Savannah Sparrow – Fearless Dragon Slayer
This little Savannah Sparrow was one of my most memorable birds on our recent Montana camping trip. It was a fearless and a relentless hunter.
Category: Behaviors
Female Williamson’s Sapsucker Delivering Ants To Chicks At The Nest-hole
Since my previous post featured the more colorful male I decided to focus on the more subtly hued female this morning.
Williamson’s Sapsucker Leaving The Nest-hole
When we arrived at the sapsucker nest hole we were delighted to find that both adults were busy feeding chicks and maintaining a tidy home for their family.
Great Egret Trying To Survive A Harsh Winter
Great Egrets are unusual in my area but we occasionally get a few individuals in winter. Unfortunately this bird chose to hang around during one of our harshest winters in years and the heron struggled to survive. I don’t know if it succeeded.
An Update On The Red-tailed Hawk Chicks
Ten days ago I reported on the progress of the three Red-tailed Hawk nestlings I’ve been following out in the west desert. At that time several of my readers requested that I keep folks up to date on these birds as they approach fledging. This post is my attempt to do so.
Hovering Western Kingbird
It’s virtually unheard of for me to catch a kingbird in full flight (as opposed to take-off or landing) with any kind of image quality but two days ago I finally had some success in that arena.
Lark Sparrow
The bold harlequin face pattern and unique courtship behaviors of the Lark Sparrow make it among my favorite sparrows to observe and photograph.
Northern Mockingbird Displaying In Low Light
On a dark, cloudy morning on Antelope Island last month I had an opportunity with a displaying Northern Mockingbird. The shooting conditions were difficult but I decided to play at the edge of the limits of my gear and see what I could get. These shots are not sequential of the same take-off and landing but in the order I’ve presented them I think they illustrate the behavior reasonably well.
Male Western Kingbird Greeting His Lady
Male Western Kingbirds take no part in nest construction or incubation. Nor do they feed the female while she’s on the nest (she leaves the nest to feed several times per day). But he’s always there, seeming to offer encouragement and watch carefully over the proceedings.
Fledgling Yellow-headed Blackbird, Begging For And Then Receiving Food
I’ve been stuck in the house for what seems like an eternity because of the gloomy weather and lack of light. It rained all day yesterday (which is unusual for us here in the semi-desert) and I keep thinking of all the early summer bird activity I’m missing so this morning I reached back into the archives for some shots that would remind me of what I’m not seeing and photographing. I’m a glutton for punishment…
My Favorite Image From My Time With The Nest-building Kingbirds
Earlier this week I spent several mornings photographing a female Western Kingbird as she was constructing her nest. Out of the many hundreds of shots I took of her the third image in this post is my favorite.
Red-tailed Hawk Chicks (and my emotional attachment to them)
We’ve been keeping an eye on this Red-tailed Hawk nest in the west desert for about three years now.
Birds Using Bison Hair As Nesting Material
For millennia a variety of North American bird species used bison hair during nest construction but when the “buffalo” was brought to the brink of extinction by hunters in the late 1800’s that resource was essentially gone. Today there are relatively few places where bison hair is available to birds and Antelope Island is one of them.
Nest-building Western Kingbird
Yesterday morning we photographed an industrious female Western Kingbird as she worked at constructing her nest. In this species the sexes are similar but only the female builds the nest. The male hung around nearby as he watched over the laborious construction process and offered his mate encouragement (that was good of him don’t you think?).
A Wren On A Mission
Last week on our Montana camping trip the House Wrens were incredibly persistent when trying to get long or awkwardly-shaped twigs into the nest holes in the aspen.
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Female Williamson’s Sapsucker Delivering Ants To Chicks At The Nest-hole
Since my previous post featured the more colorful male I decided to focus on the more subtly hued female this morning.
Williamson’s Sapsucker Leaving The Nest-hole
When we arrived at the sapsucker nest hole we were delighted to find that both adults were busy feeding chicks and maintaining a tidy home for their family.
Great Egret Trying To Survive A Harsh Winter
Great Egrets are unusual in my area but we occasionally get a few individuals in winter. Unfortunately this bird chose to hang around during one of our harshest winters in years and the heron struggled to survive. I don’t know if it succeeded.
An Update On The Red-tailed Hawk Chicks
Ten days ago I reported on the progress of the three Red-tailed Hawk nestlings I’ve been following out in the west desert. At that time several of my readers requested that I keep folks up to date on these birds as they approach fledging. This post is my attempt to do so.
Hovering Western Kingbird
It’s virtually unheard of for me to catch a kingbird in full flight (as opposed to take-off or landing) with any kind of image quality but two days ago I finally had some success in that arena.
Lark Sparrow
The bold harlequin face pattern and unique courtship behaviors of the Lark Sparrow make it among my favorite sparrows to observe and photograph.
Northern Mockingbird Displaying In Low Light
On a dark, cloudy morning on Antelope Island last month I had an opportunity with a displaying Northern Mockingbird. The shooting conditions were difficult but I decided to play at the edge of the limits of my gear and see what I could get. These shots are not sequential of the same take-off and landing but in the order I’ve presented them I think they illustrate the behavior reasonably well.
Male Western Kingbird Greeting His Lady
Male Western Kingbirds take no part in nest construction or incubation. Nor do they feed the female while she’s on the nest (she leaves the nest to feed several times per day). But he’s always there, seeming to offer encouragement and watch carefully over the proceedings.
Fledgling Yellow-headed Blackbird, Begging For And Then Receiving Food
I’ve been stuck in the house for what seems like an eternity because of the gloomy weather and lack of light. It rained all day yesterday (which is unusual for us here in the semi-desert) and I keep thinking of all the early summer bird activity I’m missing so this morning I reached back into the archives for some shots that would remind me of what I’m not seeing and photographing. I’m a glutton for punishment…
My Favorite Image From My Time With The Nest-building Kingbirds
Earlier this week I spent several mornings photographing a female Western Kingbird as she was constructing her nest. Out of the many hundreds of shots I took of her the third image in this post is my favorite.
Red-tailed Hawk Chicks (and my emotional attachment to them)
We’ve been keeping an eye on this Red-tailed Hawk nest in the west desert for about three years now.
Birds Using Bison Hair As Nesting Material
For millennia a variety of North American bird species used bison hair during nest construction but when the “buffalo” was brought to the brink of extinction by hunters in the late 1800’s that resource was essentially gone. Today there are relatively few places where bison hair is available to birds and Antelope Island is one of them.
Nest-building Western Kingbird
Yesterday morning we photographed an industrious female Western Kingbird as she worked at constructing her nest. In this species the sexes are similar but only the female builds the nest. The male hung around nearby as he watched over the laborious construction process and offered his mate encouragement (that was good of him don’t you think?).
A Wren On A Mission
Last week on our Montana camping trip the House Wrens were incredibly persistent when trying to get long or awkwardly-shaped twigs into the nest holes in the aspen.