Year: 2013

My First Western Meadowlark Of The Season

Ok, despite the fact that it’s turning colder again this week I’m now convinced that spring has arrived because two days ago I finally got close enough to photograph a singing Western Meadowlark – my first of the year.    1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light  I was sure the bird would fly off as I approached, just as all the others have this spring, but this one stuck.  I like the somewhat different head angle in this shot.       1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I probably have more trouble with framing this species than any other because their legs are always longer than I think they are when they’re buried in the perch like this and I typically don’t leave enough room for at least one of them.  This time I think I did.       1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light When the bird would break out in song it truly lifted my spirits, as it always does.  They’re just so enthusiastic about it and when you’re close the sound can go right through you – in a good way.  I’m always impressed by the size of their mouth which seems to be exaggerated some by that long beak. I suspect there are a few of my regular readers who are unfamiliar with the call of this songster (Elephant’s Child in Australia, for example) so I’ve provided a link to their song if you’d like to hear it (scroll down about half-way). These birds (and their…

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Promised Update On Mergansers Entangled In Fishing Line

Some of you may remember that on February 17th I posted about the problem of birds getting caught in discarded fishing line at Willow Pond, one of our urban fisheries here in Murray, Utah.  I had photographed some Common Mergansers that had fishing line entangled on their bodies and fish hooks stuck in their bills.   This merganser had lost a foot to fishing line.  Another had a fish-hook stuck in its bill and other ducks had line wrapped around their legs and wings. Here’s a link to that original post: https://featheredphotography.com/blog/2013/02/17/one-footed-merganser-in-a-hurry/#comment-21517 In comments, many of you were as disturbed as I was about the carelessness of anglers and the resulting suffering of birds and some suggested a variety of methods to help address the issue.  I chose to contact Tom Wharton, a long-time and highly respected columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, to see if he was interested in doing a story on the situation at Willow Pond.   When I sent him a link to the merganser post he responded almost immediately and asked if I would meet him at the pond and give him some background. So a couple of days later Mia and I met him at the pond and spent most of an hour with him reviewing the situation.  He was enthusiastic about writing a column on the subject and trying to help birds. That column was published three days ago but I’ve been on a camping/photo trip and couldn’t post about it until now.  But since many of you had asked me to update any developments…

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Chukar On A Snow-covered Rock Ledge

Sometimes a change of position of just a few inches can have a fairly dramatic affect on the overall “feel” of an image.  That was the case with this Antelope Island Chukar.    1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light  I found the bird on a rock ledge and slightly above me which gave an almost eye-level perspective that I like.  Occasionally it would call, as they’re very prone to do.       1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light  But then it began to walk a short distance to my right (I’m always surprised that the bottoms of their feet are yellow)…       1600, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light  which brought the snow-covered hillside in the background into play.  At first there was a mix of snow and blue sky back there…       2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light but then I deliberately raised my window a couple of inches (as usual I was shooting from my pickup) to take the blue sky out of the picture.  And the bird obliged me by calling once again. Most of the snow is finally gone from the island now.  Even the roads to the Frary Peak trailhead and White Rock Bay are open – they’ve been closed for months due to snow.  Hopefully that’s a sign that the curlews and Willets (and other spring birds) won’t be far behind.  Hope so – it’s been a long dry spell on the island. Ron

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Barn Swallow

I’ve always had a “thing” for Barn Swallows.  I’m sure it goes back to my childhood on the family farm in Montana where they nested in huge numbers on and in all of the many old barns, granaries and outbuildings.  As a kid I spent many hours watching their graceful flight with their long forked tail and pointed wings being quite distinctive. Another thing (besides the fond memories) that I’m indebted to them for is that the species indirectly led to the beginning of the conservation movement in the United States.  The destruction of Barn Swallows for the millinery trade (those long tail feathers were apparently considered very attractive on the hat of a lady) during the 1800’s led to George Bird Grinnell’s article in Forest and Stream in 1886 that prompted the founding of the first Audubon Society.  Hooray for Barn Swallows ! I think the way they’ve adapted to man is fascinating.  They’re now the most abundant and widely distributed swallow in the world and originally they nested almost exclusively in caves but with the advent of human structures that has changed dramatically.  They have almost completely converted to nesting in or on man-made structures like bridges, culverts and the eaves of buildings.  In fact, in modern times any Barn Swallows found nesting on natural sites create quite a stir among birders and are often reported with much interest.   1/640, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light But I must admit that I also enjoy them in natural settings.  I found this bird at Bear River MBR where…

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Rough-legged Hawk With A Peculiar Hunting Technique

I’ve spent many hours watching Rough-legged Hawks hunt.  Nearly always they hunt from the air or from elevated perches but several years ago this bird showed me a technique I had never seen before and haven’t since. All of these images are presented in the order they were taken. Techs for these shots were: 1/2000 – 1/3200, f/8. ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in   I found the hawk on the ground and as I approached it in my pickup it didn’t fly off as I expected it would.  Here it’s looking at me but most of the time it was scanning the grasses in the vicinity – obviously hunting for voles from the ground.     It would lift off but only fly a few feet before it landed again.     In this first lift-off it had vegetation in its talons.  I’ve seen them do this before – it’s almost like they’re reluctant to let go of the plant material after they’ve missed the prey.     The hawk landed again…     And intensely scanned the surrounding area for prey.     Then another take-off…     and it flew within inches of the ground…     before it pounced on a vole and swallowed it.     Then it continued to hunt in the same manner.       Another take-off…     and another.  There’s blood on the right foot from the last vole.     The hawk repeatedly did the same thing – take…

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Flaming Gorge Osprey

The Osprey is a species that I’ve only had a handful of opportunities with but last spring I found a cooperative nesting pair at Flaming Gorge. In my mind this is a true miracle species because it has arisen Phoenix-like from the ashes of its own demise.  During the 1950s-1970s their populations crashed dramatically, largely due to the effects of DDT and other persistent pesticides in the environment which caused severe eggshell-thinning and poor hatching success.  But when those chemicals were banned the Osprey made a miraculous comeback and today their numbers are approaching historical highs. Part of the reason for that success has been the widespread use of artificial nesting sites.   In some areas of North America, 90-95% of all nesting pairs choose these artificial sites over natural ones.  The nest of this mated pair was on a pole installed for that purpose close to Flaming Gorge Reservoir.    1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, cloned out a piece of nest platform, not baited, set up or called in This is most likely the male of the pair (less conspicuous breast band) bringing a small fish in to the incubating female on the nest platform.       1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  I believe this to be the female coming into the nest.       1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, canvas added, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  When the male would bring its mate a fish…

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Anticipating An American Avocet Behavior

Anticipating behaviors is often crucial for nature photographers and that’s particularly true when your subject is a lightning-fast bird.  Most of us don’t need any more images where the wings have been cut off in the frame or the bird is soft due to lack of shutter speed or poor focus tracking of the bird at take-off. The American Avocet in breeding plumage is an especially lovely subject with its long recurved bill, bluish legs, cinnamon head and neck and the black and white chevron pattern on its back.  But you don’t see many quality flight or take-off images of the species, partially because their flight tendencies are fast and erratic.     Like many birds, avocets routinely perform single wing and leg stretches.  These stretches occur when the bird is at rest and at ease.  They stretch like this in the water…     and on land.  But this single-wing/leg stretch is not an indicator of nervousness or a precursor of take-off.   Neither of the birds in these two images did so immediately after the stretch.      1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, a sliver of canvas added for composition  But when you see this two-winged wing stretch, expect imminent take-off.   A few seconds later this bird did just that but it took off away from me and I deleted the images.     Another two-wing stretch.  And almost immediately after the wings came down…     the bird took off.  It’s not a good shot because of the angle of take-off but it illustrates my point. Here’s what Birds…

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Black-billed Magpies Constructing Their Nest

This post is largely about behavior.  The image quality ranges from good to mediocre but I think each photo contributes something to a better understanding of magpies. Black-billed Magpies begin nest-building as early as January and these particular birds have been at it for several weeks now.  Actually, in this case it’s more a “remodel” than it is “new construction” since this nest has been used for at least the last three years. All of these photos have been taken this week, which accounts for the relatively bright snow and ice background in some of the shots.   1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light One of the first things you may notice is the fact that sometimes these Black-billed Magpies don’t seem to have black bills.  Part of nest construction involves mud gathering and the drying mud on the bill can significantly alter the appearance of the bill.     1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light Both sexes contribute to nest construction and they’re quite industrious in their efforts.  The size of the twigs they bring in is often impressive.     1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light The nest is buried deep in a greasewood bush at about eye level for me.  Typically a bird bringing in construction material will land on a nearby perch and look over the nest for a few moments – seeming to plan placement of the twig and an approach path through the myriad of vertical greasewood stems that present significant obstacles to proper placement of such an unwieldy…

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Magpie Nesting Season Has Begun

I’ve spent the last two mornings photographing Black-billed Magpies in the midst of nest construction.  These birds often re-use old nests and this is at least the third year they have used the same one.  Even when “recycling” the nest like this, weeks of work go in to refurbishing it – they bring in a completely new lining of grass, mud, rootlets and even bison fur.  And they add an amazing number of new twigs to the basic structure.  These are industrious birds! I’ve said before that this species is my most challenging avian photographic subject and that fact has been reinforced this week.  There are several reasons for that, including: the deep black and bright white combination is hugely difficult to expose properly that aggravatingly long tail makes composition difficult and it is very easy to clip or cut off in action shots they close their nictitating membrane more than any other bird I’ve photographed and when they do its color is a blue-white which is almost shockingly apparent against the black head when they take off from an elevated perch they typically flap once and then fold their wings tightly against the body at exactly the moment when it’s easiest to get them in flight, resulting in what I call a “torpedo-bird” flight posture that is less than desirable the dark eye set against a black head makes it very difficult to get a good catch light in the eye In the last two days I’ve taken over 1200 shots of these magpies and about 95% of them were garbage, largely due…

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Juvenile Burrowing Owl Posing Up A Storm

The antics of Burrowing Owls are always entertaining but “personality” simply oozes out of the juveniles.    1/400, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This youngster had recently fledged and had begun to do a little exploring.  On this early morning I found it on this perch just after sunrise.  Thus was further away from the burrow than I’d seen any of the juveniles up to that point.      1/400, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  Within just a few minutes it gave me a variety of interesting poses – first an enthusiastic yawn…       1/500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  and then long and drawn out wing stretch with left foot extended…      1/500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in which concluded with the wing down and partially hidden behind the rock. Soon after this shot was taken the bird flew back to the comfort and security of the burrow and the rest of its family. Ron

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The Prairie Falcon And The Northern Shoveler

Back in November I blogged about my encounter with a Prairie Falcon and its Northern Shoveler prey.  I thought that some of the images I didn’t use back then were worthy of another post. This falcon struck the duck on the water, then waited for it to die and to be washed up onto shore.    1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  It attempted to enjoy its meal at the water’s edge but waves kept coming in and “rocking the boat”…      1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  so the falcon decided to drag the shoveler further up the rocky shore and away from the annoying waves.      1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It wasn’t an easy task.  Average weight for Northern Shovelers is almost as much as it is for Prairie Falcons (1.3 vs 1.6 lbs) so the falcon really struggled in its attempt to drag the duck to a more suitable dining area.      1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in  I thought this was an interesting shot with the wings up, the left foot off the ground and direct eye contact.      1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Finally the falcon was satisfied with the…

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