A Kingbird Kind Of Morning

For the past few days Western Kingbirds have been very active on Antelope Island. Though I’m still trying to interpret some of their behaviors they appear to be in the process of selecting mates and/or nest sites.

The light was quite low for some of these images so there’s some noise due to the high ISO’s I was often using.

 

western kingbird 2809 ron dudley

 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Groups of them, as many as 3 or 4 birds, fly from perch to perch and noisily interact with each other. Sometimes two of them visit what appears to be a potential nest site with other kingbirds nearby. This one came in close and sang for me for a few moments.

 

 

western kingbird 2754 ron dudley

  1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 I was able to catch this one taking off…

 

 

western kingbird 3097c ron dudley  1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

but I was more pleased by this image, largely because of its degree of difficulty. Landing shots of small birds are ridiculously difficult and in the few times I’ve succeeded in the past its been because I had pre-focused on the perch just before the bird arrived but this time I followed the bird into the perch with my lens. I got 4 shots as it was coming in but the wing positions didn’t appeal to me and there was no light in the eye in 3 of them. This is the only one of the bunch that I really like but the series gives me hope and encouragement to try the technique more often in the future.

 

 

western kingbird 2363 ron dudley

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, several twig tips removed, not baited, set up or called in

This bird preened and posed for me for some time. I wish it had been slightly closer but I especially like this pose, partly because it reveals the white outer edges of its outer tail feathers. Of the 8 species of Kingbirds found in North America only the Western Kingbird has this characteristic.

While I was photographing the bird as it preened I wished out loud for a wing stretch and a few moments later…

 

 

 western kingbird 2420b ron dudley 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

it accommodated me and threw in a nice spread of the tail for good measure. Getting this pose in a clean setting with good light and a catch light in the eye and the bill slightly open pleased me very much.

I just may have to try “wishing out loud” more often.

Ron

 

 

 

26 Comments

  1. I love your “wishing” shot. 😀

  2. charlotte Norton

    Fantastic shots Ron! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Charlotte

  3. Your wishes really are landing in your pocket at the moment. Love, love, love all these images. And on the other side of the world I am wishing (out loud) for a fraction of their flexibility. I suppose wishing for their beauty and flight is tooooo greedy.

  4. What a wonderful series Ron! Remember watching them in CA.

  5. Jorge H. Oliveira

    Great series. I specially like the third and fourth images. They are beautiful.
    However I am concerned about that 31.4% rate you have mentioned. Being the pollinating leader we certainly need them for the biodiversity.
    Here in Portugal bees are threatened by the pesticides and recently by a plague of Asian Wasps.

    • Thank you, Jorge.

      I’m concerned about bees too. But kingbirds have been eating them for millennia with no apparent reduction in bee populations. The harmful effects of humans on bees worries me more.

  6. Beautiful shots Ron. One of my favorite birds. I love their song, even though it is repetitious. We have a Western Kingbird that lands in our Pine Tree at 4am chatting away. I’m sure the bird is saying “it’s a beautiful morning, wake up”. A little too early for me though.

  7. Patty Chadwick

    You’re doing pretty well in the wish fullfiment department!…..I’m happy for you! I love all these shots of this cute, busy little bird…but especially the second to the last…the turned body, the fanned tail, the fluffy-puffy gray cheeks…also like how the colors of the foliage echoes the colors of the bird….nice! The last one with the ring stretch, makes me yawn for some reason….

  8. Jo Ann Donnelly

    Another lovely series, Ron!! You are really have a great time out at your favorite stomping grounds, aren’t you?!!!!!

    • I sure do, Jo Ann. I’m very lucky to live fairly close to the island (although it does take me an hour to get there, including donut stop…)

  9. Ron, your perfect shot of the bird preening made my day. Thanks also for pointing out the field markings.

  10. Beautiful!!!!!

  11. Beautiful series! I am especially fond of the fourth one, because the bird looks a bit goofy. I also love how soft the feathers look in the first shot. Congrats on getting such a beautiful landing shot, too.

  12. Great images Ron. I love the color of the kingbirds against this beautiful colored background. This past week I noticed many kingbirds hanging around our beehives. My hope is that the rate of bees they catch is less than the rate of production of new bees :-). I am curious what their behavior means when two of them noisily flutter up vertically together and then diverge at the top of their climb?

    • Thanks, Ed. I’m not sure about the behavior you’re observing. One common behavior is called the “tumble flight” and it’s somewhat similar to what you’re describing but it’s performed only by males and they don’t “diverge” at the top of the climb, instead they tumble down before doing it again.

    • It’s interesting to me that you have seen Kingbirds going after bees. Recently I watched White-throated Swifts going after bees when we were at Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site (El Paso, TX), and that was unexpected for me.

    • Susan and Ed, One study showed that bees and wasps comprised 31.4% of their diet from March to October in California.

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