Tag: bolus

Shrikes, Pellets and Photographer’s Frustrations

For about three years now one of my photography goals has been to get a series of quality shots showing a Loggerhead Shrike regurgitating a pellet.  My requirements were that the images must be sharp with good detail and light, there must be no significant distractions or clutter to interfere with the behavior, there should be light in the eye (a catch light) and the last shot must show the pellet after it has left the birds mouth.   This post is a progress report of sorts on how I’ve fared with the goal.  I’ll include some lessons I’ve learned and mistakes I’ve made so I hope you’ll bear with me through a few less than ideal images which help to illustrate some of those lessons.    1/1250, f/8, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This was my first image of a shrike ejecting a pellet (3/3/10).  I didn’t anticipate it happening and wasn’t even sure what was going on until I processed the image.  I got two almost identical shots that showed the pellet in the mouth and missed the pellet as it was ejected (I think I remember my buffer filling up just about then).  I was also too far away for good image quality – this is a large crop.           1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc On the next opportunity (8/5/11) I was frustrated by obstructing branches and a poor light angle.  While this young bird was ejecting the pellet it was facing mostly toward me which put its face and the pellet in shadow.  Then the juvenile did something completely unexpected…

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Red-tailed Hawks of Utah’s West Desert

Red-tailed Hawks are common and widespread throughout most of North America but I typically find them to be wary and difficult subjects to approach and photograph.  However we did have some pretty good luck with them a couple of mornings this past week in western Utah.   Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/6.3, EV -0.67, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We found them deep in a canyon of one of the many “island mountain ranges” of Utah’s west desert.   There were at least a half-dozen of them hanging out together, many of them juveniles.  The lighting at the bottom of the canyon in early morning was often filtered and spotty and the perches were usually dead trees with lots of branches going every which way so the backgrounds and settings were typically busy.  This is one of the cleaner shots I got of one on a perch in the canyon bottom.      Canon 7D, 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640,EV -1.00, 500 f/4 This one chose a juniper perch which would provide a clean background for a takeoff shot so I tried to leave room in front of the bird just in case.  I was looking slightly down on the hawk when it launched and I liked the good look at the topside of the bird in this shot but do wish it had been looking more my way.  But then I probably wouldn’t have any light on the eye – sometimes you just can’t win…     Canon 7D, 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640  EV +0.33, 500 f/4 Shooting these hawks in flight was very frustrating!  Each morning they would pretty much…

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A Willet Expelling a Pellet

Yesterday I got a shot of a Willet expelling a pellet.  It’s a behavior I’ve seldom seen and rarely photographed because it typically happens very quickly, many birds  don’t do it at all and it often occurs only once per day or so with many species.  A pellet, sometimes referred to as a bolus, is a clump of indigestible material that is formed in the crop and eventually regurgitated.  Depending on the diet of the bird it may be made of feather, bone, fur and/or chitin from insect or crustacean exoskeletons.    Canon 7D, 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc At first I wasn’t taking many photos of this Willet because its lower legs were cut off by the rock perch but I did adjust my settings for quick action in case it took off or performed some other interesting behavior.      Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The first indication I got that something might happen that would be interesting to photograph was when the bird pulled down its neck and there was a slight bulge in the throat.     Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Then the Willet began trying to expel the pellet.      Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc What happens next appears to look almost like a gagging reflex.     Canon 7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The pellet popped out so quickly that I didn’t even see it through the viewfinder…

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