Many extinct and ancient relatives of modern birds had alulae, as do flies (insects of order diptera). I find it fascinating that evolutionary selection pressure has produced this structure in such diverse and relatively unrelated groups as birds and some flying insects. And that man has (once again) copied nature to solve a modern problem.
One of my favorite subjects is the male Northern Harrier. Because juveniles of both sexes are similar to the adult female, to the untrained eye most harriers look like females which is one of the reasons that many folks believe that they rarely see males – thus the name “Gray Ghost” for the ”elusive” adult male.
Last week, Mia and I enjoyed our first camping/photo trip of the season. We explored some remote areas of northern Utah and even found some interesting birds. But the incident I’m reporting on here still has me a bit perplexed.
I’ve spent many hours watching Rough-legged Hawks hunt. Nearly always they hunt from the air or from elevated perches but several years ago this bird showed me a technique I had never seen before and haven’t since. All of these images are presented in the order they were taken. Techs for these shots were: 1/2000 – 1/3200, f/8. ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I found the hawk on the ground and as I approached it in my pickup it didn’t fly off as I expected it would. Here it’s looking at me but most of the time it was scanning the grasses in the vicinity – obviously hunting for voles from the ground. It would lift off but only fly a few feet before it landed again. In this first lift-off it had vegetation in its talons. I’ve seen them do this before – it’s almost like they’re reluctant to let go of the plant material after they’ve missed the prey. The hawk landed again… And intensely scanned the surrounding area for prey. Then another take-off… and it flew within inches of the ground… before it pounced on a vole and swallowed it. Then it continued to hunt in the same manner. Another take-off… and another. There’s blood on the right foot from the last vole. The hawk repeatedly did the same thing – take…
The Osprey is a species that I’ve only had a handful of opportunities with but last spring I found a cooperative nesting pair at Flaming Gorge. In my mind this is a true miracle species because it has arisen Phoenix-like from the ashes of its own demise. During the 1950s-1970s their populations crashed dramatically, largely due to the effects of DDT and other persistent pesticides in the environment which caused severe eggshell-thinning and poor hatching success. But when those chemicals were banned the Osprey made a miraculous comeback and today their numbers are approaching historical highs. Part of the reason for that success has been the widespread use of artificial nesting sites. In some areas of North America, 90-95% of all nesting pairs choose these artificial sites over natural ones. The nest of this mated pair was on a pole installed for that purpose close to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, cloned out a piece of nest platform, not baited, set up or called in This is most likely the male of the pair (less conspicuous breast band) bringing a small fish in to the incubating female on the nest platform. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I believe this to be the female coming into the nest. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, canvas added, natural light, not baited, set up or called in When the male would bring its mate a fish…
I’m sorry to say that rampant copyright infringement and outright image thievery have forced me to make an unwanted change to my blog.
Back in November I blogged about my encounter with a Prairie Falcon and its Northern Shoveler prey. I thought that some of the images I didn’t use back then were worthy of another post. This falcon struck the duck on the water, then waited for it to die and to be washed up onto shore. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It attempted to enjoy its meal at the water’s edge but waves kept coming in and “rocking the boat”… 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in so the falcon decided to drag the shoveler further up the rocky shore and away from the annoying waves. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It wasn’t an easy task. Average weight for Northern Shovelers is almost as much as it is for Prairie Falcons (1.3 vs 1.6 lbs) so the falcon really struggled in its attempt to drag the duck to a more suitable dining area. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I thought this was an interesting shot with the wings up, the left foot off the ground and direct eye contact. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Finally the falcon was satisfied with the…
This past fall I spent several days photographing a couple of juvenile Red-tailed Hawks on Antelope Island. I suspect they were siblings as they seemed to enjoy each others company, though one of them was significantly more skittish than the other. This one was the more cooperative of the two. I enjoy the challenge of lift-off sequences. I usually consider myself lucky if I can get 2-3 sharp shots with poses I like before losing focus on the bird but this time I did better than usual. There won’t be much “narration” here, just a series of images as the hawk took off after prey. Some of the shots are a little sharper than others but I like seeing the entire sequence – “warts” and all. Techs for all these images were identical – 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in. Moment of lift-off. I like the splayed feet. Here the nictitating membrane is partially closed. Compositionally the left wing is too tight at the top of this image. I could easily add canvas up there and I might. I like how they splay their tail during the wing down-beat at take-off. Normally I do very little cloning but in this case I’d probably remove the stem under the bird if I chose to print this image. I did add a little canvas at the bottom of this shot. These last two images are very similar but I include them to…
I found this Male American Kestrel perched about a foot off the ground at the base of a large tree as it tried to escape the effects of a howling wind. It was mostly in deep shade but because the wind kept moving all the overhead branches, dappled light would occasionally fall on the bird. I thought the lighting and setting made for a few interesting images. I’ve posted one other shot of this bird in a different pose in the past. 1/500, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in My intent this morning was to post a single image of this bird but looking at the unprocessed versions I couldn’t make up my mind which of these two shots to use. So I processed them both but still couldn’t make a choice so I’m posting each of them. They’re processed minimally. I sharpening the bird and part of the perch in each photo but made no further adjustments, including exposure, saturation or contrast. 1/640, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I took this image only two clicks and seconds later than the previous shot but the slight change in body angle and head turn made subtle yet significant differences in light and richness of color. I adjusted my f/stop from 8 to 7.1 to give myself a little more shutter speed since I didn’t need quite as much depth of field to get the tail relatively sharp with it at this…
I have an appointment early this morning so I don’t have time for a detailed, organized post so I thought I’d present a little potpourri from the last few weeks. Though none of these images are spectacular, there’s something about each one of them that appealed to me in some way. Common Ravens are a hugely challenging subject for me because of their uncooperative behavior and the difficulty of getting detail in the blacks. For some reason, these birds really seem to eat a lot of snow, which this one had been doing just before take-off. I do wish the head were slightly sharper but I like the remnants of the snow-eating behavior and how cleanly the bird is presented against the background which is the Great Salt Lake with the snow-covered shoreline at bottom right. Finding water that isn’t ice-covered around here isn’t easy, for me or for the critters, but I think that’s the only reason this Muskrat came as close to me as it did. I found this one at a pond close to my home. Ok, not a classic wing position for sure but the aerodynamic profile of this fast flying Prairie Falcon still appealed to me. I also like the eye contact and crisp detail in flight. Life is tough for Coyotes right now as they live in a stark white world of deep snow which makes survival difficult. Many of them wear an almost perpetual snow mask from pushing their faces through the snow as they try to follow…
I’ve noticed an apparent behavioral quirk in some of the falcon species I’ve photographed and it’s tweaked my curiosity a bit. I’ve seen it most often in Prairie Falcons but that’s most likely because I get more opportunities with that species than I do any other of the large falcons. More often than not the Prairie Falcon holds its wings up or out (or both) for a few moments before it takes off. Sometimes the posture is maintained for quite a while. This is one of the better shots I have of it. Most of the photos to follow have reduced image quality but I include them to document the behavior. This bird held the posture for so long that I filled my buffer twice before it actually took off. Most often I’ve seen it prior to take-off from an elevated perch like this one but it also happens occasionally when they take off from the ground. Another Prairie Falcon showing the posture. I don’t see it nearly as often with the American Kestrel as I do with larger falcons. Perhaps that has to do with the relative ease of take-off for this diminutive falcon. I get few opportunities with Merlins but I’ve noticed it occasionally with this species also. I’m not sure if Peregrine Falcons do it. Usually when I’ve been close enough to photograph peregrines they’ve been on prey on the ground and they may be less likely to show the behavior when taking off from a…
Raptors at take-off typically have a “focused” look about them – they’re all business. But I thought the intensity of purpose of this Red-tailed Hawk was particularly evident. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Red-tails are “perch-and-wait” hunters so when they take off after prey they already have their eye on it and their focus is seldom diverted as they swoop in for the kill. This juvenile was hunting voles from an elevated rock perch on Antelope Island several months ago. I’ve had few opportunities with red-tails since all the snow piled up around here. Hopefully that will soon change… Ron
As we go into prime “eagle watching” season here in northern Utah I thought it might be timely to present a guide that would be helpful in aging Bald Eagles as they progress through the 5-6 year process of becoming adults. Many of these younger birds are mistakenly identified as Golden Eagles by the general public. Eagles that have not reached the adult stage are referred to as immature, juveniles or sub-adults. Plumage stages are highly variable, depending on molt sequence, age and timing so other factors like iris and beak color are also taken into account when estimating age. Eyes gradually change from dark brown to yellow while the beak goes from blackish-gray to yellow. 1/4000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, not baited, set up or called in The adult Bald Eagle is unmistakable with its distinctive bright white head and tail contrasting with the dark brown body and wings. 1/200, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in But juveniles present very differently than adults, especially in the early stages of development. This very young bird is barely fledged and was still hanging around its nest in sw Montana. Notice that the plumage is dark brown throughout, though they may have some white or pale mottling at this stage – especially on the underparts. Both eye and beak are very dark. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in This is a first year bird during winter. 1/800, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light,…
On January 18 I photographed this Harlan’s Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA. Harlan’s is a relatively rare and very dark subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk that breeds in Alaska and northern Canada but winters in the western U.S. and the Great Plains. I posted two other shots of this bird on January 20. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in On this day I only had a few moments with the hawk before it took off. 1/2500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Then, on January 22, we located the bird once again within just a few yards of where it had been four days earlier. This time it was at the bottom of a creek gully feeding on a freshly killed American Coot. The angle was steep and it’s not the most attractive setting but the behavior was interesting so I took lots of photos of this juvenile, if for no other reason than documentation of an unusual bird enjoying a meal. 1/2500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in The bird was only nervous with our presence for a few moments, then resumed eating its meal with enthusiasm. Here it has a beak-full of feathers that it had a difficult time shaking off. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I spent over 5 minutes with this…
Bald Eagles are a winter tradition in northern Utah. Many hundreds of northern birds spend the winter here and for much of that time they’re dispersed over wide areas looking for easy pickings – carrion in particular. But when concentrated food sources become available they can occasionally be found in large numbers. 1/4000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light This sometimes happens at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area when refuge personnel treat the ponds with rotenone to kill the damaging and invasive carp. When conditions are right, Bald Eagles congregate there for the carp feast. This bird was cruising the area around the second bridge looking for fish. Some years, when temperatures are frigid and other food sources are unavailable, provide great opportunities for birders and photographers but last year wasn’t one of them. The winter was warm and food was available elsewhere so the eagle numbers were down significantly. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks… Ron
