A Shot I’ve Been After For A Long Time…
I hope you’ll forgive me back to back posts on the same species but there’s a shot that has eluded me for years and yesterday I finally got it.
Northern Harrier Showing Food Source Adaptability
Last winter Northern Harriers really struggled to survive here in northern Utah. For several months it was bitter cold with a thick layer of snow on the ground which made it close to impossible for our wintering raptors (including Barn Owls) to find and catch their typical prey – voles. So harriers were forced to look for other food sources, including small birds. Songbirds are relatively scarce here that time of year but this harrier got lucky.
A Goofy-looking Red-tailed Hawk
Occasionally I run across a bird that just looks, well…. silly. This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was one of them.
Rough-legged Hawk Flying Into The Wind
Yesterday morning I was able to get my first decent Rough-legged Hawk images of the season. It’s a good thing too because this was the only cooperative bird I found all morning.
A Northern Flicker And The Kindness Of A Stranger
In early 2008 I was a frustrated novice photographer. I had recently invested heavily in an expensive “bird lens” and switched over from shooting in JPEG to RAW all in an effort to get high quality shots but it just wasn’t happening. My images were not as sharp as they should be and I couldn’t figure out why.
The American Goldfinch
Due to ongoing copyright infringement issues I’ve recently spent enormous amounts of time registering many thousands of my images with the U.S. Copyright Office. During that process I ran across these American Goldfinch images that I’d essentially forgotten about. They were taken almost exactly 6 years ago (11/18/2007) when I was first learning bird photography.
Male Northern Harrier Hunting
The Northern Harrier is arguably my favorite subject and I tend to post images of them often. Their dramatic sexual dimorphism in plumage color almost makes it seem as if I’m photographing two different species when I compare adult males to females.
You Never Know In What Direction A Raptor Will Take Off
Because of my fondness for raptor take-off shots I work hard at trying to predict what direction they will take off so I can be as prepared as possible. But to say it’s not an exact science is an understatement.
Gadwall Stealing Food From A Coot
Gadwalls are well-known for stealing food (kleptoparasitism) from American Coots . They eat the same kinds of food (submerged aquatic vegetation), Gadwalls are almost a third bigger than coots and the two species often feed together in mixed flocks so being the bullies on the block, Gadwalls can’t resist taking advantage of the situation.
Black-crowned Night Heron Tongue
The Black-crowned Night Heron is the most widespread heron in the world. They are opportunistic feeders that feed on a wide variety of prey and I’ve seen them swallow some amazingly large prey items. I suspect that their rather interesting-looking tongue plays a significant role in their success.