My new favorite Mourning Dove takeoff posture.
Mourning Doves are among the quickest medium-sized birds at takeoff so almost without exception I have little to no chance of capturing them during takeoff or early flight. But yesterday morning in the west desert I somehow got lucky.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I got one shot as this dove was taking off from an old, weathered post – in the next photo in the burst I cut ‘him’ in half. I like almost everything about the image, including his wing position, the light angle, the background, the good detail and his flared tail. Especially his beautiful, flared tail.
If I was forced to be picky about something in the image it would be the shadow on the back of his neck. But since I’m not a picky kinda guy, I won’t complain about it.
Like me, I suspect you’re wondering what that metal doohickey is on top of the post. It appears to be some kind of metal plate that was attached to the post long ago. At some point one end of it became slightly raised from the post’s surface. I didn’t even notice it until I was processing the image.
I wish that plate wasn’t there but to me it’s no big deal. The dove’s takeoff posture, and the fact that I was quick enough on the trigger to capture it, more than make up for the metal plate.
Ron
It’s been nice to read your blog and become educated on the different varieties of birds there are, even in my neighborhood. I mentioned before that I saw pigeons, small brown birds, and seagulls. Now I noticed that there are quails, doves (still have difficulties telling between mourning and Eurasian, the dark line seems very small on some of them), small hawks (I haven’t identified what they are, and others.Should have started out with how wonderful the take-off photo is.
Yuriko, it takes a while to learn them. Usually a good long while. I’m still working on my bird ID skills and I’ve been at it for years. In my defense, I’ve spent far more time working on my photography skills, and learning about behaviors, than I have on ID.
I am running out of words to express how beautiful your photos are.
I do love this take off shot, you captured the beauty of the dove.
Take Care,
Kaye
Your words did just fine, Kaye… 🙂
I am glad that other people picked up on your lack of pickiness. Still battling on the comment front here. Hiss and spit.
And of course I love (and am awed by) your take off shot. I could only get that kind of shot by accident…
Thanks, EC. Happy accidents, and luck, are all part of the game for bird photographers.
” But since I’m not a picky kinda guy, I won’t complain about it.” Bwahahahaha 😂😂😂😂😂 Glad I’m not the only one who noticed you sneaking in that line. Thanks for the guffaw, Mr. Nit-Picker, I needed that. 😈💜
I also needed this gorgeous takeoff shot — the flared tail is the icing on the cake! We’re fortunate to have a lot of Mourning Doves on our street. They seem to like the front yard and Liquid Amber quite a bit. I also find it interesting that there’s a good-sized flock of Rock Pigeons that hang out just one street to the west and block or two north, closer to the K-8 school and the flood control channel. I never see the pigeons over here and I never see the doves over there. What do they know that we don’t? 😉
Sounds like pigeons and doves are self-segregating in your area, Marty.
It’s been exactly the opposite in my yard this spring. Whenever I had doves scrounging fallen seed from my feeder, a few pigeons usually showed up soon. And vice versa
Excellent!!
Thanks, Charlotte.
I can just hear that “slap”!
🙂
Nice image. I see I am not the only person who snickered at the line
But since I’m not a picky kinda guy….
Go ahead, snicker at me April. I sure take a lot of abuse…
Lovely! Interesting that they are hard to get take-off shots of. The ones we had at our feeders in New Jersey seemed to be so slow, they were always the ones the hawks got. Not so much here in WA (fewer hawks, slimmer birds?), though I still see those beautiful tail feathers scattered over the yard occasionally.
Their tail feathers are unmistakable, aren’t they Carolyn.
I love mourning doves, so I appreciate the expressive dove in your beautiful photo.Years ago, when I had a bird feeder, a flock of 9-10 mourning doves liked hanging out on the garage roof. They were from one family, and I had enjoyed watching the babies fledge (and hide in my tomatoes) over that and previous summers. One day, a cooper’s hawk showed up. The hawk started picking the doves off, one at a time, every other day or so, until they were gone. I haven’t seen a mourning dove on my property since.
That’s quite a story, Marcia. It seems that Cooper’s Hawks have a particular taste for Mourning Doves.
Excellent shot and I did not notice the plate. I have seen many Mourning Doves take off from our backyard and fence and have also seen a couple get caught by Cooper’s Hawks. From my years of watching them I have come to the conclusion that the hawks generally have to catch them unaware. The Doves have a really fast emergency take off that makes them hard to catch. Often though the hawks come into the yard at high speed only about 5 feet off the ground and then have a good chance of a surprise catch.
Good behavioral observation, Everett. I’ve only seen something similar happen one time. I’ll never forget it.
I get the actual sensation of take off, looking at this! The large, plump, body and the straining wings.
Good. One sign of a successful takeoff shot. Thanks, Sallie.
BEAUTIFUL! 🙂 You can pick the nits – the nature of photography. I’m certainly not going to on this shot! 😉
Thanks, Judy. Technically, I didn’t pick that nit… 🙂
“But since I’m not a picky kinda guy…”
Like Kris, I kinda chucked when I read that. Alright, so picky is too negative a word, so lets say conscientious or discriminating, perhaps self critical.
But I think those attributes is what makes your work better than most. And by god those doves are fast! Zero to gone in a split second. A lot of skill and luck went into getting that shot. Well done.
“by god those doves are fast!”
Michael, to me their takeoff speed is almost supernatural for a bird that size. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat there with a dove in my viewfinder and an itchy trigger finger, only to see that the bird was already gone before I pushed the shutter button.
SURE, you’re not a “picky kind of guy” , ha ha……I love this image.
Mourning doves are such lovely critters, and your shot really does
this one justice; the flared tail feathers are stunning, and the weathered stump serves as a perfect “pedestal”……seeing this is
a great way to start the morning–thanks !
“SURE, you’re not a “picky kind of guy” , ha ha”
I suspect Elephant’s Child might also jump on that one, Kris. Thanks, glad you like it.