Nine photos, seven species.
Occasionally I devote an entire blog post to photos of birds that I think deserve to be seen but don’t merit standalone status in a post of their own. They’re interesting photos in one way or another but not top drawer for a variety of reasons. Collectively they give readers a feeling for the species I’ve been seeing and not seeing recently.
All photos included in today’s post were taken here in northern Utah within the last 30 days. For the sake of smoother reading I’ll refer to some of these birds as males when I don’t really know their sex. Sorry, I didn’t have time to include image techs.
A Rock Wren buried in the shadows of an overhanging sagebrush and perched on a rock. He stayed in this spot for a long time and at first I couldn’t figure out what was keeping him there. But there’s a hint in the photo of what it was, if you look closely.
That hint can be seen beneath the tip of his bill, on the rock – two little green legs sticking straight up.
Those legs belonged to a species of green grasshopper that was mostly hidden in a crevice on the rock. He repeatedly picked it up and dropped it into the crevice again, before eventually swallowing it after he’d mashed it up a little.
A male Black-headed Grosbeak singing on territory on a high perch. I don’t get opportunities with this species very often, especially while they’re singing, so I like the photo well enough to include here – even though it was taken at a pretty steep angle.
A very young American Robin drying out after a recent bath in the mountain pond below him and to our right. Believe it or not, those scraggly tail feathers are almost brand new – they’re just wet and disheveled from his bath. A brief grooming session will spruce them right up again.
A Double-crested Cormorant in full flight, rather than having just taken off. This was an extremely quick grab shot and I give a lot of the credit to the autofocus capabilities of the R5 for latching onto him and getting him sharp in such little time.
I’d like the photo a lot more if it wasn’t for that white horizontal reflection on the water above his wingtips.
Another cormorant, this time in the wing-spreading posture the species is so well known for. It’s thought that the primary purpose of this very common behavior is to dry their wings.
Typically they do it in a “loafing area” soon after getting out of the water and this particular spot at the edge of a pond fits the “loafing area” definition perfectly. Sometimes there’s as many as a dozen cormorants lounging around here, with many of them in this wing-spreading posture at the same time.
A Loggerhead Shrike hunting from the top of an unusually tall sagebrush. The shrike wasn’t close but he’s sharp with good detail, especially considering how far away he was. Once again, thanks R5.
A side-lit Short-eared Owl hunting from a fence post. This is one of the two presumed males that I photographed in aerial dogfights recently. It may or may not be the same owl I posted a photo of yesterday (I think it’s the other one because this bird’s face appears to be darker).
A female Red-tailed Hawk on her nest with one of her chicks in the shade beneath her breast. This is a deliberate behavior to keep her youngsters shaded and a little cooler in the hot sun. She stands like this for a long time to keep her chicks in the shade provided by her body. Thankfully this nest will be in the shade of the cliff for the hottest parts of the day.
So there you have it – a collection of bird photos I’ve taken in the last month. Some are more interesting than others but I hope there’s several of interest to each of my readers.
Ron
Sensational series Ron! Thanksfor sharing!
Charlotte Norton
Great works of your shooting ! You sure have a good eye on such great photos
I love all the different birds. 😀
Loved looking at all of them! Glad you are getting along well with the R5!
Thanks on both counts, Joanne.
A VERY rich haul. It is (or was) Bogong moths here. They came in their millions. Despite freaking people out they are gone which I am sad about. They were food for quite a lot of other things. I strongly suspect climate change is the culprit. Helped by our species.
EC, I’d never heard of Bogong moths so I looked them up. Damn, those things are huge!
They used to get into Parliament House – whose security wasn’t good enough to keep them out. By the thousands – and probably did less harm than the politicians.
“probably did less harm than the politicians”
Probably no probably about it.
This from Wiki confirms your suspicions.
“Starting around 1980 and accelerating rapidly after 2016, the Bogong Moth population has sharply declined as a result of increasingly severe droughts, along with increased temperatures in caves used by the moths for aestivation, both primarily resulting from anthropogenic climate change. In December 2021 the bogong moth was added to the IUCN Red List as an Endangered Species.”
A nice selection of photos of wonderful birds. Always makes for an enjoyable blog experience.
Thank you, April.
What a variety photo treat Ron❣️ And I love learning from your narrative info…how amazing the red tailed hawk knowing how to “shade” her young ✅
Carolyn, that shading behavior is one I’ve seen many times in red-tails over the years, usually from the female.
Appreciate all of them Ron.
Thank you.
Good. Thanks, Michael.
Excellent variety. Have often ignored Rock Wrens and almost always ignore the Robins with the exception of the young. The Shrike reminds me to get over to the area by one of our lakes where they almost always are present. Thanks to Granny Pat for mentioning the concrete edge – I was going to ask about that.
Everett, Rock Wrens are a pretty special bird for me because I don’t see them all that often and when I do see or hear them they usually don’t let me get close enough for photos.
Thanks for a great, varied post Ron. Very enjoyable to see all the photos and read the accompanying details.
Glad you enjoyed them, Mark. Thanks.
On a scale of 1 to 10 you get the top spot for bouncing back (pun intended) so well and posting for us with nary a skip. On the contrary, I find them all top drawer for various reasons, not lest because of their variety.
Thanks, Lyle. Variety certainly helps in a post like this.
MOST enjoyable collection! Great variety and couldn’t pick a favorite tho SEO and Red Tailed Hawk alway grab my attention and smiles…… 😉
“It’s Miller Time” – an explosion of them this year – news says Billings is dealing with it also. Lower an outside shade and a couple dozen fall down – some windows crawling with them at times….
Man, do I ever remember those millers (miller moths) on the MT farm! To this day my younger sister Sheila is seriously freaked out by them.
More on Sheila. When she saw what I said about her fear of millers on this post she told me in a message “Boy, you got that right! I would perform a nightly slaughter session before I would even try to sleep. It was both gross and satisfying”
This time of year millers were thick in her bedroom on the farm. To this day I can still see Sheila as a young girl with a hefty flyswatter in her hand, a grim but determined look on her face and miller guts and wings stuck to the flyswatter. And the window.
Always been more of a nusiance than anything else tho when they shit on the walls it’s not amusing……I’ve NEVER seen this many. Glad we don’t have the Bogong Moths….. 😉
Spiders and Daddy Long Legs were what would set me off!
So glad that you’re getting such a variety of birds in your trips– lots of
incentive to keep moving, which just has to be good for your body and
spirit these days……
“which just has to be good for your body and spirit these days……”
Every little bit helps, Kris. Especially “these days…”
Great shots, and wonderful explanations!
Thank you, Terri.
All these shots are well worth seeing. Yes, things like the white reflection streak and what appears to be a concrete edge (in the wing drying shot) are annoying and frustrating but better to be have these shots to enjoy for all their good features than never to see them at all. When I share imperfect shots, (primarily with my family and one forgiving friend), it is more about sharing the experience, joy, excitement, amusement or whatever I felt in the moment. Thanks for sharing these moments you had.
Thanks, Granny Pat. Yes, that’s concrete pond edging in photo #6.