Yesterday on Antelope Island I got my first Lark Sparrow photos of the year but I paid the “no-see-um” price.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This species is a large, long-tailed sparrow with a distinctive alternating chestnut, black and white facial pattern resembling a harlequin. They’re one of my favorite species to photograph on the island, in part because of their fascinating and unique behaviors. I didn’t see any of those behaviors yesterday but I was happy to get quite a few close-up photos of several of them, despite the busy setting.
This presumed male allowed a close approach and spent part of his time in song. That song has been described as ” a melodious jumble of rich notes and trills ranging in pitch and volume and interspersed with rather unmelodious harsh buzzes or churrs” and can be heard here if you have the interest.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
When he turned to look behind him for a split second I didn’t have enough room on the right to get the composition I wanted but I still appreciated getting the new pose. I believe he was scoping out a new perch behind him because very soon after he…
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
jump-flew a few inches to my right and landed on a different area of the sagebrush. Most of those shots were clipped (I wish I’d had time an opportunity to remove my teleconverter) but I did get him very soon after landing and just as he was about to fold his wings.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This was potentially my favorite Lark Sparrow photo of the morning but the bird just isn’t quite sharp enough, even after extra sharpening on the head and neck.
It was an interesting morning on the island and I was able to get quite a few photos I like of a variety of birds but the price was a steep one. The biting gnats are about as bad as I’ve ever seen them. Once it warms up enough at about 9 AM clouds of them swarming around your face and head are enough to drive you bat-____ crazy! Their bites itch at first, then swell and hurt and many folks develop weeping sores from them that last for days (thankfully I’m not one of them). They especially like to crawl in your hair and bite your scalp but they’re not fussy and they’ll homestead on any bare patch of skin available. I’ll bet I breathed in and/or swallowed dozens of them while I was there.
So if you visit the island this time of year be psychologically prepared for a very unpleasant experience with no-see-ums and hope you get some good looks at birds and wildlife to (partially) make up for it.
Ron
On a completely unrelated note;
Yesterday morning at exactly 3:30 AM (yes, I guess I am crazy…) when I stumbled into the kitchen to make my morning coffee to help wake me up enough to write the text for yesterday’s blog post I noticed something highly unusual in the dark when I looked out the window.
In the street directly behind my house there were bright flood lights, clouds of smoke or steam rising into the air and flashing white and orange lights. I immediately suspected my neighbor’s house must be on fire and it turned out I was right.
This was the result (photo taken about 6 hours later as I drove by after returning from the island). News reports say the fire started at 1:30 AM on the back deck while the residents of the home were inside watching TV. Someone had been refinishing a table on the deck and that is suspected to have somehow been the origin of the fire.
No one was injured but two bedrooms were entirely destroyed with major damage to the rest of the house. Neighboring houses were blistered, several cars were also destroyed and of course the residents have been displaced from their home for the foreseeable future. My heart goes out to them.
So be careful my friends. It goes without saying that fire is a major disruptor of lives and sometimes it extinguishes them altogether!
Wonderful sparrow shots! I do really like that last one; a little soft or no. Thanks for the links too! Love how the female can “multitask!” 😉
I feel for your neighbors. I hope that they can get back in their house and to their usual lives soon. That was definitely one hot fire.
It has been a weird week out here too with major police activity on my quiet little street a couple of nights ago and a suspect running through my backyard (and “allegedly” dropping a crack pipe in my front yard) to be finally caught in my neighbor’s backyard. Eesh! We used to be able to say that stuff like that never happens here; but apparently no more.
We live in scary times, Marty. No question about it.
Based on your description of the effects of no-see-ums, I have no intention to go near Antelope Island until the gnats have left – whenever that is.
The 4th photo of the Sparrow is appealing because of the beautiful “fan out” of the wing feathers.
It is so unfortunate for neighbors. Fire is so destructive so quickly. It is good it didn’t spread to your house.
Love the sounds of the Sparrow and the interesting story on bird mating. Quite an education you had for us today.
Alice, once daytime temps have been in the 90’s for a few days they disappear so keep that in mind when planning any trips to the island.
Loved hearing the sparrow song. Similar but very different to those I hear.
My heart goes out to your neighbour. Fire scares me witless. And the other expression too.
I am glad that we don’t get no-seeums. Quite a lot of the bitey critters leave me with weeping sores. Mosquitoes and ants for starters. And I obviously taste good. Himself uses me as his personal insect repellent. If I am out with him he gets bitten by nothing.
Yup, you have more than your fair share of “bitey creatures” in Oz, EC. Some that put most of ours to shame. You don’t need no-see-ums too.
Love the birds, esp. the first, second and fourth. The shot of the fire brought back scary memories…pulled my best friend horse out of TWO!!! We lost two barns to fire…Will never forget the sound , reach or smell…Even today, if I getva whiff of smoke, I have to know the soursce and that all is well…even so, it’s hard tobrelax as long as I can smell it.
Thanks, Patty. I’ve been lucky with fires but I know folks who say about the same thing you do because of their similar experiences.
How cute the pictures are of the Sparrow. Sorry to hear about the neighbors fire and other damages that happened around the area. Must have been one hot fire.
It was a very hot fire, Trudy. It burned up at least one car in the neighbor’s yard and it damaged the side of their house too.
Just an addendum to my earlier post…never say never… Someone spotted a Lark Sparrow yesterday in Milwaukee. There is hope for me yet with all the winds and climate change. 🙂
Good! Hope you get to see it, or another one, Kathy.
Love the last shot. When you see a bird flying it’s happening so fast and to see a still shot like this is perfect. The best part of my vacation last week was the Grand Canyon and ravens were everywherel. They can sure put on a show❗️I found myself thinking how would Ron take this shot, even though I was just using my iPhone😆
Diana, as common as ravens are around here I find them one of my most difficult subjects. They nearly always take off just as the vehicle is stopping (they’ve been shot as vermin for far too long and learned how to avoid it) and exposing them properly is a nightmare.
As always–thanks for the links that you regularly include ! Yes, I think you’re “crazy” ( but motivated) and like Judy, I marvel at what a SOUND sleeper you must be to not have heard the sirens, etc.,
I guess you’re the kind of sleeper that inspired the idea of smoke alarms in the first place !
Kris, See my response to Judy’s comment below regarding my “light sleeping…”/
What a tragedy for your neighbors Ron. Thankfully no one was injured or worse. Nice Lark Sparrow pictures. We have the gnats around all our lakes right now – not sure if ours are biting, but they sure do drive you crazy. I am seeing more and more joggers and bikers wearing face covering nets when in these areas. I was taking pictures of three sets of Canada Geese with their goslings and could hardly do so while trying to steady the camera and swat at the gnats at the same time.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
I had the same problem, Everett. I was slapping gnats more often than I had my finger on the shutter. Missed lots of shots because of it too!
Great shots of the Lark and so sad for your neighbors.
Charlotte
Me too, Charlotte. Thanks.
Neat – the last photo is wonderful even if not up to your standards sharpness wise! The bird looks anything BUT uncommon in that photo..:) Glad we don’t have the no-see-um issue in the immediate vicinity tho have occasionally experienced them in my life… 🙁 You must sleep hard not to have heard the sirens that close by! GEEZ! They are fortunate no one was hurt! Our house burned when I was about 11 and 4 of us jumped out a 2nd story window to safety – no joke for sure……:( The melting siding is impressive!
“common” is what I meant………..
Judy, Actually I’m an extremely light sleeper, almost to a fault. I’m convinced that they turned their sirens off before they came into my neighborhood in the middle of the night (perhaps to avoid waking everyone up and drawing a crowd while they were fighting the fire).
If they had used their sirens there’s absolutely no chance I wouldn’t have been awakened.
I don’t believe I’ve seen a Lark Sparrow this far east in Wisconsin but being in open farm country with our strong prevailing westerlies anything can be possible. It is quite an attractive bird with the rufous head and cheek with black mustache and I noticed that black chest spot in your first photo. I find it amazing the number of sparrow species and the slight differences…finding my first ‘Harris’s Sparrow’ last summer was a thrill. Ah the little things that make a person’s day. 🙂 Fortunately your neighbors were not injured.
“I find it amazing the number of sparrow species and the slight differences”
Me too, Kathy. That’s why I’m not very good at sparrow ID.