And a hard lesson learned from a bull moose.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning I finally got into the field again after twelve days of being stuck at home and I was rewarded by a reasonably good opportunity with this male Black-headed Grosbeak in the Wasatch Mountains. I see this species occasionally but it’s unusual for me to get decent photos of them so it was fun to get a few, despite the cluttered setting.
Soon after this shot was taken he crawled up higher on the perch where he was obstructed by branches and then flew to a higher branch where I had a clear look at him. But the shooting angle was steep and all I had was a blue sky background so I didn’t like those photos much, even though he was singing his heart out.
At this point my recovery from back surgery is still marginal for me to be trying to photograph unpredictable birds and critters when I’m not supposed to be indulging in BLT’s (bending, lifting and twisting). Eight minutes after this photo was taken a bull moose unexpectedly appeared very close behind my pickup. In the heat of the moment and without thinking I instinctively tried to twist in my pickup seat so I could shoot out the window and behind me.
That was a mistake.
The split second I got him in my viewfinder an attention-getting twinge in my back told me that twisting like that wasn’t smart so I quit trying before I got any decent photos. This shot simply documents the presence of the moose and my stupidity when my photographer’s instincts momentarily trumped common sense.
Lesson learned the hard way.
Ron
Stick to edible BLT’s, but you know that. 🙂 Get well soon Ron.
Excellent advice, Patrick. At least for now.
Ouch. Muscle memory/instinct are not your friends at the moment.
But huge thanks to you and to your knowledgeable commentators.
At the moment, you’re absolutely right EC.
Grosbeaks galore were singing yesterday on a hike in the hills of Ventura County yesterday—a joy to hear even if I can never see them hidden in the foliage! Yours is a handsome young fella and glad you got him in your sights.
I am sorry about your back tweak/twinge and hope it’s just a faded memory by now. But dare I say I see a catch light in that moose’s eye? 😉
Chris, this bird was singing a lot but not so much when he was in this spot where I could see him best. Or when the shooting angle wasn’t way too steep.
They’re very picky about their concert audience! Like, no humans allowed, ever.
Ron, always best to avoid a lot of bull. You should know that from politics. On with the healing!
Is there bull in politics, Nanci? I hadn’t noticed…
Ron,
I have seen one Grosbeak in our yard last year and only for a few days. This year it is a frequent and persistent visitor to our feeders. I don’t know what changed but I am delighted. He is now my wife’s favorite bird.
I have thought (my wife has had four back operations) about your going out to photograph birds in the truck. I was worried about that first time you twisted to get a shot. Shooting out the window is a big twist! I’m sorry it happened. Be careful.
Stephen
Lucky you, Stephen. I’ve never seen a grosbeak in my yard, or even anywhere close to my neighborhood.
Please take care Ron.
I plan to, Michael.
Hey Ron, What are you doing ? You gotta give this more time, man. Your photography helps so many in this chaotic world, (animals and humans alike).
Please give yourself the time you need to heal.
Thanks.
“What are you doing ?”
Dick, those are pretty close to the words I used on myself, with a few expletive’s thrown in for good measure.
Glad it was a twinge and not an all-out long-enduring pain. Hope you resist further temptation until you are healed enough to tolerate it! I suspect we all prefer your being able to continue photographing in the long run rather than giving us a great photo or two in the short run.
Nancy, I fully intend to resist the temptation (to bend, lift or twist, not necessarily to go out shooting) until the six week recovery is over.
Nice shot of the Grosbeak– I’m still amazed that you ve been able to go
out and shoot for a week now ! From this day’s title, I was fearing that the
moose had charged you. Glad you were able to go up into the mountains
at last– that must have felt good to your spirit !
Kris, actually I haven’t been out shooting for a week. Yesterday was my first day out since my surgery.
Nice grosbeak. He is going into his 4th year, he still had a side orang stripe. If he has a partial orange stripe on the top of his head too he would be in his third year. Next year his head will be all black. Like bald eagles make grosbeaks take 5 years to have a full black head.
Sorry about the back tweek. It takes time to heal.
Thanks for this great info, April. I wasn’t aware of this extended period of color change, but had wondered about age as a factor in the head’s not being fully black.
Thanks, April! We have about 50 Black-headed Grosbeaks in our yard. We live in the boonies in their breeding territory, and we put out water and food starting April 1. I am happy to learn the aging colors. Is there similar patterning in females? The females here sing, not as long or as variedly as the males. We’re really lucky to be able to watch so many.
The change in the females I have seen is subtle. They tend to develop a deeper orange and yellow but head stripes stay the same.
April,
Thanks. I’ll check out the one in our yard.
Stephen
Fascinating stuff, April. It was completely new to me too.
Thanks for the aging info, April.
Beautiful bird. Twisting to take a photograph is a learned habit which kicks in automatically. Very difficult / impossible to override the habit. Hope it doesn’t delay your recovery
Thanks, David. I don’t think it will.
Yikes! Hopefully no long term consequeses for that bit of auto-pilot! 🙁 Luv Grosbeaks – their slowish, deliberate moves are fascinating in the world of jerky hyper birds…. 😉
GHO blew it coming to roost late or moving and now has every Grackle and Robin around giving it hell…….
“that bit of auto-pilot”
That’s exactly what it was, Judy. I was doing it before I even thought about it. Completely automatic.
There are several Black-headed Grosbeaks that frequent our feeders. Each one has slightly different head markings, just as this fellow appears to with the particular splotches of orange on black. That and the curve of his beak gives him a bit of a roguish demeanor.
Nice butt shot of the moose and nascent antlers. They say an artist must suffer to produce great work. I’d rather you left your back out of that equation. Getting up and out as early as you do is suffering enough. At least it would be for me 😊
“I’d rather you left your back out of that equation”
So would I, Lyle. And I intend to in the future.
Instincts kick in and all those warnings and cautions the surgeon and his or her staff have giving you are gone in a flash. At least the Grosbeak posed for you without you having to BLT. Nice shot. Have always liked their colors.
Be careful out there.
I will, Everett! Even with the next moose.