Anyone who follows my blog knows that I observe and photograph kestrels often but I’ve never before seen one with snake prey. In my experience it’s always been voles, mice, small birds or (less often) insects. When we first noticed this bird it already had the snake on this bush perch.
Black-billed Magpie Fledglings
I’ve been watching a Black-billed Magpie nest in a greasewood bush on Antelope Island all spring but the adults are very spooky and always fly off as I approach (the nest is very near a road and I stay in my vehicle on the road). But I’ve been looking forward to seeing the fledglings and I finally got a good look at all five of them last week.
Coyotes Like Eggs For Breakfast Too
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
Clark’s Grebe Blowin’ In The Wind
Three days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird refuge I had some wind to contend with as I was photographing this Clark’s Grebe. It made the water a little choppy and would occasionally ruffle the feathers of one of the birds when it turned its back to the breeze.
The effect varied fairly dramatically.