When you’re trying to sleep it’s no fun when someone loudly invades your space.
1/1000, f/16, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning just after dawn I was photographing this Long-billed Curlew when a Chukar hopped up on its rocky perch. The curlew eyed the Chukar suspiciously at first but when the Chukar just sat there basking in the warming sun the curlew placed its long bill along its back and promptly went to sleep. Or tried to…
Soon the Chukar started to call. The curlew had its eyes closed before the commotion began but when the Chukar began to call the curlew kept opening them to see what the ruckus was all about. I kept wondering if the Curlew would become annoyed and chase the Chukar off the rock but eventually the Chukar left on its own accord.
The Chukar appears to be about a foot closer to me than the curlew so it was a challenge to get them both sharp when shooting at an effective 1120mm. I had to go to f/16 to get the job done and even then, when viewed at a higher resolution, the curlew isn’t quite as sharp as the Chukar.
I don’t often get two species in the same image, much less both of them relatively sharp, so that’s one of the reasons this shot appeals to me. But it amuses me too.
Ron
Notes:
- My shooting destination this morning is 90 minutes away and I want to be there at dawn (which means a brutal wakeup time) so I’ve prescheduled publication of this post. I’ll respond to any comments when I get home.
- If you’re interesting in hearing the somewhat annoying call the curlew was trying to sleep through, here’s a link.
“RALPH! It’s Sunday, dude. Go back to sleep.”
It’s a lovely photograph of both birds. I read in the link that the chukar is yet another introduced species in the Great Basin and Canada and, sigh, Hawaii. I hope can take photographs of the remaining endemic birds in Hawaii before they are driven to extinction by invaders.
Snickering.
There are ‘chukars’ in this house. Too often. And how I wish they would let me sleep.
I hope you had a successful morning, and look forward to finding out.
I did have an interesting encounter with some hawks this morning, EC. If the photos turn out I’ll likely be posting some of them.
Love your caption, made me laugh this morning.
Hope you are successful today. Looking forward to whatever you catch!
It was definitely an interesting raptor morning, Dick. Don’t know yet if I got any quality shots though…
How cool! It’s not often you can catch two different species in the same shot, especially when one of the two is trying to catch a nap! LOL! Have I ever mentioned how utterly splendid it is to catch your photography (nearly) every morning? It is–just so you know. 🙂
Laura, I think folks who shoot shorebirds on the coasts probably get multiple subjects much more often than I do. It’s a treat for me to be able to do it.
A funny image! That poor curlew trying to sleep and that noisy, oblivious Chukar. It’s no fun when your space is loudly invaded at any time, as mine was recently. I can empathize with the curlew…..
The Chukar was just that, Patty. Oblivious.
It’s a nice shot – but what I like best about it is the story that goes with it. All those rocks out there and that Chukar had to choose the one with the sleeping Curlew…
Thanks on both counts, Susan.
Cool shot and commentary, Ron! 🙂 Curlew sure looks different without it’s long bill showing – hides it amazingly well in it’s plumage. 🙂 There are always afternoon naps……….:)
“There are always afternoon naps”
You can count on that today, Judy. Just got home and I’m bushed.
Good luck… I wish you much success, and “see” more spectacular images in your future… ;-)))
Great shot, and one you can truly be proud of, even if it is on the edge of acceptance for you.. ha.
You seem to have a lot of images captured in the weee early hours of the day. I complement you on
your willingness, and ability to get up early on so many days, but that is the way one gets those
beautiful images in the golden light soon after dawn.. Well done Ron, yes, very well done. ;-)))
“You seem to have a lot of images captured in the weee early hours of the day”
Shooting when the sun is low in the sky is always my goal, Roger. Since I’m a morning person that usually means the “wee early hours”. I’ll be leaving this morning at 4:45 – that’s just a little too early, even for me…