antelope island – Page 41 – Feathered Photography

Some Interesting Coyote Behaviors

Late last week we encountered two coyotes walking east along the north side of the Antelope Island Causeway. One was a very light-colored adult and the other a slightly darker and smaller youngster. This summer has been a mighty survival struggle for the island’s coyotes – the vole populations crashed and the extreme heat and drought have taken their toll. These two actually seemed forlorn and destitute in both posture and demeanor as they walked the shore of the causeway. But they did show me several interesting behaviors that I was able to photograph.

Some Interesting Hummingbird Biology

Some of the hummingbird images I’ve taken the last few days on Antelope island illustrate a few of their fascinating adaptations for their rather unique lifestyle.

Odd Growths On The Face Of A Pronghorn

Earlier this month we encountered an unusual male Pronghorn on Antelope Island. Close inspection through our lenses revealed something that caught our attention – this animal had two strange-looking projections apparently growing out of the top of its muzzle. .

Mountain Plovers – “Prairie Ghosts”

Early last April we discovered a pair of Mountain Plovers on Antelope Island. This was only the 10th confirmed sighting of the species in Utah so it created quite the stir when we reported it to UBIRD

Common Raven Covered With Spider Silk

Antelope Island is crawling with spiders this time of year. Huge spiders. Gazillions of them. They’re quite obvious everywhere you go on the north end of the island and they can be intimidating in the extreme.

Two days ago as I was leaving the island I found this raven on the west end of the causeway road. It looked pretty goofy looking from a distance and as I got closer I began to realize why.

A Wren By Any Other Name…

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not particularly skilled in identifying some of the songbirds. This wren is a case in point. I’m unsure if it’s a Rock Wren or a House Wren.

So, a little help from my friends?…

Enveloped By Shrikes!

These young birds loved clamoring around on the hood of my pickup. They would look at their reflections, pick at smashed bugs and just generally act like inquisitive kids. It wasn’t unusual to hear a bird clicking about on my roof at the same time one of its siblings was on my hood.

Fledgling Loggerhead Shrike Begging For Food

I photographed a family of very cooperative Loggerhead Shrikes last week on Antelope Island. The young birds had already fledged and were very actively exploring their world, strengthening their wing muscles by flying from perch to perch and testing a variety of objects for their potential food value.

And they were gutsy! Several times a juvenile landed on the tailgate of my pickup as you can see here.

Horned Lark On Mullein

For the past several weeks Antelope Island has been awash in the glorious yellows of moth mullein. It doesn’t cover the entire island but there are areas where entire hillsides have been festooned in mullein yellow.

My Favorite Shrike Flight Shot

I spent some more time with my favorite Loggerhead Shrike family yesterday morning and was able to get this image of a juvenile soon after lift-off. This may be my favorite shrike flight shot so far.

Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike Take-off

Many of the young Loggerhead Shrikes on Antelope Island have now fledged and are learning the ropes. They’re ornery, fun, fierce and fearless. Twice I’ve had one almost fly into my open pickup window, another one very nearly landed on my lens hood sticking out a window and yet another landed on the pickup itself.

Sage Thrasher Attitude Adjustment

Three days ago I had some more fun with Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island. I don’t know why little things like this interest and amuse me. But they do.

Long-billed Curlew And Fledgling

Long-billed Curlews spend most of the late spring and early summer at mid-elevations on Antelope Island while nesting and raising their chicks but by this time of year they begin to bring the youngsters down to the shoreline. That’s where I photographed this lone adult with a single youngster yesterday morning.

Sage Thrasher On Rabbitbrush

Though there’s a fair number of Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island they’ve been a difficult quarry for me. Originally called the Mountain Mockingbird, this smallest of the thrasher species is known to be particularly elusive, frequently running on the ground rather than taking flight and their wandering habits during migration have caused them to be poorly studied.

Lark Sparrow With Prey

Last week on Antelope Island this Lark Sparrow popped up onto a sagebrush very close to me with a large, juicy grasshopper. The bird seemed to be deliberately conspicuous about its prize and I briefly wondered why.

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