Yellow-headed Blackbirds Displaying
Recently we spent a few days touring some of our local birding hotspots with Jim and Nancy DeWitt, friends from Alaska who were visiting our area. One of Jim’s goals was to see and photograph Yellow-headed Blackbirds, a species not found in Alaska. We felt sure we could find some for him but sadly we failed, even though we had seen them recently. Apparently they have skedaddled south for warmer climes. But the experience made me realize that I’ve neglected the species in my posts so I decided to rectify the situation. Males are real acrobats in their springtime territorial displays and they have two types of “song spreads” when they’re singing – each accompanied by a distinct song type. Both of these photos are of a male displaying one of those two spreads – the Symmetrical Song Spread. I prefer to photograph these birds doing this spread because during the Asymmetrical Song Spread they arch their necks sharply to the left (yes, always to the left and never the right) which exposes the neck skin and often makes for a decidedly unattractive photo. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light During the Symmetrical Song Spread, the bird spreads its wings to reveal the white patches and the tail is splayed out and lowered. If you can get the right light and exposure on the bird, this posture will often give you an interesting and rather dramatic image. The Symmetrical Song Spread is most often displayed when competing males fly over their territory. 1/100, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc,…
The Shy And Secretive Virginia Rail
The Virginia Rail is the epitome of elusiveness. Though their populations are relatively stable, they’re so very secretive that birders seldom see them and when they do they typically only get a fleeting glimpse of the bird through the reeds. Their laterally compressed bodies allow them to squeeze through extremely narrow gaps in vegetation so they usually seem to disappear as if by magic. Relatively little is known about these fresh water game birds (hunting them is permitted) because of their extremely shy habits and the fact that hunters show virtually no interest in them. 1/800, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In my years of bird photography, this particular bird is the only Virginia Rail I have ever seen out in the open (and one of the very few I’ve seen at all) so it was a double delight when it looked back at me as it scurried away. I got four shots of it and only this one was sharp, partly due to my relatively slow shutter speed. Not a terribly attractive setting but if it had been in its preferred habitat I’d have never seen it at all. I’ll take it. Ron
A Northern Harrier Kind Of Morning
Normally I avoid doing back to back posts on the same species but I went out shooting immediately after I published that last post and surprisingly it turned out to be a heckuva harrier morning. I’ve mentioned before that I usually have my best luck with harriers in the middle of winter, but yesterday I found two cooperative birds. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This beauty was hunkered down for a break from hunting and let me get surprisingly close. It was early morning, the light was warm, and the bird posed for me for a long time. I chose to post this almost direct look from the hawk for a reason – because out of all those images, this one shows the unique harrier facial disc best. A facial disc is a concave arrangement of feathers on the face of some birds (most notably owls) that forms a circular parabaloid that collects sound waves and redirects them toward the ears. In harriers the disc is less prominent than in owls, but larger in relative size because it extends to the neck, so it is commonly referred to as a facial ruff, rather than a disc. The large ear openings of harriers are buried in the feathers of the head and can’t be seen. The angle of the disc or ruff feathers can be adjusted to alter the focal length of the sound waves they’re collecting, which allows the bird to “focus” at different distances – a…
Northern Harrier Basking In The Rising Sun
Just a single image this morning. Normally I can never get close to a harrier perched in a tree but this one made an exception for me. 1/800, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in As I approached this juvenile male (solid rufous breast, light iris) on a cold morning, the rising sun was still behind the mountains so it felt secure in the shade as I positioned my pickup for the best angle I could get. When the sunlight finally hit the bird he was determined to soak in the warmth (rather than fly off) so he spread his tail, fluffed up and posed for me for several minutes. The light was directional but I liked its effect. I’ve added no saturation to the image. Ron
The Challenges Of Photographing Falcons On Antelope Island
There are three species of Falcons that reside on Antelope Island through much of the year – the American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon and Peregrine Falcon. A fourth, the Merlin, is mostly a winter resident. For many of us there’s something almost mystical about falcons and most bird photographers I know ache to get quality shots of them. But doing so isn’t easy anywhere and Antelope Island is no exception. In my experience there are three reasons why falcons on the island are so difficult to photograph well: The falcons are there but, with the exception of the kestrel, they’re difficult to find. For most of the year Peregrines and Prairies hang out in the remotest parts of the island that are inaccessible to us due to park rules and difficulties of negotiating such steep terrain. However, all three species hunt the causeway during winter so that’s the best chance for the photographer. Generally you just can’t get close to them. Kestrels are notorious for that trait, probably because they’re so common that lots of folks try with them. But common certainly doesn’t mean approachable. It’s not unusual to see a Peregrine perched far out on the mud flats but there’s no way to get close and if you tried they’d fly off. Prairie Falcons can often be spotted high up on the rocks around the central part of the island but they’re invariably much too far away and seldom perch near the road. Peregrines and Prairies are much easier to approach in very low light, especially just before sunup. But low light makes for crappy images. I’ve…
Western Grebes: A Bizarre Behavior Finally Explained
Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time observing Western Grebes (or their close relatives, Clark’s Grebes) has undoubtedly observed this curious behavior multiple times. But before I continue, a few words of explanation are in order. Grebes are unique to most other water birds in two ways that are related to this behavior: 1.) their legs are attached to their bodies at the rear, rather than underneath and 2.) the toes of grebes are lobed instead of webbed. Having legs attached at the rear allows for efficient swimming but causes extreme clumsiness while walking – they rarely venture on to land, but when they do they often fall down after just a few steps. This leg attachment position is so distinctive of grebes that the genus name of four of the North American grebe species is Podiceps (from “podicis” meaning anus or vent and “pes” meaning foot) – in other words, “anus foot”. (and yes, I’m having a hard time resisting a joke line or two with that phrase…) Recent experimental work with grebes has demonstrated that the lobes on the toes function much like the hydrofoil blades of a propeller. Ok, with that background, on to this strange behavioral quirk of the Western Grebe. Without warning, and for no apparent reason, they stick one of their legs out behind them. With those unusual feet it can look pretty silly. Sometimes they’ll do a simultaneous wing stretch, but rarely. Occasionally they’ll hold the foot high in the air for quite a while. That can look even sillier. Even the chicks do it….
American Avocet In Flight
American Avocets have always been a very difficult flight shot for me so I only have a couple of them in my files. I think one of the factors that makes them so challenging in the air is their tendency for erratic flight. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This was a grab shot taken at Glover Pond in Farmington, Utah. I like the slightly open bill and the position of the wings. This is a species that I too often ignore, whether the bird is in flight or wading. There’s just so many of them around here for much of the year that my tendency is to bypass them for more elusive subjects. Another bad habit of mine… Ron
The Seldom Seen Wilson’s Snipe
Wilson’s Snipe is an elusive species. Relatively little is known of its habits due to its crepuscular nature, cryptic coloration and marshy habitat. Even with as much time as I’ve spent on their stomping grounds I can count on one hand, with a few fingers amputated, the number of times I’ve photographed a snipe. Typically it’s only seen as it flushes in zigzag flight, calling out with its raspy voice. What an interesting bird! The word snipe is derived from “snite” – a variant of snout and you can see why. Their eyes are set remarkably far back on their head, giving them full vision on both sides and binocular vision to the rear. This allows them to see predators approaching from behind, even while their beak is buried in the mud. 1/640, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light I found this bird along the Red Rock River in Montana’s Centennial Valley. It was a low light situation so I didn’t have much shutter speed and I was mildly surprised to get the beak sharp as it was calling. The snipe gave me only a few seconds before it flew off, scolding me as it went. Ron
Red-tailed Hawk Lift-off
A month ago tomorrow this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was hunting from the dark Farmington Canyon Complex rocks of Antelope Island. It would use this elevated perch, and others like it, to scan the grasses below for prey. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I could usually tell from its behavior when it had spotted something and was about to take off after it. I always hope for a take-off toward me and angled obliquely to my position instead of “dead-on head-on”. The worst direction is away from me of course and I’ll settle for a fully lateral direction. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Here the bird chose the slightly less than ideal lateral direction. A head turn toward me would have improved the shot but for some reason this hawk was more intent on the prey than it was in pleasing the photographer. But I really liked the dynamic body position at take-off. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Some folks prefer the wings-up position over wings-down but I like them both. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I thought I’d make this final image a vertical composition to show better detail on the hawk, given the flight posture. The last three shots are sequential images in the…
Another Act Of Idiocy On Antelope Island
Yesterday, while showing some out-of-town friends around Antelope Island, we came upon this cyclist who had left his bike on the road and walked up to within a few feet of this bison in order to photograph it. At first he was much closer to the animal than you see here but when the bison began to show signs of irritation the cyclist backed off a few feet and continued to take photos. I stopped my vehicle and grabbed my “other” camera because I figured that something unpleasant might go down but in the excitement I bumped the control wheel on the camera and skewed my settings so the resulting photos are of poor quality and for documentation only. I’ve disguised the face of the cyclist. Before I could get off any shots of the cyclist photographing the bison the massive animal charged. This guys reactions were pretty quick. Here the cyclist doesn’t yet know that the bison’s charge was apparently a bluff… but he does now. This guy didn’t even have a vehicle to run to for protection – only his bike. And incredibly, after the charge, he turned around and approached the bison again. This kind of stupidity puts both humans and animals at risk. If the cyclist had been killed or injured I suspect the bison would have been destroyed. Similar unthinking behaviors from island visitors occur regularly on the island as I’ve documented before. The “Darwin Awards” in action… Ron