Tag: preening

The Return of Long-billed Curlews and Rhyncokinesis

Each day for the past several weeks while on our way out to the island either Mia or I will say to the other “I wonder if we’ll see or hear the curlews this morning”.  For both of us the return of the curlews is a sure sign that true spring has finally arrived.  And each morning we’ve been disappointed. Until yesterday!  We first heard them while waiting for some magpies to return to their nest and then looked up and saw several flying toward us.   1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird is one of them – a truly unremarkable photograph except for its significance to us.  It’s almost like this bird (and its companion) were flying over us to personally announce their return to us.  The curlews are back – finally!      1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  It wasn’t long before we were able to find several curlews foraging on the ground and they even let us  get close.  This one is busy preening in the morning sun.      1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Rhyncokinesis (rhynco – upper beak or bill, kinesis – movement or motion) is the ability of some birds to bend or flex their upper bill.  Only cranes, shorebirds, swifts and hummingbirds are known to be capable of doing so.  The bill is made of a protein called keratin (like hair or fingernails) and it’s quite a remarkable feat to be able to control its shape to some degree.  Notice in the photo above that the shapes…

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American Kestrel Preening on a Rabbitbrush Perch

American Kestrels are pugnacious and skittish little falcons that are usually difficult to approach.  But last week I found a cooperative male warming himself in the early morning sun while perched on rabbitbrush.   Though feisty by nature this kestrel looked almost cuddly while all puffed up against the cold and nestled into the bush.     1/2000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I first approached him head-on which gave me some images where bird and perch combined to produce a pyramid shape that I liked.        1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But then I maneuvered to get a different angle so that at least part of the tail would be visible.  In these early shots my camera settings were meant to give me enough shutter speed for the take-off that I fully expected.        1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 250, 500 f/4  But when he began to groom contentedly I started fiddling with my settings to get shutter speeds and depth of field more appropriate for the situation.  Here he is passing one of his tail feathers through his bill in typical preening behavior.       1/1600, f/8, ISO 250, 500 f/4   He gave me a variety of preening poses that I liked.      1/1250, f/8, ISO 250, 500 f/4   Some of the neck feathers are difficult to reach so they go through some strange contortions in an effort to get to them.      1/1600, f/8, ISO 320, 500 f/4   Here the eye was half closed but I was still able to get a catch light. …

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A Very Cooperative Rough-legged Hawk

In a previous post I mentioned that I had been encouraged by the number of Rough-legged Hawks (roughies) I’ve been seeing this fall.  Well I’m delighted to report that the situation continues to improve.  On virtually every photo expedition over the last few weeks I’ve seen several of them and on two recent trips we’ve made about a dozen sightings of different individuals each time.  However getting good photos of them is a different story altogether.   After a season in the high arctic they’re very unapproachable and even when I have been able to get reasonably close they’re usually perched on an unattractive sign or post and take off away from me.  All that changed a few days ago though when we found one very cooperative bird.  This species has the most different male and female plumages (sexual dimorphism) of all our buteos and I’m quite sure this is a light phase female.     1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We first spotted this bird on a low wooden post that resembled a piling and I was pleasantly surprised that it let us approach (in my vehicle) with no signs of nervousness.   It was early on a cold, frosty morning and while looking through the viewfinder I assumed that the material on top of the post was spider silk that had collected dew and then frozen.  But after looking at the photos at home I wasn’t so sure so the next day I walked over to the post to check it out.   Duh – should have known.  It was  frosted bison fur.  This was Antelope Island…

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American Kestrel, Preening and Stretching

This slightly wet and bedraggled (but still handsome) male kestrel was quite wary of me as I approached him on his favorite perch.      1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500, EV +0.67  American Kestrels are notoriously difficult to get close to and several times he nearly flew off as I slowly worked myself within good shooting distance.  But it had been a cold morning and these birds are more “sticky” in the chill so he allowed me a relatively close approach.       1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, EV +0.33   Soon after he became comfortable in my presence the warming sun came out (as you can tell by the difference in background in the first two images) and he began to preen.  I got many interesting images of him working on his tail feathers but this one shows the eye best.  For protection of their eyes they typically close them as they run a feather through their beak.     1/1000, f/8, ISO 640, EV +0.33  And then he began a long, slow stretch – first by fanning his tail…     1/1000, f/8, ISO 640, EV +0.33  and then stretching out his left wing downward.  As you can see, they often stretch all three “limbs” at the same time – tail, wing and leg.      1/1000, f/8, ISO 640, EV +0.33 When it was over he fluffed up his feathers and held this position, with one foot up, for quite a while to enjoy the warmth of the sun.  I have many photos of perched kestrels but I don’t often get…

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Birds, Lamentations And Musings From My Recent Trip To Western Montana

Recently Mia and I spent just over a week in western Montana on another camping/photo excursion.  It was a trip packed with wonderful birds, breathtaking scenery, colorful characters and almost too much drama for me.  We spent two days at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, then four days on the western Montana farm near the Canadian border where I grew up and then spent one night at Red Rocks again on the way home.   In this post I’ll include a sampling of photos from the trip in the rough order they were taken.    Canon 7D, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 800, EV +1.00, 800 f/4, 1.4 tc This Long-billed Dowitcher photo was taken at a pond on the refuge that often has many birds of good variety but it’s difficult to get good light at this location.     Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 800, EV +0.00, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This Least Sandpiper gave me a similar pose as in the previous shot but I liked the head turn and lighting better (even though it made the whites a challenge to expose properly).      Canon 40D @22mm, 1/60, f/14, ISO 500, EV +0.33 Mornings at Red Rocks are often spectacular.  Here the sun is just beginning to rise on a layer of ground fog with another layer of low clouds just above the fog.  Roads similar to and much worse than this one were the source of the drama I referred to earlier.  On this trip we had a total of four flat tires, most…

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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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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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Why Grebes Eat Feathers

Grebes, as a group, are known for eating feathers – usually their own.  The obvious question is – why?  There would be virtually no nutritional value in a feather.   Clark’s Grebe eating a feather I’ve photographed four species of grebes – Western Grebe, Clarks Grebe (these two are very similar), Pied-billed Grebe and Eared Grebe.  I’ve been able to document feather eating in all but the Eared Grebe.     Western Grebe parent feeding feather to young Over a period of perhaps a half hour I watched this adult feed several feathers to the chicks, who seemed almost as eager to consume the feathers as they did the fish provided by the parents.      Western Grebe chick reaching for a feather from its parent  Feathers are fed to the young almost immediately after hatching.  In fact, feathers are very often the first item eaten by newly hatched chicks of many grebe species. The purpose(s) of feather eating is unproven but evidence suggests that the behavior has these benefits for the birds.  Some of the ingested feathers form a plug in the pylorus, between the stomach and small intestine, which acts as a strainer to keep fish bones in the stomach long enough to be completely digested.  Most swallowed feathers end up in the stomach lumen, mixed with food.  They eventually (along with any indigestible matter) form pellets that are ejected through the mouth.  The continuous passage of these pellets through the upper digestive system minimizes the buildup of a variety of parasites that are very common there and plague grebes.    Pied-billed…

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