Avian potpourri, including some interesting behaviors.
Occasionally I publish a post consisting of photos that didn’t quite make the grade for a dedicated post but I think they deserve to be seen anyway, for whatever reason. Each of the following photos was taken in the last two weeks.
Common Ravens often exhibit a twitchy behavior that fascinates me because I wonder why they do it and do it so often. While they’re perched on the ground they use a single wing stroke to launch vertically a foot or two into the air and then they fall back to the ground. They often do it repeatedly as this bird had been doing. I’ve tried to photograph the behavior many times but I’ve always failed because they nearly always take off the instant I stop my pickup.
It may look like I succeeded this time but I didn’t. I watched the raven do a half dozen or so of those quirky jumps before I got my lens on ‘him’ but in this photo he was actually taking off so technically this isn’t one of those jumps. So I failed again.
Maybe some day.
While attempting to photograph coyotes hunting the thousands of ducks along the Antelope Island causeway this Northern Harrier would occasionally fly low over the masses of ducks further out on the water. In winter our harriers feed almost exclusively on voles and other small rodents and rarely hunt ducks but this bird seemed to get a sadistic kick out of causing panic in the ducks below.
When the hawk would approach the area where all the ducks were it would fly out further from shore and fly right over top of them. Perhaps it was looking for a sick or disabled duck that would make easy prey but I doubt it because how would a harrier get it to shore? Most ducks are too heavy for a harrier to fly with and they can’t eat them in the water.
I had the distinct impression that the harrier was just harassing the masses of ducks below because it never did make an attempt on one of them. It always just flew right on by, seeming to enjoy all the pandemonium below. Sometimes the harrier flew high enough that the ducks didn’t react but other times they did. Big time.
And this would be the result – many of the ducks would take off in a panic. This group was mostly Northern Shovelers but other times it was masses of Green-winged Teals or a mix of the two species with a few Northern Pintails amongst them.
It was fun to watch but difficult to photograph well so mostly I just watched.
A male American Kestrel taking off from a sign on Antelope Island. I don’t photograph banded kestrels very often but this guy was loaded with jewelry. I suspect the bands were placed by HawkWatch International as part of their American Kestrel Study so I’ll be sending HWI high resolution versions of this photo to see if enough of the alphanumeric color band can be read to ID the individual bird.
Yeah, I know. I clipped both wings. Comes with the territory…
Great Blue Herons at the Farmington rookery have been feverishly building nests recently. In this species “stick gathering is done primarily by males and placed on the nest primarily by females” so here the male is landing with a stick he’ll offer to his mate to see if she approves.
She did approve but the male was reluctant to let go of it. She kept pulling harder and he allowed her to pull it toward her but for a while he wouldn’t let go of it. Eventually he relented and let her have the stick.
Fun to watch, even though the rookery is pretty far away.
Ron
PS – If you’re on Facebook my friend Loren Nebeker recently posted a photo that includes the entire heron rookery at Farmington. He even got the moon in the background. Here’s the link if you’re interested.
Even though some didn’t fit your standard, I loved them all!!
I have actually seen a female Harrier do similar actions on Red-wing Blackbirds as they are setting up territory and mates during Spring. She never went after anyone just flew low over the marsh raising havoc. Didn’t think about the possibility that she would be doing this just for fun, but maybe animals have a perverse sense of humor too.
That harrier is being a brat! (I can think of several former students who would fit the bill. 😂) As always, I enjoy your birdpourri posts. I’m especially liking the GBH rookery — hope you get more shots with them!
“hope you get more shots with them”
I’ll work on it, Marty. They won’t be building nests for much longer so I hope our crappy weather clears up so I have more chances.
I’m jealous that you’re getting some precipitation. Last week, we had just enough rain to make the cars look like crap and that’s been it.
That’s all we’ve had here too. So it’s mostly just cloudy with almost no snow or rain – what I call crappy weather.
Entertaining, educational and just great photography!
Just think. Birds do this stuff every day! The relatively few numbers of images relating to such behavior tells us either most photographers concentrate only on bird portraits or most of us don’t spend nearly enough time targeting this type of image.
Oh, and a third category. That would be: Me. Not talented enough to capture the darned birds doing interesting things. Sigh.
Vicarious bird photography through Ron Dudley.
Thanks, Wally – made me smile.
I’m tuned in to getting behavioral photos at least as much as I am for “pretty picture” photos. I’m sure that’s cost me many pretty pictures over the years but I’m at least as happy to have the behavioral ones.
Nice variety for a two week span.
Interesting that GBH’s are nesting in your area. It’ll be about a month before we even see the fellows staging and waiting for the ladies to show.
Thanks, Lyle. I think the timing is about right for them here but maybe they’re just a little early this year.
A “fun” bunch of photos—and for not being a huge duck fan, I sure do like that very colorful photo of them scattering about, really captured my attention. Poor things, that naughty harrier just playing mind games for her (?) own amusement .…
And the GBH pair, what a hoot! You can hardly tell where their bills end and the stick begins. I say it’s just a game of tug-o-war to break up the humdrum of the day … kind of like that harrier. 😉
Glad you enjoyed them, Chris. Thanks.
My mother-in-law showed us a GBH rookery on Bainbridge Island, WA a few years ago – the nests were in the very tops of these giant, tall cedars. Looking way up, we counted 26 nests, and all had babies in them, with parents standing on the edges. Pretty noisy – it was amazing! Since we could only see the nests from the bottoms, your photos provide the additional perspective we couldn’t see. Thank you for this potpourri!
Interesting, Carolyn. The only large heron rookery I’ve ever seen is the one at Farmington.
It does seem like harriers get some kind of pleasure from swooping over prey but making to attempt at capture. And it’s not just juveniles practicing. I’ve seen the same behavior in adults. Harriers aren’t alone in this. Many years ago I was at a place along our coast that is a rocky intertidal area. There were many Surfbirds and Black Turnstones foraging over the rocky shore. Soon, a Peregrine Falcon arrived and dove at the shorebirds but pulled up from his dive making no attempt to take a bird. He repeated this behavior for nearly an hour and at no time did he take a bird. When he finally did leave he flew only a short distance away and captured a Mourning Dove in flight. It was a very spectacular show.
Wow, that would have been something to see, Dan. The closest experience I’ve had to that was a Peregrine diving on a plastic owl for about 10 minutes at Farmington. But that was very different from what you observed.
I learn something new about bird behavior again! I’ll be watching the Northwest Ravens to see if they are hoppers too! I loved the heron photos, both of them evoked a smile! Thanks for sharing!
Kellie, that raven “hopping” behavior is something I see very often around here. I’d be surprised if you don’t eventually see it if you’re looking for it. I guess I should photograph the herons at the rookery more often, especially while they’re still building nests.
OMGosh, Ron! I love these photos! The GN Harrier is stunning. Wouldn’t it be fun to know its thoughts as it buzzed the ducks? Perhaps a teenager creating mischief. I would love to know the Kestrel’s info if HWI can ID it. Could the Raven be trying to scare up a tasty treat similar to Mockingbird behavior? The GB Herons are just wonderful. Nest building rituals are always fascinating to me. I hope your agenda includes visits to the rookery to document nesting season. (FYI-Your emails are always opened first when I check my inbox)
“I would love to know the Kestrel’s info if HWI can ID it.”
Melanie, about two minutes ago I sent the kestrel photo, including a closeup of the bands, to Nikki Wayment, Executive Director of HWI. I’ll report back if anything comes of it. Nikki’s a friend so I suspect I’ll hear something, even if it’s only to say it isn’t a bird that was banded by HWI.
I loved today’s selection of behaviors/images . Sometimes I think animals do quirky things just for the stimulation the irregularities can bring. In today’s
post, I especially liked the Great Blue Heron nest-building shots. I wondered
how high off the ground the nest is ; it looks huge for its L-shaped support
and somewhat precarious….is this a common practice among their kind, as
far as you’ve observed ?
“Sometimes I think animals do quirky things just for the stimulation”
I wouldn’t argue with that, Kris – not one little bit.
Yes, the poles at the rookery are huge, and very tall. This nest is at the top of one of the six poles and there are three nest platforms on each pole (2 platforms on one of the poles). All of the nests are occupied except one – the platform for that nest is broken and at a steep angle so they’re not using it.
Wow – a great variety this morning. I have seen our female Harrier to the same over the ducks just for the kick of it I guess. I have seen her kill Coots, but never a duck. Love the Kestrel shot. Our Kestrel folks here have banded quite a few exactly as yours shows.
Most of our GMH’s here nest in the tops of the Cottonwood trees along with the Double-crested Cormorants.
All very interesting photos.
Thanks, Everett. I really do think harriers often harass other birds just for the ‘fun’ of it. They seem to get a particular kick out of diving on male pheasants just to make them squawk like banshees and fly off in a panic.
Our long time female at one of our lakes dive bombs the Red-tails
Fun! 🙂 The Heron sure looks a mess as he’s coming in with those “scrawny” legs and mussed up breast feathers. Interesting that he didn’t want to let go of the stick. “Just practice – nothing to see here” says the Harrier 😉 Raven is beautiful – getting his aerobics doing the one wing thing perhaps? Kestrels are always neat no matter clipped wings/bands etc. Hope the band numbers prove useful.
+1 before windchill this morning with light snow – actually did get a couple of inches yesterday so ground has a bit of cover.
Judy, in the last hour or so we’ve had a skiff of snow but it’s hardly enough to mention. A big bird could spit as much…
You teach me not only only about birds, coyotes, and photography but about language too. “A skiff of snow” is a new term for me. thanks.
Frances, you must live in the warm parts… 🙂
Nice selection! I love the Shovelers and the Heron images
Thanks, Bruce.
I really enjoy behaviour shots like these some of which I have seen myself (raven and GBH stick nests ) and the accompanying “story”, esp the GBH shots. Occasionally teasing one’s mate gently always adds to the fun of any day. And I have to second Cheryl A’s “citizen scientist” remarks. Your observations are a little treasure which could be put to good use by someone.
Thank you, Granny Pat. I’m glad to know you’ve witnessed the raven ‘hopping’ behavior too.
Thank you. These stories made my day. I understand why these don’t quite meet your standards of exactly perfect photos, but the documentation of behavior is fascinating, and important.
As you know, there’s not enough funding for enough rigorous studies to answer all our questions, and so anecdotes by a dedicated ‘citizen scientist’ like you may very likely help further our understandings.
I do hope you’re figuring out a way to make them indefinitely available to a university or wildlife preservation group. Your habit of thoroughly tagging them will surely help, too.
Thanks, Cheryl. At this point I don’t know what’s going to happen to my photos or to my blog in the long run. It gets complicated…
Wow, there’s not much meat on that Great Blue Heron eh?! Enjoyed your commentary about them 🙂 I can almost hear them bickering, “you got it?” “are you sure?” “don’t lose it!” “I spent alot of time getting this, don’t lose it!”
Terri, I was surprised by how reluctant he was to let go of it. I probably have 10 other photos similar to that one. Maybe he wanted to make sure she had a good grip on it before he let her have it.