In contrast to my post yesterday of a juvenile Swainson’s Hawk, this bird is an adult. In fact it’s the parent of that juvenile. I seldom post the same species back to back but I thought the comparison might be interesting.
Sometimes raptors risk serious injury as they go after prey – especially to their eyes.
The Forster’s Tern is the only tern that is almost entirely restricted to North America year around. They’re sometimes called “marsh terns” because they breed primarily in fresh, brackish and saltwater marshes, including here in northern Utah. Prior to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Forster’s Terns were hunted for the millenary trade and because of their habit of hovering over other individuals that had been killed they were particularly vulnerable to being shot.
Earlier his month I had two encounters with a Merlin on consecutive early mornings at almost the same location in the Centennial Valley of Montana. These images were taken the first morning.
As common as they are in some areas I have very few quality images of Western Scrub Jays. They frequent scrub woodlands dominated by pinon pines or oaks in the west so it isn’t unusual for them to be found in Utah neighborhoods adjacent to the mountains where they sometimes visit bird feeders. I prefer to photograph them in their native habitat but they’re more shy there which partially explains my lack of images of the species.
Depending on the types of locations where you typically shoot, using your vehicle as a mobile blind for photographing birds may be a viable, even perfect option for you.
Bird photography isn’t easy and the resulting images are often missing an essential element (or two, or more…) but sometimes I like those shots anyway. Case in point:
This post is all about abject failure and mediocre (at best) images. But it’s also about the incredible excitement of bird photography.
With raptors in particular there’s an additional reason for photographing when the sun is low in the sky – it’s called the brow ridge.
I’ve been aware for years that these owls sometimes take over badger holes but it’s something I’ve never been able to document without question until this week.
I photographed this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk yesterday morning near Farmington Bay as it prepared to eat a vole it had just caught.
Note: Fair warning – the second photo in this sequence is slightly graphic so sensitive folks may want to avoid scrolling further than the first image.
Any bird photographer knows that light and timing have a nasty habit of being uncooperative just when you need that cooperation most.
Very few Bald Eagles remain in Utah during summer so I almost never see them in that season except on my Montana camping trips.
I won’t soon forget being allowed so close to these wild, quintessential swans that came so very close to extinction.
In my experience there’s a huge range in the approachability of juvenile raptors, even among siblings. And overall, Swainson’s Hawks seem to be the most approachable of all. This variability was demonstrated during our trip to Montana’s Centennial Valley last week and once again it made me nervous for the safety of the bird.
