Yesterday morning on Antelope Island I tried a half dozen times to get a Black-billed Magpie in my viewfinder but each time the bird took off before I even got my pickup stopped.
This last magpie was only slightly slower.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I got it in my viewfinder but not in focus before it launched. This is my first sharp shot of the magpie as it was taking off from its sagebrush perch.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
In the next photo it had its nictitating membrane half closed.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is probably my favorite shot in the four sequential photo series. There isn’t a lot of detail in some of the blacks but I think the flight posture more than makes up for it.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is the last photo I got before the magpie turned away from me in flight.
I found this bird along the main road going south but on a pretty remote part of the island and while I was photographing it I was the only one there. But as soon as the bird was gone, another vehicle pulled up from behind me and stopped right next to me because the driver saw my lens pointed out the window and wanted to see what I’d stopped for. Then another car coming from the other direction also stopped, right in front of me. It didn’t have much choice.
So there we were, three vehicles in a cluster. I was pulled off the left side of the road but the other two were completely blocking the road and had me boxed in. I couldn’t leave until at least one of the other two did. And that took much longer than it should have because at least one of the other two drivers continued to look for what I was photographing, which was already gone.
People! At least I got my magpie in flight photos before the looky-loo’s showed up. But just barely.
Ron
Yay! More “hats!” 😉
Boo! A-hole drivers! 🤬
Nice flight shots, the third is very nice. Hard to be alone these days. I was up north, stopped for photos, and was asked by three farmers if I needed help. I almost got hit by a US Food semi going about 50mph on a dirt road going around a blind curve, he was taking the entire road on the curve. Good it was wide so I could go into the scrub to pull over to the right. I was only going about 15 mph looking for birds. I did not know they made deliveries out there? Guess there is still railroad workers.
Thanks, April. Yes, we have to think and drive (and even park) defensively, even in remote areas. I’ve had some close calls too – even when being very careful. Unexpected s*** happens.
I love these photos. Magpies are some of my favorites birds and i have enjoyed your previous photos of them. I just feel delight at their beauty and your captures . And this time had to laugh at your accompanying story of the two onlookers in vehicles bllocking your leavetaking for a time.
Glad you enjoyed the photos, Eloise. I wasn’t particularly annoyed by the “onlookers”. Just a little baffled.
super series!
Thanks, Charlotte.
I am constantly blown away by how different our magpies are. And love them both.
I am so glad that you got these shots.
And PEOPLE says it all. And I know you were thinking it capitals (with some subliminal expletives).
STILL no email and nor do you appear in my reading list.
EC, thanks to your feedback over the years I’ve paid particular attention to things I see online about your magpies in Oz. One of the impressions I get is that your magpies can be more aggressive toward humans than ours generally are.
It is only the male magpies and only in nesting season. They will swoop people and cyclists who are too close to the nests. It is certainly an attention getter and can be dangerous but I don’t blame them. At all.
Since they are intelligent birds they don’t swoop people they know and trust. We have magpies close to home (and I love their song) but have never been swooped here.
Sounds like I’d be a big fan of theirs.
Ron, your magpie pictures are lovely. We don’t see them in eastern Wisconsin, so it’s a real treat when you post them. In your photographs the feathers are so sleek they almost look like fur. Very nice!
Thanks, Karen. I can hardly imagine not having magpies around but I am aware that large areas of the country don’t have them – especially in the south and east.
Boxed in at Antelope Island. My grandmother used to tell me curiosity killed the cat, but when people see something going on they cannot help but stop to see what it is. Excellent shots. You say Black-billed Magpies. Are there other Magpies? We don’t have them here so don’t know much about them. Would sure like to have them though.
Everett, we have one other magpie species in North America – the Yellow-billed Magpie. But it’s only found in California. I’ve never seen one.
Did you ever! Super flight shots.
Thanks, Burrdoo.
Wow! Thank you! Wonderful take off for this beautiful Eastern Fall day here surrounded by colorful forests!
Thank you, Mary. Enjoy the colors.
Thank you for such great images. I’ve seen so many magpies over the years but of course never in this detail. They really are stunning birds.
Thanks, Kathryn. Magpies are one of my favorite photo subjects, even though their highly contrasting colors make them difficult to photograph well.
It seems rude to me to block someone in! Glad you got your man….magpie.
I’m glad too. Thanks, Arwen.
NICE! 🙂 1st shot is my “pick of the litter” although #3 is very appealing also 🙂 “People” indeed! GEEZ! Must be really ignorant of what critters do when they bunch up……. 😉 Some do the same thing to hunters tho often suspect they have different motives.
Must have completed the Buffalo round-up there if you were out and about…
“often suspect they have different motives”
Judy, sometimes they definitely do. I’ve had drivers deliberately honk to scare ‘my’ birds off. Or race their loud engines. Or both.
In this case it was the vehicle that came up from behind me that was the primary cause of the problem. The driver that came from in front of me was essentially blocked too.
This year’s annual bison roundup isn’t until this Saturday, October 26. On that day, and the next day, I’ll avoid the island like the plague.
“People” ! That expletive shows a lot of restraint on your part, under those circumstances….but at least you got a number of good shots
before the morons arrived ! As a young person, I had zero interest
in birds until the day I saw magpies frolicking the snow, up near Park City, and was knocked out by their beauty and raucous behavior–
after that, I started paying attention to birds in general… thanks for
today’s display.
Kris, sounds like magpies were your “spark bird”. Like Green-tailed Towhees were mine.
Yep. Hands down the third one. What you said.
We agree, Michael. As per usual.