Category: Favorite Locations

Chukars of Antelope Island

 The Chukar, also known as the Chukar Partridge, is a species first introduced into North America from India in 1893.  Since then they have flourished, particularly in the Great Basin of the American west where the largely feed on the seeds and leaves of cheat grass.  Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake provides perfect habitat for them and they abound there.    Chukar calling In the springtime there are times when the hillsides sound like the island has been overrun by domestic chickens from the calling of the Chukars.      Preening on a rock perch Chukars are very prone to perch on rocks – especially in the spring.  While there they call to other birds and preen.  Sentinel birds of a flock also prefer elevated perches while on lookout, which of course is ideal for the bird photographer.      Parent with chicks And here’s one of the reasons there’s so many Chukars on Antelope Island – the breed prodigiously.  Clutch size can be up to 21 eggs!     Chukar covey on boulder In late summer and fall Chukars often congregate in large groups.  These coveys tend to consist of adults and their offspring but several family groups may mix together.      Preparing to jump off the rock Like some other upland game birds, Chukars are often reluctant to fly.  They will typically jump down from their perch and scurry through the vegetation to hide.  They are very fast runners and easily outrun a human on foot.     Rock hopping  I’m often tempted to call these birds “rockhoppers” because of their tendency…

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Bathing Cinnamon Teal/Green-winged Teal hybrid

Though bathing is a common activity for waterfowl it can make for some interesting photographs.  I found this bird at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge at the end of May last year.    Cinnamon Teal x Green-winged Teal Hybrid male While I was processing some of the images I noticed the unusual crescent-shaped marking running through the eye to the back of the head that is typical of the Green-winged Teal.  I asked several very knowledgeable birders about this bird and they think this is a CT/GWT hybrid, which apparently is quite unusual.       Red eye looking at you through a layer of water While bathing he would repeatedly dunk his head and shoulders under water  and then lift them up, which would roll water over its back and wings.  An interesting process to watch and photograph at such close range.   Here he’s looking at me through a layer of water over his head and eye as he brings his head out of the water.       Forcing water over the back   Here’s the water on the back.        Washing the back feathers Then he would shake vigorously which would wash the back and upper wing feathers and send water droplets flying.       Rearranging the wing feathers After so much vigorous activity the feathers, particularly those in the wing, needed rearranging to put them in their proper places.       Preening after the bath  Then came the preening.  Lots of it.  Here he is grooming individual breast/lower neck feathers.       After the bath And here…

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Short-eared Owl in the Fog

My friend Mia and I had such a great time in June with the Short-eared Owls at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana that we decided to return in September.  Getting close to them was more difficult this time because they weren’t nesting and feeding young.  However, one morning we got lucky.    A cooperative Short-eared Owl  When we awoke we were socked in with heavy fog.  As it slowly began to clear we went looking for birds and found this owl perched in the middle of the road.  As we approached, it flew a short distance to this post and then allowed us to get very close.  We’re sure this is the same female that we had photographed in June on the same territory.       Short-eared Owl female looking for voles She was very accepting of our presence and within a few minutes was looking for voles below her post perch.  We were right at the edge of the fog and as it would swirl around us, alternately getting thicker and then clearing a bit, we knew that some of our images would show the effect of the fog more than others.  The soft feathers of owls don’t give up their fine detail to photographers easily, even in the best of conditions.  But we simply couldn’t pass up this opportunity with this beautiful female and we still got some shots we like very much.      Short-eared Owl checking us out Occasionally her attention would be diverted from the potential prey in the…

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Great Horned Owl Fledglings and Juveniles

Great Horned Owls (hereafter referred to as GHO’s in this post) have been resident on the Dudley farm in NW Montana for years and are usually successful in raising one brood of youngsters.  Typically they’ll nest in one of the several old granaries available to them.     Peekaboo youngster Most of these older granaries have seen their better days since many were constructed  in the 1930’s and have had to withstand the fierce Montana wind but the owls love them for both roosting and nesting.  Here you can see a very young GHO peering out at me over the back of its sibling.       Siblings on granary floor These are the siblings on the granary floor.  It has been used only for junk storage for many years so it’s very cluttered but the owls don’t seem to mind in the least.   Chicks in tree nest GHO’s will often nest in trees but like other owls and falcons they do not build their own nests, preferring to take over the previously used nests of other species such as Red-tailed Hawks (most commonly), other hawks, crows, ravens and herons.  I found this nest next to a major road about 35 miles from the farm.   I don’t know what species originally constructed this nest but the spring after these photos were taken the nest was being used by a pair of Swainson’s Hawks.  Interspecific  recycling in the bird world…      Three GHO chicks in a tree This is the same nest as in the previous image.  As you can see the…

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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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Burrowing Owls – Clowns of the Bird World

  Of the many bird species I’ve photographed, Burrowing Owls by far show the most “personality”.  Their repertoire of silly antics, funny poses, stretches, yawns and grooming behaviors are a photographers dream.  And once they feel comfortable in your presence they will often allow you to photograph them for a very long time without flying off or retreating to their burrow.  But you have to find them first… The antics of juveniles are even more exaggerated than those of adults.  Most of the images I will present here are of juveniles.  Some of the shots were taken in less than ideal conditions (harsh light, shadows, clutter) but I think they illustrate the goofball personalities of these birds well. Giving the photographer a suspicious look It’s difficult to resist being anthropomorphic (ascribing human emotion or motivation to non-human species) when it comes to Burrowing Owls so I won’t even try.  This juvenile looks very suspicious of me but in reality I suspect that it was only curious.   Wing-stretch with lifted foot, or “They went that-a-way!”    Topsy  turvy owl Juveniles practice their parallax skills regularly.  It involves bobbing and twisting their heads so their eyes can view an object (in this case me) from different positions.  This allows them to better determine distance to that object.   I’m sure it’s serious business for the owls but to us it can sure look silly.  And adorable.  Reaction to sudden and unexpected rain One sunny and hot August morning I was photographing a pair of juveniles when a single cloud passed overhead and…

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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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Antelope Island

  Of the eight major islands in the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island is the largest at 15 miles long and 4.5 miles wide.  Frary Peak reaches an elevation of 6596 feet.  The island has an intriguing history, interesting geology and free roaming herds of bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer and pronghorn, in addition to a variety of smaller mammal species and plentiful birds.  It is one of my very favorite photography locations – especially for birds.  In this blog post I will present an overview of the island and some of its wildlife.  My next post will deal specifically with bird photography on the island.  The north end of Antelope Island at sunrise as seen from the causeway access road There is a 7 mile long causeway road that provides the only access to the island, which is actually a peninsula when the Great Salt Lake water levels are low.  It’s common to see a variety of wildlife along this causeway including coyotes sprinting at the first sight of an early morning vehicle, American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, Burrowing Owls, Common Ravens and a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds where the water comes closer to the causeway.    Approaching the north end of Antelope Island  As you get closer to the island the water comes right up to the causeway’s edge and typically there’s hordes of waterfowl and shorebirds very close to the road.  In the photo above, several shoreline levels of ancient Lake Bonneville can be seen where wave action eroded “benches” in the sides of the…

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Great Horned Owls on the Farm

For perhaps twenty years now there has been at least one pair of nesting Great Horned Owls on the farm where I grew up near Cut Bank, Montana.  They were never there when I was a kid but they’ve sure taken to it since.   This farm still seems like home to me and I return to it at least once every year for a visit with family and of course to check up on the owls.  It’s the perfect place for these birds as it’s isolated, there are many old barns and granaries for the owls to find sanctuary and mice, voles and the ubiquitous Richardson’s Ground Squirrels (gophers) are everywhere.  Both the owls and I love the place! Great Horned Owl in a barn cutout Most often I prefer my birds on natural perches but there’s just something about owls and old barn wood that appeals to me.  I think owls, particularly Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls, often just seem to “fit” in many rustic settings.  In the image above, I like the warm tones of the bird contrasting with the cooler tones of the black background and some of the wood.  Juvenile (no “horns” yet) in warm, early morning light The youngster above was sitting in an east facing cutout in an old granary just as the sun came up.  The effect of the warm light on both bird and wood is fairly dramatic (no saturation added).  This juvenile is wet from the dew, thus the “spikiness” on the top of the head.  They look very different from the…

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The Short-eared Owls of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

  Male Short-eared Owl with a vole for the family  Red Rock Lakes NWR is simply a wonderful spot on this ol’ earth.  Located in SW Montana about halfway between Yellowstone National Park on the East and Interstate 15 on the west, it lies in a beautiful high elevation valley and the setting is stunning.  It’s not for the faint of heart though as the weather holds many potentially nasty surprises and the access to the refuge is primitive at best.  But that’s one of the things I love about Red Rock.    In late June we had the place mostly to ourselves, which is ideal for me.    Coyotes howling, other  mammals  in abundance, birds plentiful, wildflowers galore, spectacular mountain scenery, amazing sunrises and sunsets, weather surprises, bad roads to limit visitation, isolation and especially those incredible Short-eared Owls.   I love this place!    Female at the nest with one of two youngsters  On our second day there we found a pair of nesting Short-eared Owls with two youngsters.  The nest was at the base of a sagebrush within a few feet of a road.  I have a (very unscientific) theory as to why these birds would make their nest so close to a road with regular traffic.   Coyotes are very common on the refuge – we heard them howling often and would see them but they were seldom close to any road.   They seem to avoid roads whenever possible.   A nest on the ground would be very vulnerable to coyote predation.  So I wonder if the choice to build…

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