Red-tailed Hawk Carrying Prey in Beak Instead Of Talons
In my experience Red-tailed Hawks in flight most often carry prey in their talons but this molting adult surprised me a little.
Category: Behaviors
Snowy Egret – “Golden Slippers” Running On Water
The distinctive bright yellow feet and deeply contrasting jet-black legs of the Snowy Egret can really grab your eye when they’re visible above the water’s surface or even when the egret is in flight – so much so that both the bird and its feet are often referred to as “golden slippers”.
Fighting White-faced Ibises (11 images)
Generally the White-faced Ibis is non-aggressive as it feeds in large groups of its own kind. Even when they accidentally bump into each other there is usually no aggressive response. But there are exceptions…
Extremes In Fish Size White Pelicans Will Attempt To Eat
American White Pelicans eat fish almost exclusively and the size range of fish they’ll attempt to swallow can be extreme. If they show poor judgment they can get into serious trouble.
Iridescence And The Role of Plumage Variations In Juvenile Magpies
Juvenile Black-billed Magpies have significantly less iridescence in their plumage than the adults so the amount that appeared in this young bird surprised me.
Eastern Kingbird Adult And Fledgling – A Question Of Behavior
Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I photographed a subtle but interesting bit of kingbird behavior that caught my attention and piqued my curiosity.
The Shrike And The Grasshopper (and noticing the “little things”)
I make every effort in the field to “read” the behavior of my avian subjects. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m not but either way it’s a learning experience for me and my percentage of accuracy does seem to be improving. One of the payoffs can be better bird photographs for a variety of reasons.
Female Mountain Bluebird Removing Fecal Sac From Nestbox
The nesting season of Mountain Bluebirds in Montana’s Centennial Valley was delayed this year due to a late spring cold snap so during my visit there last week some of them were still feeding youngsters in the nest boxes. I’ve found it to be relatively easy to photograph the parent birds on top of the nest boxes with insects for the chicks in their beaks but catching them in flight as they leave the nest with fecal sacs is another story altogether.
Savannah Sparrow Feeding Fledgling
During our last Montana trip we had multiple sessions over several days with a very cooperative Savannah Sparrow – “cooperative” in the sense that the bird could always be found in the same spot along the shore of Lower Red Rock Lake in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Sapsuckers Cleaning Out The Nest Hole
The 5″ x 8″ (interior dimensions) tree nest hole of the Williamson’s Sapsucker with as many as 6 growing nestlings inside presents a significant potential hygiene problem. This post is about how the adults dealt with that situation as I was photographing them about three weeks near the Montana/Idaho border.
Magpies Scavenging Entrails Rejected By Raptors
On my last Montana trip I think I figured out part of the reason why Black-billed Magpies often perch high on power poles in some areas. I’m sure this apparent behavior is known to others but it was something new for me.
The Sapsucker And The Ant
Sometimes the presence of a tiny, almost miniscule arthropod can make or break a bird photograph.
Ferruginous Hawks – Strange Behavior With Nesting Material
On our recent camping/photo trip to southwest Montana I observed and photographed a Ferruginous Hawk behavior that has me baffled.
Red-naped Sapsucker (not a Williamson’s this time…)
On each our Montana trips we try to explore some new country. We found this Red-naped Sapsucker and its mate at their nest-hole on July 1 near a small lake at the end of a long dirt road.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers – The Mated Pair
We were very lucky to find the nesting pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers in Clark County, Idaho early this summer. For starters, they’re “uncommon” and not often seen. Birders and researchers typically locate most birds by their calls but this sapsucker species is “generally quiet” and doesn’t spontaneously advertise their territories that time of year so passive listening tends to be ineffective in locating them. For this and other reasons Williamson’s Sapsuckers are poorly sampled and studied and there is little data on their numbers.
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Snowy Egret – “Golden Slippers” Running On Water
The distinctive bright yellow feet and deeply contrasting jet-black legs of the Snowy Egret can really grab your eye when they’re visible above the water’s surface or even when the egret is in flight – so much so that both the bird and its feet are often referred to as “golden slippers”.
Fighting White-faced Ibises (11 images)
Generally the White-faced Ibis is non-aggressive as it feeds in large groups of its own kind. Even when they accidentally bump into each other there is usually no aggressive response. But there are exceptions…
Extremes In Fish Size White Pelicans Will Attempt To Eat
American White Pelicans eat fish almost exclusively and the size range of fish they’ll attempt to swallow can be extreme. If they show poor judgment they can get into serious trouble.
Iridescence And The Role of Plumage Variations In Juvenile Magpies
Juvenile Black-billed Magpies have significantly less iridescence in their plumage than the adults so the amount that appeared in this young bird surprised me.
Eastern Kingbird Adult And Fledgling – A Question Of Behavior
Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I photographed a subtle but interesting bit of kingbird behavior that caught my attention and piqued my curiosity.
The Shrike And The Grasshopper (and noticing the “little things”)
I make every effort in the field to “read” the behavior of my avian subjects. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m not but either way it’s a learning experience for me and my percentage of accuracy does seem to be improving. One of the payoffs can be better bird photographs for a variety of reasons.
Female Mountain Bluebird Removing Fecal Sac From Nestbox
The nesting season of Mountain Bluebirds in Montana’s Centennial Valley was delayed this year due to a late spring cold snap so during my visit there last week some of them were still feeding youngsters in the nest boxes. I’ve found it to be relatively easy to photograph the parent birds on top of the nest boxes with insects for the chicks in their beaks but catching them in flight as they leave the nest with fecal sacs is another story altogether.
Savannah Sparrow Feeding Fledgling
During our last Montana trip we had multiple sessions over several days with a very cooperative Savannah Sparrow – “cooperative” in the sense that the bird could always be found in the same spot along the shore of Lower Red Rock Lake in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Sapsuckers Cleaning Out The Nest Hole
The 5″ x 8″ (interior dimensions) tree nest hole of the Williamson’s Sapsucker with as many as 6 growing nestlings inside presents a significant potential hygiene problem. This post is about how the adults dealt with that situation as I was photographing them about three weeks near the Montana/Idaho border.
Magpies Scavenging Entrails Rejected By Raptors
On my last Montana trip I think I figured out part of the reason why Black-billed Magpies often perch high on power poles in some areas. I’m sure this apparent behavior is known to others but it was something new for me.
The Sapsucker And The Ant
Sometimes the presence of a tiny, almost miniscule arthropod can make or break a bird photograph.
Ferruginous Hawks – Strange Behavior With Nesting Material
On our recent camping/photo trip to southwest Montana I observed and photographed a Ferruginous Hawk behavior that has me baffled.
Red-naped Sapsucker (not a Williamson’s this time…)
On each our Montana trips we try to explore some new country. We found this Red-naped Sapsucker and its mate at their nest-hole on July 1 near a small lake at the end of a long dirt road.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers – The Mated Pair
We were very lucky to find the nesting pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers in Clark County, Idaho early this summer. For starters, they’re “uncommon” and not often seen. Birders and researchers typically locate most birds by their calls but this sapsucker species is “generally quiet” and doesn’t spontaneously advertise their territories that time of year so passive listening tends to be ineffective in locating them. For this and other reasons Williamson’s Sapsuckers are poorly sampled and studied and there is little data on their numbers.