Behaviors – Page 104 – Feathered Photography

Agonistic (fighting) Behavior in Male Short-eared Owls

I recently returned from one of my favorite places in the world – Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Last year I was able to photograph nesting Short-eared Owls carrying voles to their young but this year, because of the very cold spring, nesting hadn’t even begun. Instead the owls were competing for territory and mates and pairing up. On one morning I was incredibly lucky to find two males trying to impress a female with their aerial prowess and fighting skills. They were so engrossed in their activities that they pretty much ignored me. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Often one male would be on the ground when the other male would swoop in on him. Here the foreground bird has just lifted off to meet his adversary. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc As was often the case the birds didn’t make actual contact. In researching this behavior I’ve learned that they will sometimes lock talons and fall to the ground before releasing. I suspect that as they rush toward each other they look for a weakness in defense – if they spot one in the other birds defensive body position they would likely make aggressive contact. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Most of the time both birds stayed on the ground or flew very low but occasionally one of the owls would fly several hundred feet up and circle over the other male (and the female, who was…

A Willet Expelling a Pellet

Yesterday I got a shot of a Willet expelling a pellet. It’s a behavior I’ve seldom seen and rarely photographed because it typically happens very quickly, many birds don’t do it at all and it often occurs only once per day or so with many species. A pellet, sometimes referred to as a bolus, is a clump of indigestible material that is formed in the crop and eventually regurgitated. Depending on the diet of the bird it may be made of feather, bone, fur and/or chitin from insect or crustacean exoskeletons. Canon 7D, 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc At first I wasn’t taking many photos of this Willet because its lower legs were cut off by the rock perch but I did adjust my settings for quick action in case it took off or performed some other interesting behavior. Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The first indication I got that something might happen that would be interesting to photograph was when the bird pulled down its neck and there was a slight bulge in the throat. Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Then the Willet began trying to expel the pellet. Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc What happens next appears to look almost like a gagging reflex. Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The pellet popped out so quickly that I didn’t even see it through the viewfinder…

The Coyotes and the Plucky Pronghorn

Yesterday Mia and I were witness to quite the little drama on a trip to Antelope Island to photograph birds. It all started when we noticed the frantic calling of a Long-billed Curlew which flew over us several times in obvious distress. Canon 7D, 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc At first we didn’t know what was causing all the ruckus but soon Mia spotted this coyote. A couple of minutes later we noticed a second coyote nearby. We suspect that the curlew had a nest in the vicinity and it was disturbed by the foraging coyotes. Soon both coyotes disappeared into a ravine but we hung around hoping for more flight shots of the curlew. Canon 7D, 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Then, almost a quarter-mile away, we spotted the coyotes again but this time a doe Pronghorn (at least I think it’s a female and not a young male) had entered the scene. There was obviously going to be a confrontation and at first I assumed that the coyotes would be the aggressors but I was quickly proven wrong. Canon 7D, 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This doe had pluck! After a few seconds of staring each other down the pronghorn charged the coyote on the right. Canon 7D, 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc That coyote beat a hasty retreat but the teamwork the coyotes showed was impressive. They always stayed a short distance apart and whenever the doe would…

Common Raven Disposing of Eggshells

When this Common Raven landed on a large rock fairly close to me last week on Antelope Island I could see that it had something in its beak and assumed that it was some type of food. It wasn’t until I got home and processed the images that I could tell what it was. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f 6.3, ISO 500 It turns out that it was eggshell, presumably from its own nest. In researching Common Raven eggs I found that they have this kind of marking and color (though there is some variability in both) and this shell remnant seemed to be about the right size for a raven so my assumption is that it’s a raven eggshell and not leftovers from a meal from raiding the nest of another bird. There is a raven nest relatively close to this rock. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f 6.3, ISO 500 Here the raven is very carefully placing the shell in a crevice in the rocks. At the time I took the photo I couldn’t figure out why the bird would simply abandon what I thought was food. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f 6.3, ISO 500 Here the raven has dropped the eggshell… Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f 7.1, ISO 500 and then it hopped to the peak of the rock to “crow” about its accomplishment. Birds of North America Online says this about raven eggshell disposal – “No…

Marsh Wrens of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

This week I was finally able to get some decent images of Marsh Wrens. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In the past these birds have always been buried too deeply in vegetation for me to get shots I liked but a couple of days ago they finally cooperated with me. Canon 7D, 1/1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Marsh Wrens have incredibly interesting behaviors. For example, western males must learn up to 200 different songs (eastern birds only learn about 50). Perhaps that’s why these males sing so much – it would take a lot of practice to learn that many “tunes”. Canon 7D, 1/1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These birds are extremely territorial and aggressive. They are polygynous (males mate with multiple females) and in order to attract females the male builds from 6 to 22 “dummy” nests for every one that is actually used to raise a brood of chicks. We could see several of these nests buried in the cattails along the refuge road. Canon 7D, 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc According to the Bear River Blog many of these nests were destroyed by our recent stormy weather and heavy rains so many of these males have had to start over. Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Marsh Wrens of both sexes regularly destroy eggs and chicks of other birds near their territories, including those of…

American Kestrels – What They’ll Eat and What They Won’t.

I’ve always found it fascinating to watch these little falcons eat. A gruesome experience to be sure but so much more interesting than observing a raptor such as an owl who simply swallows its prey whole. And if you watch carefully there’s a whole lot more going on during the process than first meets the eye. Kestrels can be pretty picky eaters. I’ve documented in another post on this blog that they often refuse to eat the intestinal tract of their prey and deliberately discard it. Kestrels, like other raptors, eject pellets of indigestible materials like fur, feathers, chitin and bone. All food that is swallowed first goes to the crop. From there the usable food continues on to the stomach but the indigestibles stay in the crop, are formed into a pellet and regurgitated roughly 23 hours (in the case of kestrels) after the meal was consumed. Canon 7D, 1/800, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500mm f/4, 1.4 tc The kestrels I’ve watched eating voles and mice typically eat the brain, decapitate the rodent, then go for the soft internal protein rich muscles and other organs (discarding the intestines). Since kestrels tear their prey into bite-sized pieces they can pick and choose what they actually swallow. Canon 7D, 1/400, f/8, ISO 640, 500mm f/4, 1.4 tc Pellet expulsion can be difficult and traumatic as I’ve documented elsewhere on this blog with Northern Harriers and I suspect that’s one of the reasons that kestrels try to avoid swallowing as much fur as possible. When opening up the body cavity they often get a beak-full of…

Northern Harrier with Nesting Material

I’ve been photographing Northern Harriers in northern Utah for five years now and until earlier this week I’d only seen this species carrying nesting material once before and wasn’t able to photograph it. Harriers are very common here during winter but most of them head north for the breeding season and those that stay usually build their nests in inaccessible areas of the marsh, so it’s rare for me to see any nesting activities. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400 Two days ago Mia and I were photographing birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. We were about to call it a day because it was late in the morning and light was no longer optimal when we spotted this harrier flying at a distance. We figured it would veer off before it got close, as they always seem to do out there, but this one kept coming toward us. We were watching it through our lenses and soon noticed that it had nesting material in its beak. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400 By chance we happened to be at a place on the dirt road that was within 100′ or so of the nest of this bird. It decided to ignore us and come in to complete its delivery. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400 The nest is apparently in this bed of last year’s dead Phragmites. The dark spots you see in the last three images of this…

Willet Wars

Earlier this week Mia and I witnessed an incredible display of avian aggression on Antelope Island. I’ve often seen and photographed battling birds but I’ve never before seen such a long-lasting and vicious fight as this one between two Willets. It lasted for over 20 minutes and I took 413 photos of the action but don’t expect high quality images in this post as the conditions were far from ideal. We had contrasty sidelight, lots of obstructingvegetation between us and the birds and constantly changing lighting conditions as clouds moved in and out and the birds moved from place to place as the battle raged. But as I’ve stated before on this blog I’ll often post images of interesting behaviors even if they are less than perfect in image quality. And to me this behavior was certainly interesting. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 500 The Willets were already fighting as we approached them in my pickup and they mostly ignored us after pausing for a few seconds when we first drove up. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500 In this and the following image the bird on the right had its bill tightly clamped on the upper mandible of the other bird. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500 The bird on the left was desperately trying to break the grip of its tormentor but it took some struggling before it finally succeeded. Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO…

A Loggerhead Shrike, a Spider and Spit

A few days ago Mia and I found this Loggerhead Shrike sitting prettily on a dried sunflower on Antelope Island. The bird was using the sunflower as a hunting perch. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500 I’ve always been amazed by the incredible eyesight of many bird species. This shrike somehow spotted a spider crawling through the thick grass about 20 feet away from where it was perched and immediately flew down to grab it. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500 It was a relatively small spider and I have no idea how the shrike was able to see it in all the dense grass. Even though the background is busy here I still liked the shot for the interesting look at both the spider and the tongue of the shrike. It’s my presumption from looking at this photo that the saliva of the shrike is viscous and sticky, enabling the prey to stay attached to the tongue during the very fast process of pulling the spider to the back of the throat with the tongue. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500 A heavily cropped, close-up view of the same image provides a clue. You can see that there’s a sheet of saliva stretched between the bottom of the tongue and the floor of the lower mandible and it does appear to be quite viscous. I had no idea that it would be so “juicy” in there. Nothing earth-shattering here, just some avian trivia in a photo that I found interesting (yes, my interests can be…

Fish Eating Northern Harriers

As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, the winter of 2008 was a particularly brutal one in northern Utah. During January and February there was much more snow than usual and it was bitterly cold. During most winters our Northern Harriers rely primarily on voles as a food supply but in 2008 with the voles under the deep crusty snow our harriers were desperate for food. Birds of North America Online provides extensive information on the dietary habits of harriers. It lists small to medium-sized mammals (primarily rodents), birds, reptiles and frogs as harrier food sources, stating further that the diet of harriers during winter in their northern range (which includes northern Utah) consists of voles “almost exclusively”. I can find no mention of harriers eating fish, ever! Each year in early February some of our wetlands managers treat some of our ponds with rotenone (a chemical that prevents oxygen from being absorbed across fish gill membranes) in an effort to control the invasive and damaging carp that do so much damage to the emergent vegetation which is so vital for waterfowl. So, in 2008 for a few weeks, our desperate and starving harriers began to eat fish! In the three winters since then I have never seen harriers eating fish even though the dead carp are always plentiful after the rotenone kill. 1/1250, 1/1000, ISO 500 Many of the carp are brought to the shores or ice surface by Bald Eagles which makes them available to the harriers who generally cannot retrieve them from the water. 1/1250, f/8, ISO…

White-crowned Sparrow Bathing in a Lilac Bush

I have a serious case of unrequited spring fever. It’s been a long and dreary winter and it’s not over yet so when I stumbled across these images from last spring a few days ago I decided they were worthy of a post. Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2500, f/8, ISO 640 It was just after a spring rain in May last year when the sun came out and I noticed this male White-crowned Sparrow fluttering around in my neighbor’s lilac bush so I quickly grabbed my gear and started firing away. Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/3200, f/8, ISO 640 The sparrow seemed so ecstatic over his bath that he let me get close and pretty much ignored me. Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2500, f/8, ISO 640 The leaves and especially the flowers were loaded with water and the sparrow was taking full advantage of the situation. Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2000, f/8, ISO 640 And the ecstasy continues. I guess there’s just something special about bathing in lilac water… Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2000, f/8, ISO 640 Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2000, f/8, ISO 640 Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2500, f/8, ISO 640 Canon 7D, 1.4 tc, tripod, 1/2500, f/8, ISO 640 Some of these photos are far from perfect – the light was harsh, the bird was side-lit, I often didn’t get a catch light in the eye and the contrast was high, especially…

Long-tailed Weasel – Efficient Hunter and Cannibal

Long-tailed Weasels are obligate carnivores (eat meat exclusively), preying largely on smaller rodents but also take rabbits, chipmunks and birds – including poultry. They take down prey several times their size and occasionally go on killing sprees triggered by the smell of blood. Long-tailed Weasel, summer molt Their long black tipped tail, slender bodies and darker brown coloration above with creamy white ventral parts are identifying features. The very similar Short-tailed Weasel is smaller and has whiter feet. In this case the prey is another weasel While driving the loop road at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge this weasel ran in front of us carrying another weasel that it had apparently killed. Weasels are cannibalistic at times and I’m relatively certain that this kill was destined as a meal rather than the kill being made simply out of aggression because the winning weasel was very reluctant to abandon its prize even with us very close. It took a great effort for the weasel to carry its long-bodied kin through the grasses and reeds and it simply would not abandon it. Hopping with it’s prey Here you can get a feel for how difficult it was to drag the long body through all the obstructions so most of the time it would hop forward, one jump at a time, presumably with its burrow as a goal. Long-tailed Weasel, winter molt As winter approaches, northern weasels molt to white (while retaining the black tipped tail) – the advantage of this is obvious. Interestingly, many weasels living in the southern part of their range…

Northern Harrier Struggling to Expel a Pellet

Except for owls, all raptors have a crop for excess food storage. The parts of the prey that are indigestible are formed into a pellet in the gizzard and then regurgitated out of the mouth. These pellets contain hair, feathers, exoskeletons and sometimes (in the case of owls especially) the bones of their prey. I’ve noticed with many raptor species that expelling a pellet can be a difficult process, bordering on traumatic. Such was the case with this juvenile male Northern Harrier. I was watching this bird through my lens but not planning on getting any quality photos because the bird was strongly side-lit. But when he began trying to expel a pellet I couldn’t resist clicking away. Because of the side-lighting and relatively soft focus the images are not of high quality but I thought the behavior was interesting enough for a blog post anyway. All of the photos in this series are posted in the order that they were taken. The beginning of the struggle to expel the pellet Here the harrier is shaking his head from side to side to try to dislodge the pellet But with the effort he begins to lose his balance on the perch And almost falls over backward He begins to recover And then falls forward Begins to recover again Still recovering Recovered, but still with the pellet stuck in his mouth And finally the pellet has been expelled. As luck would have it my buffer had filled up and I missed…

Bald Eagle Eating a Fish in Mid-air

I’ve often seen Bald Eagles carrying fish but never one actually consuming the meal while flying. Until yesterday, when I got some photos of the behavior. Thanks to Mia for calling my attention to it or I may have missed the whole thing. Eating carp in flight At first I wondered if this eagle was only killing the carp with a lethal bite as I have seen other raptors do in-flight, but then I remembered that it was already dead when it was picked up by the eagle. These fish were killed by refuge personnel (they use rotenone) in order to prevent damage to the wetlands done by these invasive fish. Falling fish scales The four photos in this sequence are in the order that they happened. Here you can see scales and debris falling from the carp as the eagles very sharp bill does its damage. Part of the head, including gill flap (operculum) being torn off I suspect that the reason this eagle chose to consume at least part of its meal in flight has to do with competition. There weren’t many fish available and lots of hungry gulls and eagles to squabble over them. If an eagle tried to eat a fish on the ice (the ponds were mostly frozen) other birds would usually challenge them for the meal. Even gulls were at times very aggressive toward the eagles. On several occasions I observed gulls biting the tails of the eagles while both were in flight. Perhaps this eagle figured it had…

Handedness in Short-eared Owls

Last summer Mia and I spent four days photographing a family of Short-eared Owls in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. There were two baby owls in a nest under a sagebrush guarded over constantly by the female while the male hunted and brought in food. That food in every instance that we saw was a vole (mouse-like rodent). Many of the photos I took were of the male in flight, returning to the area of the nest with a vole in his talons. Male with vole It wasn’t until I returned home and began processing the images that I began to notice that the male always seemed to carry the vole in its left foot. This piqued my curiosity about something I’d never considered – do some birds show “handedness” – the preference of using one limb as opposed to the other? Could this male owl, or perhaps all Short-eared Owls, be left-“handed”? Once again, carrying the vole in the left foot So I decided to do an inventory of my images of these birds to see what would turn up. After culling my photos of these owls from this trip I had 271 photos to go through. Most of those were flight shots of the male and in more than half of them he was carrying a vole. My goal was to try to determine how many “sorties” he made with a vole that I had photographed (I often got multiple shots of the male with the same vole in the same sortie) and determine what percentage of the time he…

Category: Behaviors