It’s been a while since I’ve posted any magpie flight shots.
My home improvement “project”, the one I too quickly promised to never mention again, is taking much longer than expected so the installer will be returning again this morning for the fourth day in a row of pandemonium around here. As a result I’m still stuck at home and today’s post will be brief.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
In April four years ago this Black-billed Magpie and its mate were busy refurbishing their nest near the top of a greasewood bush on Antelope Island. This photo was taken soon after liftoff from the top of the nest, part of which can be seen below and behind the bird.
I’ve always had more difficulty getting sharp focus on black birds than other birds so I was pleased to get this one sharp in flight. I like the flight posture which reveals virtually all of the sharply contrasting feather colors and patterns of the species and I got at least some detail in the dense blacks of the head and tail, which isn’t easy with magpies. The iridescence revealed on the left wing is a bonus.
Like most other birds in the island magpies have become less common than they used to be, which is why it’s been so long since I’ve posted any photos of them. Hopefully next spring will be an improvement.
Ron
The bird looks eerily still. I wonder why that is. The sharp and calm wing feathers?
Such beautiful birds and I understand the bedroom window part as well….they are quite noisy, early in the morning. They are “brilliant” with their shiny hues…
As you know, a magpie is a corvid. What do you do if you are not sure and can’t figure out if the bird you have sighted belongs to the corvid family? Well it is much easier these days than it used to be – just do a corvid screen.
It is too early for ‘our’ magpies to be warbling yet. Seeing yours is always a delight.
And hooray for an installer who takes pride in his work and wants to do it right. I would much (MUCH) prefer that they got it right first time than having to call them back.
EC, Andrew has been great to work with and his handiwork is top notch.
I always like this pose and I am fond of magpies.
The Island will not be as it was. Increased visitation and the expanding of visitor services along with drought have changed it forever.
Agreed, April – the island will never again like you and I used to know it. And it wasn’t necessary….
“The iridescence revealed on the left wing is a bonus.” Yes it is!!
My favorite part of the photo.
Kathleen, a fair number of the magpie photos I post show iridescence but that doesn’t mean iridescence is easy to capture. I’d guess that only 1-2% of the magpie photos I take show significant iridescence, even though I deliberately try to take my photos of them at an angle that gives me a better chance.
Lots and lots of Magpies in Farmington and Fruit Heights. And it seems their numbers just keep growing. Maybe this is where the Antelope Island Magpies are going. There is a large grassy area with trees at the intersection of Main Street and Mountain Road in Farmington. There are days when it seems there are hundreds of magpies congregating in that area. I have wondered if there are grubs under the grass but it doesn’t seem like they are feeding. I think they just like to come there to do that Magpie get together thing they do.
Bradley, there can be more than 200 magpies in their communal roosts so I’d guess they’re roosting in those trees you mention at Farmington.
Magpies certainly are beautiful birds who, like their other Corvid cousins, can be a little *too* smart — at least for us. 🙂 This is a great shot. Hope the bird didn’t catch anything on those thorns — that’s cuttin’ it pretty close!
Marty, I’ve watched these magpies and their nest for years and I’ve never seen them have actual trouble with the thorns. That said, they’re VERY careful around them.
Magnificent. I don’t mind seeing your work over and over. Hope the end result is worth the effort in your house.
Thanks, Betty. When I post older photos they’re still new to my blog (unless I tell you that I’m repeating them which I don’t do often). Older just means that they were taken more than a year ago. So readers have never seen this photo before.
Ron – coming back for a second response. It just hit me that you referred to the “Black-billed” Magpie. That caught my attention because I just thought a Magpie was a Magpie period. I just looked them up and was surprised at the number of different Magpies.
Exactly, Everett. For example there’s a Yellow-billed Magpie in California.
I might have said this before, but in retrospect Magpies are one of the best memories of my time in Utah. Your photos of these intelligent and colorful birds are a welcome reminder.
I’m not surprised that the floor install is taking longer. At least the carpets will go much more quickly.
“At least the carpets will go much more quickly”
I’ve been telling myself the same thing, Lyle, The downside is that most of my heaviest furniture is on carpet so moving it (twice) is going to be a bigger challenge.
Beautiful shot of a beautiful bird. Just enough light to catch the eye. Sure wish we had them here.
Your floor guy coming back again makes me laugh thinking about all projects whether personal or public. The project always takes more time than estimated and costs more money as well. Not that your floor will cost more, but it seems that every project taken on by a city or state such as the Boston Tunnel for instance always costs far more than the original estimate.
Everett, my installer is fastidious about detail so his work takes a lot of time. I’m not going to complain because I’d rather have it done right than quickly.
I’m with you on that, Ron. I much prefer slow, careful, and correct-the-first-time. That’s one of the reasons I really like my plumber (yep, had him out last week to do the annual snake/root and a couple other minor repairs).
Marty, with my background in furniture building I’m pretty good at recognizing careful work and spotting flaws. Andrew takes pride in his work.
Beautiful even if they aren’t a “favorite” of mine….! 😉 Really captured the contrast in the bird as well as the Greasewood bush. 🙂
The best laid plans…….hopefully it will soon be over with pleasing results! 🙂
Judy, On one level I can understand why so many folks don’t like magpies. For several years running I had magpies nesting in my big elm (the one I had removed) and their morning cacophony was really annoying when it would reliably begin before dawn. But there’s so many other things to like about them they’ve become one of my favorites.
The ARE beautiful, smart birds – just don’t want them in the yard or by my bedroom windows! 😌
I understand that “bedroom window” thing.