Birds – Page 269 – Feathered Photography

A Guide To Aging Bald Eagles

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,…

Harlan’s Hawk On A Coot Kill (graphic)

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…

Mallard Reflection

“Reflecting” my need to work with an image with some color for a change (after all of the snow, brutal cold and gray skies we’ve been having) and also inspired by some recent discussion with blog reader Sue Johnson regarding reflections, I’ve chosen to post something this morning that’s a little different for me. Last July I found this wild female Mallard posing and preening on a perch I liked and in warm, early morning light. 1/320, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light As I gained experience as a photographer I found myself gravitating away from reflections, often preferring instead the fine detail typically available in traditional portraits. But for my tastes, this image provides both – good detail and a strong reflection. I like the setting, pose, perch, light and reflection. In fact I like the reflection (bird and water colors) at least as much as I do the live bird. The image may be a little tight for some but it’s very close to full frame, shot vertically, and I just didn’t have as much wiggle room as I would have liked. I thought I’d present the image for your consideration anyway… Ron

Barn Owl Hunting Adaptations And Techniques

One more Barn Owl post and then I’ll give them a rest for a while. Lately I’ve spent a lot of time watching these birds hunt and I’ve become intrigued by the process and their adaptations for doing so. Hunting over deep snow presents unique challenges because their prey (typically voles) spends most of their time in tunnels under the surface, so the owls are often hunting by sound alone. According to Birds of North America Online (out of Cornell) Barn Owls hunt prey by sound more effectively than any other animal ever tested (I’m unsure if this statement takes into account the use of sonar by cetaceans and ultrasonic sounds by bats but BNA seldom gets things like this wrong). 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in They fly low and slow over the surface while watching and listening but with this much snow they usually locate the voles only by sound. Notice that they can tuck their legs up into their ventral feathers so far that only the feet are visible. It’s amazing that they can do so because… 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in as you can see in this “butt shot” those legs are incredibly long. This is an adaptation for grasping prey through deep vegetation or snow. Their claws (nails) are unusually long and sharp and the middle nail has a pectinate inner edge, most likely an adaptation for grasping prey…

Barn Owl Hunting Over A Hoarfrosted Hill

The Barn Owls are still hunting sporadically during daylight in northern Utah. I’ve seen them doing so in a variety of areas and heard reports of it happening elsewhere. Some areas near the Great Salt Lake are literally “magical wonderlands” in the early mornings due to the thick layer of hoarfrost that covers nearly everything. The frost falls off the vegetation during the day, then reforms during the night. The hoarfrost produces a setting for my images that appeals to me. The camera settings for the images in this post were: 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. The owl was not baited, set up or called in. Yesterday morning this owl was hunting along the upper edge of a steep-sided hill as it came in my general direction and then rounded the hill to my right. In the first four shots you can see that its attention is riveted to the side of the hill where the snow cover is much less deep than it is everywhere else, which would increase the chances of spotting a vole. I chose to compose these images a little differently so that the frost-covered hunting ground becomes almost as important to the image as the bird. If you have any thoughts on this composition I’d be interested in hearing them. As the bird rounded the hilltop and got closer to me the frosted vegetation became more dominant in the images. You can see that the snow on the hillside is patchy (most of the white is frost) so I believe that…

Just A Shot That I Like… #29 – Adult Bald Eagle In Flight

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

Ring-necked Pheasants Struggling In Deep Snow

Native to Asia, the Ring-necked Pheasant is one of the most successful introduced bird species in North America. They are exceptionally prized by hunters and may be the most studied game bird in the world. In Utah, as in much of their adopted range, their numbers are declining due to modern farming technologies and practices which are responsible for degradation of their preferred habitat (small farms with diversified crops and many patches of idle habitat). Collisions with vehicles are a major cause of pheasant mortality. In a Nebraska study, 7,195 (known) pheasants were killed by vehicles in a 439 mile section of Interstate 80 in 7 years. (I once hit a beautiful male pheasant while driving a very large U-haul truck at 65 mph. It glanced off the windshield, which definitely got my attention, then wedged in the side-mirror, which it broke. I expected to be charged for the mirror but the U-haul folks were fly fishermen and were so delighted to get the tail feathers for tying flies that they let me off with no charge). During winters with heavy snowfall and severe cold these birds require dense winter cover such as cattails in wetlands, which is part of the reason they do well at Farmington Bay WMA where these photos were taken recently. Because of the snow and bright sunshine my camera techs were all over the map and pretty meaningless so I’m not including them this time. These heavy-bodied birds are somewhat reluctant to fly so deep powdery snow presents some problems for them. Typically they push their bodies through…

Harlan’s Hawk

Harlan’s Hawk is today considered to be a sub-species of the Red-tailed Hawk but its classification has a colorful history as it has twice been considered a separate species and twice as a race of the Red-tailed Hawk. The controversy continues today as several “experts” lobby to have the Harlan’s reinstated as a distinct species. In 1831 John James Audubon originally named this bird Harlan’s Buzzard, after his good friend Dr. Richard Harlan of Philadelphia. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Harlan’s Hawks are quite similar to western Red-tailed Hawks but typically they are “colder/blacker” in overall color, with the tendency toward dusky-white tails in the ventral view. At rest, wing tips are obviously shorter than tail tips (easily seen here) and their breasts are variably streaked with white. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in In this view you can make out another identifying feature – the barring to the tips of the wing primaries (most easily seen here in the left wing). Harlan’s Hawks are found in Alaska and northern Canada but winter in the western United States and the Great Plains. I’ve had very few (if any) photo opportunities with them but found this juvenile (light eye) two days ago at Farmington Bay. I’m always delighted to photograph a “new” bird, particularly when it’s a raptor. Ron

Barn Owl On A Natural Perch

I had an enjoyable day yesterday while photographing birds with Mia and Brian Gatlin, a friend from northern Arizona. Since we shoot from my pickup I was the “designated driver” and wasn’t able to do much photography but we did see a lot of great birds and I enjoyed the conversation immensely (in spite of the good-natured but merciless teasing from Mia that I endured all day…) 1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited set up or called in Strange as it may seem, over the years I’ve had much more success getting Barn Owl shots I like while they’re in flight than I have while they’re perched because of their tendency to land on unattractive and unnatural perches like metal posts and signs. But this owl allowed us close while perched in a tree that didn’t have too many distracting branches in the setting. Good bird! Ron

A Compositional Conundrum

I intended this post to be a single image for my “Just A Shot That I Like” feature. It didn’t turn out that way. Six days ago I found this Great Blue Heron on the edge of a small, partially frozen creek with an almost vertical snow bank directly behind and very close to the bird. The heron was patient with me and I was close so I tried a variety of compositions using my 500 mm and 100-400 mm lenses. The incredibly fast shutter speeds were because of the bright snow and my forgetfulness in adjusting settings as I was juggling two cameras and lenses. In the end I couldn’t decide which composition I preferred so I’m presenting three of them here. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light This relatively tight vertical shows good detail on the bird and I like the close view of the swirly marks on the snow behind the heron made by a wing as it landed. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 100 – 400 @ 400mm, natural light Some folks gravitate toward whole-bird reflections so I’m also including this composition. Ideally I’d prefer the bird to be slightly further left in the frame but cropping off the left makes the image too narrow vertically for my tastes and I have no more room on the right (image was taken vertically and is close to full frame). 1/6400, f/5.6, ISO 640, 100 – 400 @ 400mm, natural light A horizontal composition with the heron slightly smaller in the frame shows more of the…

Rough-legged Hawk Mantling, Then Take-off

My encounter with this Rough-legged Hawk was a frustrating one. It all began with a Northern Harrier on the snow-covered ground with prey (which turned out to be a Pied-billed Grebe) . It was quite far away, even if my tc had been attached (it wasn’t), so I put my pickup in gear to drive further down the road. Just then this hawk swooped in from behind (I couldn’t see it coming) to pilfer the prey from the harrier. By the time I got the pickup turned off and my tc attached the action between the two raptors was over – the harrier had vamoosed with the head of the grebe (based on the photos Mia was able to get) and the roughie was on the ground with what was left. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Here the hawk is “mantling” the grebe. Mantling is a behavior of raptors where they spread their wings, fan their tail and arch their body over their prey – effectively hiding it from other predators, particularly other raptors. In this image the tail isn’t completely fanned and the bird is looking back at us rather than arching its body. There’s a patch of blood on the snow and you can see part of the grebe under the right wing. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in The hawk quickly gobbled down what was left of the grebe, inspected the…

Birds Dealing With Snow And Cold

Birds use a variety of tactics to deal with the harsh conditions presented by an unusually cold and snowy winter. Some are more effective than others. I thought it might be interesting to see a few of them that I’ve been able to photograph in the last several weeks. My usual disclaimer for posts relating to behaviors; many of these images are technically lacking but I think they do illustrate some of the conditions these birds are having to cope with. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light After a fresh snow, the food source for many small birds is largely hidden and unavailable without some extraordinary measures. This juvenile White-crowned Sparrow, and others in the flock, were flitting from one snow-covered perch to another in an obvious attempt at knocking the snow off so they could get to the seeds underneath. Here you can see the snow falling away and immediately afterward the sparrow fed on the uncovered seeds. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in When it gets very cold most water sources freeze up completely which makes fish largely inacessable to Bald Eagles so many of them turn to scavenging as their primary food source. But this species adapted very well to scavenging eons ago which is one of the reasons Ben Franklin looked in disfavor at the proposal to make the Bald Eagle our national bird. 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or…

Red Fox Kits At Play

Ok, here it is only the middle of January and I’ve already had my fill of frigid temperatures, snow and inversions. This post is my temporary escape from it all – to spring green, warm temperatures and cute animal babies. In May of 2010 I found a den of Red Fox Kits at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. The den was only about 15′ from the road edge and I never left my pickup or the road while photographing the youngsters. Some of the images here (there are lots of them) have technical issues of composition and light angle but hey, rambunctious fox kits are a challenge to photograph. At least that’s my excuse… The photography was frenetic. I used three different cameras and lenses (500mm with and without tc, 100-400 zoom and 17-85 zoom). I missed a lot of interesting shots while switching gear – fun and frustrating at the same time. I’m leaving out camera exif data this time – just too much work and I don’t have the time this morning. Sorry Dwynn… At first there was a single kit out of the den. Then there were two. Three. And finally, four – you can see the top of the head of the fourth one as it emerges from the den. This is the only shot I kept that included all four kits. These youngsters aren’t as red as one might expect because they were covered in gray dust from playing in the dirt and crawling through the den. I…

Ferruginous Hawk In Head-on Flight

The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest, most powerful buteo in North America. They have a broad chest, wide gape, large head and long, narrow-tipped wings. Unlike most other buteos they often perch on the ground. Their huge nests, typically constructed in isolated trees or on cliffs, were often constructed of bison bones and wool before the elimination of that massive animal from the western plains. This species is often compared to the Golden Eagle with which it has much in common and they are fully deserving of their apt scientific name, Buteo regalis. 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, called in or set up This bird had been perched on an old fence post in Utah’s west desert (background is the Stansbury Mountains) and I was able to capture it in flight soon after it lifted off. I like the blood on the left foot and the somewhat unusual wing position as it took off mostly in my direction. This wing position is seldom seen in photographs because the wing would obscure the head in the much more common side view. Typically these birds don’t take off toward the photographer from a low perch. Ron

Barn Owls In Flight

This is the time I’ve both looked forward to, and dreaded – when Barn Owls hunt during daytime. Normally this species is strictly nocturnal so they fly only during times that photography is virtually impossible. But around here, when it turns very cold and the snow is deep, they must continue to hunt during the day in order to survive. It’s my guess that there are two reasons for the change in behavior; the cold increases their demand for body heat and the food to supply it, combined with the difficulty of hunting voles when the snow is so deep. The last time these birds hunted regularly during daytime was several years ago when we had a similar frigid winter. Many of those birds didn’t survive until spring. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Yesterday there were several Barn Owls hunting in mid-day soon after our latest storm began to clear out which finally allowed for some good light. It was brutally cold with perhaps a foot of fresh snow on the ground, on top of the snow from previous storms. Notice the ice/snow clumped on the feet of the owl. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I’ve mentioned before how difficult it can be to get a catch light in this species because of their deeply set eyes. I didn’t get any light in the eye in this image but I liked the wing…

Category: Birds