Weathering The Storm
Current events in Florida have me thinking about storms and survival for both humans and birds.
Category: Miscellaneous
Swainson’s Hawk Throwing A Pellet
A Twitchy Marsh Wren Making A Completely Vertical Takeoff
The Supracoracoideus – An Ingenious Adaptation For Flight In Birds
Fledgling Red-tailed Hawk Practicing More Skills – Clumsily
Landing must be one of the more difficult skills very young raptors need to learn because they spend considerable time practicing it.
Red-tailed Hawk Showing Off New Skills – Part 2
Why The Killdeer Doesn’t Perch
I remember when I finally realized that I’d never seen a Killdeer perched and eventually figured out why.
Prairie Falcon Attempting An Incognito Takeoff
High perches are unusual in the flat bottomland expanses of Montana’s huge Centennial Valley so the few that exist can be a draw for raptors and other birds.
Bullock’s Oriole Just After Stealing Food From A Spider
This handsome male Bullock’s Oriole had just made a clean getaway from an angry spider.
The Burrowing Owl And The Meadowlark
This Western Meadowlark was decidedly unhappy with the presence of a hunting owl in its territory.
Fledgling Red-tailed Hawk Trying To Walk A “Tightrope”…
Red-tailed Hawk – A Teaser For Tomorrow’s Post
First an explanation as to why I’m holding back and only posting a teaser this morning.
Feet-forward Takeoff From A Loggerhead Shrike
With birds it’s quite often the little things that grab my attention and they don’t come much smaller than this. It was subtle and quick, very quick, but it’s one of the strategies that can make the difference between a meal and going hungry. 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in Yesterday morning on Antelope Island I caught this Loggerhead Shrike swallowing a spider (the island is absolutely loaded with spiders – the state park actually holds an annual Spider Festival). The shrike hunted from this perch for about 5 minutes – launching after potential prey and then returning to the same hunting platform. When this shot was taken the sun was behind a cloud so I decided to crank up my ISO to get a little more shutter speed for takeoff shots. Even at ISO 1250 I needed more SS than this to get the wings of the incredibly fast bird sharp at takeoff but I was already at a higher ISO than I almost ever go. 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in Thankfully the sun came out four minutes later and doubled my shutter speed. An instant after this photo was taken the shrike spotted prey (probably an insect or another spider) directly in front of it. In a typical takeoff the shrike would avoid any obstacles by altering its direction of…
Fledgling Short Eared Owl Siblings
For most folks very young owls have oodles of appeal and for me fledgling Short-eared Owls are at the top of the list.
Common Nighthawks – Why Do They Keep Their Eyes Closed When They’re perched?
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Swainson’s Hawk Throwing A Pellet
A Twitchy Marsh Wren Making A Completely Vertical Takeoff
The Supracoracoideus – An Ingenious Adaptation For Flight In Birds
Fledgling Red-tailed Hawk Practicing More Skills – Clumsily
Landing must be one of the more difficult skills very young raptors need to learn because they spend considerable time practicing it.
Red-tailed Hawk Showing Off New Skills – Part 2
Why The Killdeer Doesn’t Perch
I remember when I finally realized that I’d never seen a Killdeer perched and eventually figured out why.
Prairie Falcon Attempting An Incognito Takeoff
High perches are unusual in the flat bottomland expanses of Montana’s huge Centennial Valley so the few that exist can be a draw for raptors and other birds.
Bullock’s Oriole Just After Stealing Food From A Spider
This handsome male Bullock’s Oriole had just made a clean getaway from an angry spider.
The Burrowing Owl And The Meadowlark
This Western Meadowlark was decidedly unhappy with the presence of a hunting owl in its territory.
Fledgling Red-tailed Hawk Trying To Walk A “Tightrope”…
Red-tailed Hawk – A Teaser For Tomorrow’s Post
First an explanation as to why I’m holding back and only posting a teaser this morning.
Feet-forward Takeoff From A Loggerhead Shrike
With birds it’s quite often the little things that grab my attention and they don’t come much smaller than this. It was subtle and quick, very quick, but it’s one of the strategies that can make the difference between a meal and going hungry. 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in Yesterday morning on Antelope Island I caught this Loggerhead Shrike swallowing a spider (the island is absolutely loaded with spiders – the state park actually holds an annual Spider Festival). The shrike hunted from this perch for about 5 minutes – launching after potential prey and then returning to the same hunting platform. When this shot was taken the sun was behind a cloud so I decided to crank up my ISO to get a little more shutter speed for takeoff shots. Even at ISO 1250 I needed more SS than this to get the wings of the incredibly fast bird sharp at takeoff but I was already at a higher ISO than I almost ever go. 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in Thankfully the sun came out four minutes later and doubled my shutter speed. An instant after this photo was taken the shrike spotted prey (probably an insect or another spider) directly in front of it. In a typical takeoff the shrike would avoid any obstacles by altering its direction of…
Fledgling Short Eared Owl Siblings
For most folks very young owls have oodles of appeal and for me fledgling Short-eared Owls are at the top of the list.
