Category: Upland Game Birds

Just A Shot That I Like…#13 – Puffed-Up Chukar In Golden Light

During spring and early summer Chukars habitually call from large rock perches but in winter they’re secretive, elusive and very difficult to approach.  On the rare occasions I can get close to the species this time of year they’re buried in the vegetation and I can’t get a clear shot.    1/800, f/8, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But I found this bird on a nice boulder perch last month on one of the first very cold mornings of the winter.  The sun had just come up over the Wasatch Mountains and this Chukar was determined to absorb some heat from the warming rays so it hardly moved a feather for the several minutes I was able to keep it in frame.  At times like this they fluff up their insulating feathers and always remind me of the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  Or perhaps the bird simply swallowed a softball, ya think?  Full disclosure – I cloned out a couple of bird droppings on the rock which is something I seldom do but in this case they were quite conspicuous and distracting. Ron  

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Just a Shot That I Like… #7 – Ring-necked Pheasant Roosting In Tree

Many folks think of Ring-necked Pheasants as strictly ground dwelling birds but that’s simply not the case.  These pheasants regularly roost in trees at night and the following morning they will often be active in the roost tree for up to an hour before descending to the ground for the rest of the day.    1/800, f/8, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Virtually every time I’ve seen these birds in trees it’s been on very cold, sunny mornings so I’ve always had the impression that they’re sunning themselves to warm up a bit.  Usually they flush to the ground for cover before I can get close enough for quality photos but this cooperative male apparently decided that his chill was more of a threat to him than I was.  He let me shoot away from close range for quite a while even though he was perhaps 20′ up in the tree and on a very exposed branch.  Long-tailed birds like pheasants and magpies can present difficult compositional problems when cropping for presentation but I though this vertical crop worked out well with him on the diagonal perch.    Ron  

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Just a Shot That I Like…#3 – Chukar In Snow

The Chukar is a type of partridge that was introduced to Antelope Island many years ago and they thrive there.   They’re originally native to Asia and are a popular game bird, though their range in North America is restricted because they thrive only in areas of low rainfall and humidity.   1/2500, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this one last winter on a boulder just after a fresh snow fall.  Though the white part of the background may look like clouds it is actually a snowy hillside with blue sky above.  I like the soft colors, coy pose, rocky perch and the snow in the setting with the blue sky up top.  Some may miss seeing the feet but that’s a trade-off I’ll gladly make to catch this handsome bird in the snow. Ron  

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The Shot That Broke My Heart

There was a range fire on the north end of Antelope Island yesterday that forced managers to clear out all campers from the campgrounds.  So when we arrived early this morning the campgrounds were empty and this young coyote was hunting on the edge of Bridger Bay Campground.    Canon 7D, 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, EV +0.33 Normally the coyotes on the island are elusive and difficult to approach but I believe this to be a young one so it didn’t seem overly concerned about us.  Besides, he/she obviously already had a quarry in sight deep in the grass and wasn’t about to let us interfere with the hunt.  In this image the coyote has just spotted something of interest in the grass some distance in front of “him”.     Canon 7D, 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, EV +0.33 Here the coyote begins to make his stalk.  At first he didn’t crouch down so that he could see what ever it was he was after through the grass.      Canon 7D, 1/1250, f/8, ISO 500, EV +0.33 But as he got closer (both to the potential prey and to me) he began to crouch down, almost in a cat-like manner.  At this point I suspected that something dramatic might happen and tried to prepare myself for “the shot”.    The most common prey of coyotes on the island is voles but I was pretty sure it wasn’t a vole because the coyote was too far away from his point of interest when he first spotted it to…

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Chukar with Black Mustard

I know, my title sounds like a recipe title or an entree from a fancy restaurant.  Couldn’t resist… I’ve been photographing Chukars on Antelope Island for several years now and I’m often pleasantly surprised by the lovely backgrounds the island provides.  Since these birds like to perch on the boulders that are common on the island they are often separated from their backgrounds by enough distance to provide a pleasing out of focus backdrop of earth tones from the dried grasses.   Canon 7D, 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4 But until recently the background has never included attractive flowers that I recall.  What a treat it was to find this bird immediately after we got on the island just as the sun was peeking over the mountains to the east which made for some some nice warm light and for the bird to choose a perch with such a pleasant background.  In this case the flowers are Black Mustard (named for the seed color – not the color of the flower, obviously – thanks for the flower ID Mia!).   I liked the calling pose in this full frame shot.     Canon 7D, 1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4 And to make things even better this bird cooperated for quite a while – providing a variety of head turns and poses to take advantage of the light and the setting. Chukars like to perch on, and call from, boulders.  That can be a problem because most of the rocks on the north end of the island where these…

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Chukars of Antelope Island

 The Chukar, also known as the Chukar Partridge, is a species first introduced into North America from India in 1893.  Since then they have flourished, particularly in the Great Basin of the American west where the largely feed on the seeds and leaves of cheat grass.  Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake provides perfect habitat for them and they abound there.    Chukar calling In the springtime there are times when the hillsides sound like the island has been overrun by domestic chickens from the calling of the Chukars.      Preening on a rock perch Chukars are very prone to perch on rocks – especially in the spring.  While there they call to other birds and preen.  Sentinel birds of a flock also prefer elevated perches while on lookout, which of course is ideal for the bird photographer.      Parent with chicks And here’s one of the reasons there’s so many Chukars on Antelope Island – the breed prodigiously.  Clutch size can be up to 21 eggs!     Chukar covey on boulder In late summer and fall Chukars often congregate in large groups.  These coveys tend to consist of adults and their offspring but several family groups may mix together.      Preparing to jump off the rock Like some other upland game birds, Chukars are often reluctant to fly.  They will typically jump down from their perch and scurry through the vegetation to hide.  They are very fast runners and easily outrun a human on foot.     Rock hopping  I’m often tempted to call these birds “rockhoppers” because of their tendency…

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Photographing Birds on Antelope Island

  My previous post was an overview of the geology of Antelope Island and its non-bird wildlife.  Here, I’ll focus on its birds.   Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike begging for food Loggerhead Shrikes are common on many parts of the island during summer.  They can be a challenge to approach but those few that nest close to the road eventually get used to traffic so if you photograph from your vehicle you can often get quite close.  Here this juvenile was begging for food that was being delivered by a parent just out of frame to the left.    Loggerhead Shrike with dragonfly  Shrikes are often called “butcher birds” for their practice of temporarily impaling their prey on thorns or other sharp projections.   This juvenile had done just that with the dragonfly but it wasn’t very good at it yet and in the end just decided to eat it instead of store it away.     Loggerhead Shrike with spider Shrikes are opportunistic carnivores known to feed on insects, spiders, amphibians, small reptiles, rodents and other birds.   This one also attempted to impale the prey before eating it.     Juvenile Burrowing Owl practicing its parallax technique on me Burrowing Owls are one of my favorite species on the island though they can be difficult to locate from year to year as they often don’t seem to nest in the same burrow the next year.  In the summer of 2009 there was an entire family of owls along the causeway to the island nesting under concrete rubble, as in the…

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