It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get decent shots of Mountain Bluebirds so it was great fun to photograph both a male and a female in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning. It was cool and a little windy up there so I expected most of the birds to be hunkered down to escape the wind but I was pleasantly surprised to find several cooperative subjects out in the open.
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 female Mountain Bluebird had some difficulty maintaining her perch in the wind so several times she had to open her wings and spread her tail to stay on the perch. She would sometimes stretch her neck far forward into the wind like this and in my experience that was a little unusual. I suspect she was trying to make her wind profile more streamlined.
1/4000, 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
She flew to several nearby perches where she continued to have the wind and balance problem at each one but her reactions to the wind gave me some nice looks at her colors.
1/4000, 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
When she gave up on this perch I caught her at takeoff.
1/5000, 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
One of her next landing spots was more cluttered, as were several others I’m not including here.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, not baited, set up or called in
Once she flew down and landed on the edge of the gravel road to hunt for insects. A few seconds after this shot was taken she snatched up and gobbled down an insect that appeared to be a millipede but I didn’t get a great look at the prey because those photos were soft.
This was one of those times when it really paid off to have my shorter zoom lens (attached to another camera) sitting right next to me in my pickup. She had landed so close to me that I couldn’t fit all of her in the frame with my big lens so I just reached over and grabbed the smaller one. It was perfect for the situation and it only took about 2 seconds to make the switch.
That “baby lens” has saved my bacon multiple times recently.
1/5000, 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
The much more colorful male, probably her mate, was hanging around nearby and after she left the road I was able to get a few shots of him. The intensity of those blues always blows me away. He’s so intensely colorful it may look like I’ve added saturation during processing but of course I haven’t.
As I sometimes do I wondered about the horizontal composition of this version of the image because of the vertical perch so just for the hell of it…
I tried another option.
After some pondering I think I figured out which version I prefer but it took a while…
Ron
Hi Ron, I follow you and enjoy your excellent photos and the information about each. Today is July 7, 2018 and we’re in Park City, Utah through the 25 of August. Loving it here.
I saw a couple of Mountain BB yesterday and took photos. One of them is marked differently than any photos I can find on the internet’.I have a birder friend in England who told me to look up Leucism MBB and your name popped up. How may I get my pic to you please???
Hi Linda, I’ll email you.
These photos are all so beautiful! I especially like the 1st 3 of the female bluebird. Fantastically colored creature. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks very much, Joanne.
Beautiful photos. I love their vivid blue.
Thank you, Jean.
Yup, those colors are phenomenal, just as I remembered them in West Yellowstone when I got my life Mountain Bluebird.
I agree with the vertical shot. But, I tend to crop many of my shots, so that comment is definitely biased.
Very nice post, thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Dick. Actually both of those versions of that shot have been cropped, fairly substantially too.
The colors in these birds are so beautiful. Glad you were able to capture some of them in the wind so we are able to see the brilliant blues.
I like the horizontal photo better as it shows less of the stick the bird is standing on.
Thanks, Ron for these beautiful photos.
Alice, birds in wind can provide some pretty interesting poses. When you can find the birds in the first place – they’re usually hunkering down in wind and harder to locate.
Such beautiful photos, Ron. Thank you. It lifts my spirits just to see them.
Good! Thanks, Elizabeth.
The pose in the first image of the female reminds me of the way Audubon might have painted it. I like the vertical version of the male; I’m usually a sucker for the close-ups of anything. Beautiful birds and photos.
You make an excellent point about how Audubon might have painted that bird, Lyle. I actually thought the same thing while I was processing that photo.
lovely photos and the blues are incredible. I will miss seeing the Mountain Bluebirds this summer. My second job takes me to the National Ability Center during the summer where I sit and watch the Bluebirds and their young, but I will be out of town and not working this summer. There are always trade offs with our choices.
April, I suspect you’ll be seeing plenty of Australian birds on your trip to make up for your lack of bluebirds this summer.
The female in takeoff is such a beautiful image that it really makes my day. The intense blues of the male are nice but there is something that speaks to my soul that the not so pretty people have a chance at greatness today.
That’s probably my favorite shot of the bunch, Marian. But then I’m a sucker for takeoffs…
I would love to be able to see Mountain Bluebirds. On the last shot with two options, I prefer the vertical. I think that’s because there is less distraction from the background, and the bird “pops” more in the vertical.
I hope you get to see them sometime, Susan.
I love these beautiful birds…can remember when I first saw them…a whole bushful…could hardly believe my eyes!!!
I like both , but the vertical a bit more…nice composition!
Those flashing blues catch your eye in good light, don’t they, Patty!
It is hard to decided which I like best. These are such beautiful birds and if I remember my history correctly I think they are the Idaho state bird. It is my home state and I hope I am right. I am going to choose the vertical. It seems as though The bird is slightly more dominant and vibrant. Great post.
You are correct, Betty – the Mountain Bluebird is the Idaho State Bird.
I love that last image. The depth is amazing. And the female is quite pretty as well.
I agree, Arwen. The more subtle beauty of the female is just as appealing.
Marvelous series Ron! Thanks for sharing!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
Weirdo strikes again — I prefer the vertical crop because it emphasizes the perch and his teetering on it, which I like. 🙂 Love the iridescent blues. Wish we had them here, but I’ll have to settle for oohing and aahing over your fabulous shots! I’m mighty glad for your baby lens too.
Thanks for that feedback, Marty. That baby lens is a lifesaver in situations like that female on the road.
Marty K has either taken the unhygenic approach of taking the words from my mouth, or alternatively saved me the effort of typing.
I am on the sidelines cheering ME TOO. On all counts.
Birds of a feather and all that, EC! 🙂 You often say exactly what I was thinking as well.
Beautiful photo’s of beautiful birds, Ron. 🙂 The wind does occasionally prove useful if ONLY occasionally! It did give you some opportunities to capture the colors of the female. She looks a bit drab until her wings and tail are spread. It’s been howling here for a couple of days. 🙁 I like the horizontal better in this case……
Thanks, Judy. Females of this species show a lot of color contrast in different poses. They look a little plain in a front view, in a side view we see a little more color but when they open their wings or spread their tail or both those intense blues almost explode into view.
I suspect most folks will prefer the horizontal – in general vertical compositions are less appreciated. But I could be wrong…