Yesterday morning was mostly just a huge fiasco.
My intention was to be on Antelope Island at dawn but I’d forgotten that the “shed hunt” (collecting shed antlers) began on the island yesterday and the entrance station to the state park was a total and absolute madhouse! It took me a half hour to get through the massive traffic jam at the entrance station, finally turn around, and get the hell out of there. We decided to make a quick stop at Farmington Bay WMA on our way home to see if we could rescue our morning but this time of year most of the refuge is closed to public access for the breeding season so we knew our chances were slim to none.
As expected we were essentially skunked at the refuge but a Harris’s Sparrow (a rare visitor to Utah) at nearby Glover Pond saved my day.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L II IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Mia spotted the Harris’s Sparrow (not yet in breeding plumage) in a bush on the east side of the pond. We only had a few seconds with it and we never got a completely unobstructed view but we were close so we got a good look anyway (this image is full frame). This bird was a lifer for me so seeing it definitely helped to make up for the earlier fiasco when we tried to get on the island.
Harris’s Sparrows have a restricted and remote breeding range in northern Canada and when combined with their secretive nesting behavior those factors made it one of the last North American songbirds to have its nest and eggs described. Here’s how George M. Sutton described his discovery of the Harris’s Sparrow nest in 1931:
- “as I knelt to examine the nest a thrill the like of which I had never felt before passed through me…..at my fingertips lay treasurers that were beyond price”
Few researchers have ever studied the Harris’s Sparrow and until 1992 little was known about even the most basic aspects of its breeding biology. To this day there are still no population estimates of the species based on surveys conducted on their breeding grounds.
So yes, this photo is one of the extremely rare examples of an image with “fatal flaws” (two out-of-focus twigs in front of the bird and an extremely busy and cluttered background) that I was damned excited to get anyway.
I can’t remember the last lifer I got but it’s been a while.
Ron
Lovely shot Ron!
Charlotte
Can’t say I blame you Ron. I’m not a crowd person either. When my Daughter was young, and we planned a trip to Disneyland, I had to pump myself up. Always a large crowd there. Beautiful bird. Glad you were able to spot it.
Thank you, Jean.
Lots of people? In their cars? Motivated by greed? BLEAH.
I am so glad that the sparrow provided an almost perfect antidote.
Me too, EC. Otherwise it would have been a bleak day indeed.
guess it’s a good thing you didn’t have a gun…though everyone else seems to or is encouraged to these days…I always want to go to the “popular place, see the exciting thing”, but when I think about all the other people who will be there, quickly change me mind and don’t go at all…I miss a lot that way….mostly obnoxious crowds….
I’ve never been one for crowds, Patty. Not from day one.
So glad you were able to get a ‘lifer’ this morning, in spite of a frustrating clog of traffic. I used to live in Manhattan and could use mass transportation [which has its pushing and shoving] but luckily only had to use a car once a week on Friday night leaving the City. The drivers there show no mercy.
The photo is magnificent. I just want to take that bird in my hand and pet it.
Thank you, Ron
I guess the bird does look a little cuddly! Thanks, Alice.
Sounds like a real “Charlie Foxtrot!” Glad you were able to salvage the day and get a lifer to boot! Most coolamatious!
A Charlie Foxtrot it truly was, Marty. I wanted to use the actual phrase we’re referring to in my blog text but didn’t quite dare… 🙂
A demonstration of remarkable restraint on both our parts, I’d say. 😉
Yep – my original thought on it also – glad I didn’t have a mouthful of whatever when I read this! 😉
Oh WOW! A lifer! What a glorious discovery and thank you for bringing it to us.
I have a huge variety of sparrows coming to my feeder, and now that you’ve alerted me to this Harris’ sparrow, I’ll keep a keen eye out for them.
As for the traffic issue, there’s a REASON I chose rural Arizona. I’ve done my share of traffic and I avoid it like the plague! I even get cranky when I have to go to Kingman because Stockton Hill Road, where almost everything of interest in Kingman is located, can be a traffic nightmare! At this stage of my life, I just don’t want to waste time sitting in traffic. Just NO!
Laura, I’m not proud of the way I react to traffic messes (or large numbers of people for that matter) and I’ve tried to improve my attitude toward both but unfortunately with very little success.
I GET that Ron, but I’ve realized that I don’t have much of this life thing left and I for darn sure don’t want to waste those precious moments sitting in traffic! So excuse yourself! Traffic sucks and your precious moments (not to mention that glorious morning light) should NOT be spent dealing with it 😉
I always wonder what the hell all these people are doing on MY road! 😉
HAHA Marty!! Indeed!
Everything happens for a reason… a perfect shotof this cute little bird 😃
Thanks, Diana.
Glad you got This cute little bird…looks cold as heck….great shot!!!
Thanks, Patty. It wasn’t particularly cold at the time but I see what you mean.
Ron – not for publication, but wanted to respond to your response – yes, agree 100% but I have two daughters and two grand kids that we have to go back for from time to time – one is having his Eagle Scout Court of Honor later in April and the other is having her graduation from San Clemente High in June – so these are required returns – from the time we hit Palm Desert on the 10 freeway the heart beat increases and by the time we get to Irvine or San Clemente we swear we will never return, but reluctantly we do ………..
Until just over 10 years ago I still had family down there so I had to go back occasionally. Happily that’s no longer the case.
Excellent picture Ron, and Sibley’s shows “rare” for the Harris Sparrow in Utah and Arizona. I have never seen one here. Your jam up at the antler place reminds me of my many years of driving the 405 freeway in Orange County and L.A. What really caught my attention though this morning was looking at for the first time your incredible picture of the Western Grebe and chick that was used in the National Geo children’s book. That is a picture that photo hobbyists like me would almost sell their soul for.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Everett, I used to live in southern CA years ago and that traffic is the primary reason one of my life’s goals is to never set foot (or tire) in that part of the state again. And I’m not kidding!
Thanks for appreciating that grebe image. It’s one of my favorites out of many nice grebe photos in my files.
Forget the flaws, documentation of a life bird is fantastic!! Great job!
I had to chuckle about your comment “It took me a half hour to get through the massive traffic jam at the entrance station, finally turn around, and get the hell out of there.” I can’t read it again without laughing. I would have done the same thing.
Dick, It was a HUGE and unnecessary mess! I was very disappointed in DWR and/or state park officials for the way it was handled. My anxiety and blood pressure went through the roof. In situations like that it’s a darn good thing I have Mia along as a calming factor or I’d probably go off the deep end. 🙂
I despise situations like that, especially when I’m sitting in the middle of a frenzied human and traffic jam and wasting the golden light of a (rare) beautiful morning.
Congratulations Ron. I know how you felt at your first stop. I drove 3 hours to Parker River NWR only to find most of it was closed also for breeding season. AND they were holding a Big Day Bird Count. There were more people than birds ☹️ Ugh !
“Ugh” is right, Alan. I’ve had experiences like that too and it’s very disappointing.
Wonderful find of a bird I rarely get to see! So happy the day turned out to be golden even after a lousy start. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Diane.
“Dumb Question” what do they do with the antlers?
http://www.petersenshunting.com/hunting-culture/5-unique-uses-for-shed-antlers/ Some of the uses……. Have seen hat racks and even Christmas Trees built from them
For a variety of reasons, Steven.
They’re often sold for $10 or more per pound and that can add up when moose antlers can weigh 80 lbs. There’s a demand for them as dietary supplements or alternative medicinal uses and many folks use them for carving or decorative tool uses or just as “trophies”. And then there’s just the (apparent) “thrill of the hunt”, which I simply don’t understand.
Many avid shed hunters make “shed piles” over the years just to see how big the pile can get and show them off to others. I just don’t get it…
Cute little guy/gal……:) Is the pointy head part of a crest they have or is it just fluffed up keeping warm? A “lifer” is always good. 🙂 The Antler Shed “run” would be a pain – many folks are fanatical about collecting them for various reasons and in areas they have those events things can get ugly besides crowded. 🙁
Judy, I don’t know if they have an official “crest” or not.
Yes, it was definitely ugly at the entrance station. They were having a draw to see who among the many hundreds of folks who were there would actually be allowed to collect antlers on the island – all occurring right at the entrance station and plugging up the road so anyone who wasn’t a shed hunter couldn’t get through the masses of people and vehicles on the road to get on the island. It was all very poorly managed!