Behaviors – Page 101 – Feathered Photography

Bathing Killdeer

Two days ago we woke up to a cloudy morning so we put our shooting plans on hold for the day but soon the clouds began to clear from the south so we decided at the last minute to head for Farmington Bay which is not only a shorter drive but it’s further south than Antelope Island, which gave us a better chance for some decent and relatively early light. I’m glad we did – if for no other reason than this cooperative Killdeer. 1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The Killdeer was a little wary of us as we approached but as soon as I turned the engine off it settled right down for its morning bath. A note about shutter speed for these shots: When birds are bathin’ and shakin’ the feather movement is very fast and since I had plenty of light and wanted to freeze that movement I made the conscious decision to go for a minimum shutter speed of 1/3200. I think it worked out pretty well to stop the motion of both the feathers and the water spray. All images are in the sequence that they occurred. 1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc First the Killdeer seemed to be testing the water temperature before proceeding. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Since the bath water seemed about right the bird began to bathe with gusto. 1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc For these first few shots the Killdeer…

The Timelessness of a Buffalo Chip Perch

The American Bison is a relative newcomer to North America, having migrated from Eurasia over the Bering Straight about 10,000 years ago. As is common knowledge they once roamed in massive herds across most of the continent until commercial hunting and slaughter reduced their numbers to a few hundred by the end of the 19th century. 1/500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Today a herd of approximately 500 animals roams free on Antelope Island and that many large animals produce a lot of poop – commonly referred to as “buffalo chips”. Those chips are all over the island – like small dark islands in a sea of prairie grasses and tiny flowers and they’re tempting perches for a variety of bird species like Horned Larks and Meadowlarks. But this past week I was able to catch some larger birds using them as perches. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In the spring some of the shorebirds and wading birds come up from the shore of the Great Salt Lake to higher ground on the island for their breeding activities – Long-billed Curlews among them. It seems that the added height of only a couple of inches provided by the chip is enough to significantly improve their view of the landscape for potential predators and also to help them keep an eye on other curlews in the area – there’s a lot of fighting and mating activities going on this time of year. To some viewers such a perch may have no aesthetic draw but I’m…

Fighting Curlews And This Photographer’s Rookie Mistake

Occasionally I’ll make a post that illustrates a mistake I’ve made as a photographer in the hope that it will help me to learn from my error and possibly even enlighten some of my viewers who may be bird photographers. Well, last week I made a doozy of a mistake! I had been photographing a pair of Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island and as per usual for me I was using my 500 f/4 with attached 1.4 tc, which when combined with the crop factor of my Canon 7D gives me an effective focal length of 1120mm. Suddenly a second male unexpectedly flew in to challenge the original male and immediately all hell broke loose. The action was incredibly quick with wings, legs, long bills and tails flailing in every direction and it turns out that I was simply too close to the birds with my lens and tc combination to prevent clipping body parts in most of my images of the fight. I remember thinking I should take off the tc but I was afraid that by the time I had done so the action would be over. That was a mistake – the altercation lasted for several minutes and I had plenty of time to switch. I decided to post some of the series anyway because the tightness on the birds gives an intimate look at some of the details of the squabble but I’ll be the first to admit that I’d trade those details in a heartbeat for having not clipped and cut off body parts. There were no preliminaries. The battle began immediately after…

Caspian Tern In Undignified Flight Pose

This one’s just for fun. Occasionally I just need a little “silly” in my world… 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I had been trying all morning to catch a Caspian or Forster’s Tern with a fish as it emerged from the water when this Caspian decided to give a vigorous shake in flight to rid itself of a huge water load. This was a difficult exposure and I wish I’d had just a bit more shutter speed for the action but liked the goofy flight posture and flying water. Ron

The Western Kingbird and the Beetle

This will be another behavioral post – yes I am fascinated by interesting behaviors, perhaps overly so… I found this Western Kingbird hunting from a barbed wire perch which is quite typical for the species. It was so focused on its prey that it let me get quite close so I was able to get better detail of the feeding behavior than I normally do. 1/500, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The kingbird has spotted prey on the ground 1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc so it flew down to retrieve it. In this case it happened to be a beetle. You can see it clinging upside down to the darker diagonal twig just in front of the bird. 1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Here’s a highly cropped version of the previous image to show the beetle better. 1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The bird grabbed the beetle but as you can see it had reached “through” the twig to get it 1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc so it got more than it bargained for. The end of the twig broke off and wedged between the beetles abdomen and the upper mandible. 1/1000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc So it flew back to its wire perch and tried to figure out what to do about the dilemma. It actually spent about 15 seconds just sitting there and staring at what was in its…

The Return of Long-billed Curlews and Rhyncokinesis

Each day for the past several weeks while on our way out to the island either Mia or I will say to the other “I wonder if we’ll see or hear the curlews this morning”. For both of us the return of the curlews is a sure sign that true spring has finally arrived. And each morning we’ve been disappointed. Until yesterday! We first heard them while waiting for some magpies to return to their nest and then looked up and saw several flying toward us. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird is one of them – a truly unremarkable photograph except for its significance to us. It’s almost like this bird (and its companion) were flying over us to personally announce their return to us. The curlews are back – finally! 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It wasn’t long before we were able to find several curlews foraging on the ground and they even let us get close. This one is busy preening in the morning sun. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Rhyncokinesis (rhynco – upper beak or bill, kinesis – movement or motion) is the ability of some birds to bend or flex their upper bill. Only cranes, shorebirds, swifts and hummingbirds are known to be capable of doing so. The bill is made of a protein called keratin (like hair or fingernails) and it’s quite a remarkable feat to be able to control its shape to some degree. Notice in the photo above that the shapes…

Fighting Chukars

Obviously I’m not posting this shot for its image quality – it’s distinctly lacking in same. But what an experience we had with these Chukars this morning. We could see them fighting as we approached because they would occasionally jump up above the thick grasses while clawing and biting at each other in the air. I was amazed both by how vicious these fights were and by the incredible speed of these plump, roly-poly birds. 1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We watched several of them fighting for perhaps 5 minutes but very few of my shots turned out because of the fast and furious action in low light and especially because my focus kept locking onto the foreground grasses. But this image should give you a flavor for what it was like and for what my latest photographic goal is – to find some fighting Chukars in better light and out in the open. I’m gonna work on it! Ron

Bathing Willet

Last summer at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge I slowly approached this bathing Willet in my pickup, fully expecting the bird to either fly off or wander further away in the shallow water of Lower Red Rock Lake. 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It eyed me warily until I had turned off the engine… 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc but it was so intent on its bath that it quickly went back to minding its hygiene. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc For this shot the Willet turned its back on me a little but I liked the shot because it shows the furious action at the rear of the bird. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc With water and feathers flying everywhere… 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc it finally gave me a bit of a head turn again as it spread and raised its tail feathers for a good cleaning. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4 Then it hopped up on the shore for a vigorous shake. 1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4 By this time it had approached me so closely that I had to take off my teleconverter but even so I was tight enough on the bird that I wasn’t able to get the composition I would have preferred for these last three shots. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400,…

Northern Harrier Vomiting

No great photography today but some interesting behavior. I’ve often seen and photographed various bird species hacking up a pellet but this was my first experience with one vomiting. 1/500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc When I first got this Northern Harrier in my viewfinder I thought it was acting slightly odd – it seemed lethargic, reluctant to fly and its head was hanging low. Then it suddenly vomited. 1/500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The vomitus was thick, mucus-like and stringy and I’m quite sure no pellet was expelled. I had an email discussion about this behavior with a friend (thanks once again Ingrid) and sent her these photos. They were forwarded to the Cascades Raptor Center who said that this behavior is something they’ve not seen before and that it isn’t “normal”. When this bird had finished vomiting it stayed perched (very unusual) as I drove through a gate perhaps 25′ to the right of the bird. I drove down the road to let it recover in peace and when I returned about a half hour later it was gone. Ron

Golden Eagle In The Wind And Cold

It was a brutal morning on the island yesterday with 25 degree F temps, winds of over 4o mph, fresh snow and icy roads. It was eerie-sounding to drive on the roads as the night before the snow had partially melted and then froze hard into a bumpy, icy and noisy sheet. I knew there’d be no sneaking up on any birds because my pickup sounded like a freight train approaching on that crunchy ice. The gulls were just about the only birds out and about. They seemed to enjoy soaring in the wind but when they’d settle into the water they chose areas partially protected from the wind, like this cove where the causeway meets the island. The night before the wind had pasted snow onto the sides of the bison and then it froze to their hides. Some of them were mostly covered with ice. This image and the next one should give regular readers of my blog some idea of why I occasionally grumble about all the dried sunflowers we have this year. They make it virtually impossible to get a clear shot of any subject on the ground. 1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We had just about resigned ourselves to being essentially “skunked” for the morning when we spotted this Golden Eagle not too far from the road. It was feeding on what I assume was a jack-rabbit (it was relatively large and there are lots of them in the area) but of course it was buried in the sunflowers and I…

A Wonderful Antelope Island Morning – Including A Long-tailed Duck

It’s been a frustrating photography week for both Mia and I for a variety of reasons but it’s primarily been because the weather and light have seriously sucked – big time!. So when yesterday’s dawn showed promise we headed for the island with high hopes but low expectations because there haven’t been many bird opportunities out there recently. We were in for some pleasant surprises. I’ll present these images in the order they were taken to give a feel for the morning. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We had barely made it onto the causeway before this Rough-legged hawk began to entertain us. We watched as it ate a vole and then it immediately walked about two feet to its left and picked something else up with its foot. At first I assumed it was another vole, either alive or from a food cache. But in looking at close-ups of some of the photos I’m pretty sure it’s only a rock with old brine fly larvae cases and small twigs frozen to it. Then this hawk did something strange – it transferred the “rock” to its beak and deliberately flung it a good distance – here it’s flying through the air Then the bird walked over, picked up the rock in its left foot and flew off with it. My curiosity is killing me as to just what was going on. Obviously this isn’t a great shot but I was fascinated by the behavior. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Next this Northern Harrier gave us…

A Few Recent Loggerhead Shrikes

There’s always a few Loggerhead Shrikes that winter-over on Antelope Island and I find them to be fascinating subjects. Their approachability is very unpredictable but occasionally they’ll allow me to get close, especially when it’s very cold in the mornings or if they’re about to hack up a pellet. These are images I was able to get in the last few weeks. ***Note: The last image in this post is graphic. If your sensibilities might be offended by such a photo please stop scrolling before you get to the last (6th) image. 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This bird was practicing its springtime melodic repertoire a few weeks early (image taken on 2/5/12). It was a relatively warm, sunny morning and it was singing its little heart out (if you can call shrike calls “singing”). 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc With their black masks these shrikes always remind me of little bandits and they have an attitude to go along with that perception. They get their name from their unusually large head (loggerhead means “block head”). 1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I like the soft, even light and the setting in this image even though the twigs in front of the bird may not be ideal for some. 1/640, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’m including this shot just for fun. I liked the fluffy, relaxed pose to go along with the yawn. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500…

Horned Lark On Wild Sunflowers

I’ve always had a soft spot for Horned Larks because they remind me so much of growing up on the family farm in nw Montana. But in virtually all of my images of them they’re perched on rocks or on the ground. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Earlier this week I found this male perched on – yes, another rock. But while I was photographing him he flew to this nearby sunflower head and started picking seeds out of it. I like the setting and that you can see the seed in the beak with the seed husk blowing away in the breeze under the wing-tip. Ron

Short-eared Owl Delivering Food To The Nest

In previous posts (here, here and here) about these Short-eared Owls at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge I’ve shown and described snippets of the fascinating behaviors I observed when this male would deliver voles to the female and two youngsters at the nest. But it struck me that I’ve never put the whole process together in sequence so the behaviors could be fully appreciated so that’s what I’ll attempt to do here. Most of the images will be different from those in the previous posts. 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The male was a tireless and highly skilled hunter and I never saw him with any prey other than voles. When successful he would always return to the vicinity of the nest and land momentarily on one of two favorite perches – the dark sagebrush at lower right in the above photo or a metal post a few feet from the sagebrush. Here he’s coming in for a landing on the sagebrush with vole in talons and glances up at me to make sure all is safe. I really like the intense direct eye contact in the shot. 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Now he’s focused on the sagebrush in order to make a successful landing. 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This time he stayed perched for less than five seconds and didn’t even pull his wings in against his body – he just kept them out or up while he seemed to contemplate his next…

Just A Shot That I Like… #20 – American Kestrel With Moxie

I hope you’ll bear with me but for this post I decided to go whimsical. This image isn’t particularly strong technically but it always brings a smile to my face and I thought others might enjoy it. 1/1250, f/10, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This plastic owl sits atop a weather station transmitter at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area. The obvious purpose of the owl is to scare birds away from the transmitter. You can see how well it works with kestrels. American Kestrels are just about the only species of bird that I’ve seen dare to perch on top of this phony Great Horned Owl. I’ve always admired these courageous little falcons for their pluck and wondered, only slightly in jest, if they might have a bit of a Napoleon complex. Truly a bird with cojones – both sexes. Ron

Category: Behaviors