Birds From Our Recent Trip To Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

I spent most of last week at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana.  Regular readers of this blog know that it’s’ one of my favorite places on earth.  On this trip we didn’t have as much luck with raptors as we usually do at Red Rock but we still had a nice variety of birds, mostly good weather and we experienced some breathtaking scenery and blessed solitude.  Overall, a wonderful experience.

 

 1/3200, f.6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

Mountain Bluebirds are common this time of year so I’ll begin with a few of them.  The blues of the males are very intense and hard for the photographer to resist.  It’s difficult to catch them on a natural perch but most of the fence posts in the area are old and rustic which I like.

 

 

 1/2000, f.7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

I’m pretty sure this male was attempting to expel a pellet (rather than yawning) although it didn’t succeed before it flew off.

 

 

 1/3200, f.7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4

The female Mountain Bluebirds have less dramatic colors and their beauty is more subtle.  I caught this one hovering in front of her nest.  It’s been a traumatic spring for these bluebirds.  On Memorial Day a big storm dumped 15″ of snow resulting in an 85% mortality of bluebird chicks at the refuge.  They’re now trying again and have renested.

 

 

 1/1600, f.6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

 Another male in the middle of a shake.  I just liked the ruffled feathers combined with the good look at the eye.

 

 

 1/1250, f.7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

 Savannah Sparrows are also quite common on the refuge.

 

 

 1/1600, f.5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

As luck would have it we had overcast skies and rain (you can see the falling raindrops) when we got close to one of the most handsome Swainson’s Hawk specimens I’ve ever seen.  It had feathers in its mouth and some were stuck to a talon.

 

 

 1/1250, f.7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

This Vesper Sparrow had just taken a bath and landed on a wire when we approached.  It apparently got thoroughly soaked and spent a long time on the wire, sunning, shaking and preening.  There was just something about the extremely disheveled appearance that appealed to me.

 

 

 1/1000, f.5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

We got fairly close to several Western Tanagers but were always challenged by less than ideal light angles or busy settings.  I was truly impressed by the gluttony and hunting prowess of these birds – from what I saw they are truly eating machines.  This male is gobbling down what looks to me to be a beetle.

 

 

 1/1250, f.7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

I’ve always enjoyed the bold head markings of the White-crowned Sparrow.

 

 

 1/3200, f.6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4

Sandhill Cranes breed on the refuge and we saw quite a few pairs –  some with colts (chicks).  I’m intrigued by the color variations of the species.  The true overall plumage color is slate gray to mouse gray, as in this bird I photographed on our first full day at the refuge.  But colors can vary from that dramatically because the plumage becomes colored from water, vegetation and mud – these cranes intentionally rub their plumage with soil.  Compare the color of this mouse gray crane with…

 

 

 1/2000, f.6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

this one that I photographed two days later.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Sandhill Crane that was quite this red.

 

 

This is an especially secluded and tranquil area of the refuge.  Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans nest here, Osprey fish the waters, waterfowl and other birds abound as do other types of wildlife.  I could just sit in this spot for hours, absorbing the sights and sounds around me – even without my camera.

I’ll be back…

Ron