I’ve been watching a Black-billed Magpie nest in a greasewood bush on Antelope Island all spring but the adults are very spooky and always fly off as I approach (the nest is very near a road and I stay in my vehicle on the road). But I’ve been looking forward to seeing the fledglings and I finally got a good look at all five of them last week.
Many folks just don’t like unnatural perches. When it comes to nature photography they prefer that no sign of the “hand of man” be apparent in the image. To others the perch doesn’t matter much as long as the bird (subject) is presented in an appealing manner.
I guess I’m somewhere in the middle.
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
There’ll be no birds in today’s post, I’m afraid. It takes me an hour to get to the island from my home and it’s not unusual for me to have clear skies when I leave much before dawn and then have it be mostly socked in when I arrive at the Farmington Bay/Antelope Island area – a phenomenon I refer to as the “Farmington Curse”. That’s exactly what happened yesterday morning so I generally had poor light and got correspondingly low quality photos, which I deleted.
The only saving grace of the morning was some karmic justice I observed on the island.
Yesterday we found this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk perched on one of the darker Farmington Canyon Complex rocks on Antelope Island. I thought the generally light coloration of this bird to be slightly unusual but I’m certainly no expert on the color phases and morphs of this highly variable species.
Yesterday morning I found this Willet perched on one of the Tintic Quartzite boulders so common on the northern part of Antelope Island. The Willets are still active on the higher slopes of the island but it won’t be long until they’re spending most of their time along the shoreline and causeway.
The bird was so enthusiastic about its morning stretch that it even stood on its toes at the end (reminded me of some people when they stretch).
Yesterday morning I found this Western Meadowlark perched up high, in pretty good light and with a clean background so I couldn’t resist firing away.
Yesterday morning didn’t begin well. I was up at 4 AM to give me time to finish my daily blog post so I could leave for Antelope Island by 6 to take advantage of the early morning light on one of those relatively rare recent days where no morning clouds were forecast. After an hours drive to get there I discovered that most of the island was closed to vehicular traffic to accommodate the Collegiate National Cycling Championships (unannounced on the Antelope Island State Park Facebook page). I made one pass of the north loop road and headed for home – an unhappy camper. But we decided to pay Farmington Bay an impromptu visit on the way home and I’m glad we did. We were able to visit with a friend we hadn’t seen in many months who we found walking the refuge road (a regular routine that she enjoys) and I got some Killdeer images that may turn out to be some of my favorites of the species in some ways. This photo is an example. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light Admittedly, it’s not a very dynamic shot – no interesting behavior and the pose is unremarkable (though perfectly acceptable). But I like the rock it chose to perch on, the light angle was good, it’s a very small crop so the detail is excellent (especially in a larger version) and I simply love the background. So thank you Mr. or Ms Killdeer (and friend Carol) for improving my mood, which was considerably better from Farmington to home than it had been from the island to…
Parts of Antelope Island are simply covered with tiny purple flowers right now and I often look for opportunities to photograph birds in such a setting.
I’ve never been able to get a really good look at both the hook and tomial teeth on the bill of a Loggerhead Shrike in any of my images. Until two days ago on Antelope Island…
I’ve mentioned before how very reluctant Chukars are to fly. They much prefer to scurry away through the grasses whenever they feel insecure or threatened.
And that reluctance also applies when they’re ready to leave an elevated perch. They’ll nearly always find a way to scramble down a big rock rather than fly from it like most other birds would. That tendency was demonstrated to me twice yesterday morning on Antelope Island.
Last fall I drove up just as this scenario was playing out. This guy was a biker (bicycle) who had laid his bike down on the road and approached this bison much too closely on foot to get a few photos with his point and shoot. I just knew bad stuff was going to happen so I quickly aimed my camera just as the bison charged this bozo.
As some of you know, 10 days ago we found a pair of Mountain Plovers on Antelope Island. These plovers are rare in Utah, the few that are seen here are on their way to Montana, Wyoming and Colorado to breed so after a day or two these birds were gone. But they sure created a buzz in the birding community while they were here.
Prepare to lose your heart if you ever have the opportunity to photograph or watch juvenile Burrowing Owls up close. They’re full of spontaneous antics and personality and they’re cute as a button.
