A handsome bird in a pretty setting. At least I think so.
1/1000, 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 Willow Flycatcher has apparently been hanging around the same spot in the mountains for a couple of weeks now but until two days ago I’ve had very little success with him (male is presumed because the female is responsible for the vast majority of incubation and brooding duties and it’s nesting season).
Personally I quite like this shot. If I had to pick a nit it would be the forked twig stabbing the bird in the chest but for me it isn’t a big deal. And I really like the soft and muted spring colors in the background. Both the bird and the entire perch are sharp, the scene is evenly lit with no harsh shadows and the flycatcher’s fluffy, backward-looking pose works well for me. I was even able to coax out a composition that appeals to my sensibilities.
It was a lovely morning when I took this photo two days ago and we’ve had some nice weather lately but that’s about to change. A cold front moves in tonight which is forecast to drop our temps by 15°. But that’s nothing compared to the Centennial Valley and surrounding area 300 miles north of here where I was camping last week. By tomorrow afternoon that area is forecast to get 2-4″ of snow. In the latter half of June! (see NBC Montana forecast map and link below)
We’ve had snow on our Montana farm all 12 months of the year. MT weather can be crazy! I’m sure glad I’m not in the Centennial Valley right now because driving those dirt roads and Monida Pass would be an absolute nightmare.
Ron
Charming pose.
Fantastic capture and beautiful bird. An Alberta field guide describes their song as a “simple sneezy fitz-bew.”
Ron, such a lovely photo of this Willow Flycatcher, sitting pretty.
Glad you missed the snow as I would guess that pulling a trailer behind your pickup through it would not be much fun at all.
Thank you, Ron
Pulling a trailer on those dirt roads when they’re wet and sloppy is a nightmare, Alice. I know that from experience. Thanks.
I agree, very nice photo.
Thanks, Jean.
Quite the charming fellow! Thank you for sharing!
So glad you made it home before the snows (at least this time Mr. Murphy must have been asleep on the job 😉 ).
Murphy bided his time while I was up there and then he did a number on my pickup battery when I got home. He’d have wasted his efforts if he’d put the kibosh on my battery on my camping trip because I had two batteries on my trailer and another spare battery in the back of my pickup.
Obviously he knew that…
Well, shit. He knooooowwwwss. 😉
You doubted??? Murphy knows everything and he’s an evil SOB…
I love the flycatcher photo, but not the weather forecast. We are headed up to Whitefish the middle of next week and planned to camp at Stoddard Creek or Divide Bridge on the way up. Hadn’t even thought of snow!
Deedee
I’ll bet you’ll be ok by then, Deedee. It snowed 2-5″ in the Centennial several days before I got there and locals told me it was all gone by the next day.
What a charmer. The branch it is perched on looks almost like bamboo. And a big hooray for less nits to pick (though some days that is where I get my exercise).
Even I don’t see many nits to pick on this one, EC.
Wonderful feather detail and catch light. I could almost reach out an touch it!
Thanks very much, Ken.
He’s quite a looker!
I agree.
Gorgeous shot of one of my favorite birds! Flycatchers are so entertaining to watch.
Wonderful shot Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
A handsome bird in a pretty setting indeed. Possibly an understatement. The bird is so vivid that it grabs your attention and holds it. I would never even have thought of the forked twig had you not mentioned it. The Flycatcher is gorgeous. A definite keeper.
Everett, I don’t think that forked twig is a big deal though it may not be ideal in some eyes.
Fluffed up little cutie for sure perched on his (I think) eponymous greenery.
Some years we call this Junuary when it’s wet and cold, but the weather you’re taking about ( although I understand it’s the meteorologists giving the forecast so you will have plausible deniability, of course) would about signal the end of times here.
Yes, he’s perched on willow, Lyle. I meant to point that out so I’m glad you did.
Beautiful photo! I agree that is a lovely bird and it’s setting is excellent especially with the softness of the greens and yellow. Flycatchers are such cuties! The weather here has not been the best…so much rain this spring, lowers temps, standing water in fields. So many farmers are struggling to get things in the ground. At least my neighbor has gotten his first alfalfa cuttings in. My tomato plants have sat still for three weeks!
Thanks, Kathy. My tomatoes are growth-retarded from the cold too. And 3 of them were nipped by frost early on so they have a lot of catching up to do.
Beautiful little bird that seems to be relaxed where it’s at…….. 🙂 Them and the Pee Wees can just sit for a long time and then explode out for a meal – fun to watch. 🙂 Great White Combine cut another swath last evening – visit the night before missed us. At least it wasn’t the large stones BUT still wind driven. All these storms have been unusual in that they’ve lasted for at least 20 minutes. Little Belts and Big Belts may get snow tonight also. 40 here this morning. Just never know in MT BUT this has been a very unusual winter and spring! 🙁 You timed your visit well to the Centennial Valley! 🙂
Thanks, Judy. Yes I did – good timing on my camping trips to the Centennial is the exception rather than the rule. I know another bird photographer who’s there right now so he’s in for some nasty weather.
Great shot, beautiful, but – Snow in June, below 8K feet!
Can’t help wonder how the flycatchers and company will do – go down in elevation I suppose and deal the best they can.
And up to 10″ of snow in Glacier NP! That’s very close to our MT farm. A few years ago when I was pulling my trailer from the farm to Utah on about September 2 it snowed most of the way through MT. It quit as soon as I got to Idaho. I’ll never forget that trip.
In Montana you just never know…
Is this type of weather including tornadoes unusual or are we just seeing more of it recently?