Mating Canada Geese
These large geese are very impressive up close, especially during their mating rituals.
Tag: copulation
Mating Rituals Of The American Avocet
The moment I pulled up on this small pond at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last Friday I knew there’d be some opportunities for interesting behavioral shots. There were small groups of American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts that were excitedly chirping away and flying at each other in typical springtime behavior for these mixed flocks.
Lark Sparrows – A Unique Mating Behavior
Back on May 25 of this year, on this post about Lark Sparrows, I made the following statement at the end of the post: “Now that I have some decent images of this species my next goal with them is to capture some of their unique behaviors. These birds often pass a twig from the male to the female during copulation (an impressive display of multitasking and concentration). And they do a turkey-like strut during courtship. I would love to capture either behavior.” In your comments, several of you gave me encouragement in meeting that goal and 11 days later I was at least partly able to do so. These are those images. A couple of these photos may be a little “clinical” for some, but to me it’s all behavior and it’s all interesting. Techs for all images were: 1/4000 or 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The courtship of Lark Sparrows includes behaviors found in no other songbirds. Prior to actual mating, the male struts like a turkey, with its tail sticking up to show off its white tail spots and its wings drooping to the ground. Then, before the male mounts her, he picks up a twig (or twigs) which he passes to the female just before copulation. When mating is complete (they may mate or attempt to mate up to 20 times in 3.5 minutes) the female often flies off with the twig. The courtship had already begun when I approached this mated pair. Normally, this species doesn’t allow me to get this close…
American Avocet Mating Displays
I’ve been fascinated by the mating displays of American Avocets ever since I first started photographing them almost five years ago. This innate and complex choreography is almost identical in different mated pairs and from year to year. The action happens quickly and is difficult to photograph well but I think I have enough decent images now to make an informative post about it. Not all of the photos are of the highest quality but I think each of them illustrates the behavior well. I’ll present several sequences of different birds that will illustrate most of the important stages of the process. I’m not going to include my techs with these shots -some of them were taken when I first started photographing birds and I made many mistakes in my setting choices. Knowing some of these settings wouldn’t help anyone. Avocets are monogamous and pairs form up in the spring when the female persistently associates with the male until she is eventually tolerated, then accepted as a mate. The female initiates copulation by the posture you see above. It’s called Solicitation Posture and in it she holds her neck extended far out and low. At times it’s so low that much of the head, bill and neck are under water as you’ll see in a later image. Once interested, the male performs Sexual Preening where he stands close to the female and extends his neck so that his bill tip can preen his breast (always on the side closest to her). You’ll see that part of Sexual Preening in a later image but…
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Mating Rituals Of The American Avocet
The moment I pulled up on this small pond at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last Friday I knew there’d be some opportunities for interesting behavioral shots. There were small groups of American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts that were excitedly chirping away and flying at each other in typical springtime behavior for these mixed flocks.
Lark Sparrows – A Unique Mating Behavior
Back on May 25 of this year, on this post about Lark Sparrows, I made the following statement at the end of the post: “Now that I have some decent images of this species my next goal with them is to capture some of their unique behaviors. These birds often pass a twig from the male to the female during copulation (an impressive display of multitasking and concentration). And they do a turkey-like strut during courtship. I would love to capture either behavior.” In your comments, several of you gave me encouragement in meeting that goal and 11 days later I was at least partly able to do so. These are those images. A couple of these photos may be a little “clinical” for some, but to me it’s all behavior and it’s all interesting. Techs for all images were: 1/4000 or 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The courtship of Lark Sparrows includes behaviors found in no other songbirds. Prior to actual mating, the male struts like a turkey, with its tail sticking up to show off its white tail spots and its wings drooping to the ground. Then, before the male mounts her, he picks up a twig (or twigs) which he passes to the female just before copulation. When mating is complete (they may mate or attempt to mate up to 20 times in 3.5 minutes) the female often flies off with the twig. The courtship had already begun when I approached this mated pair. Normally, this species doesn’t allow me to get this close…
American Avocet Mating Displays
I’ve been fascinated by the mating displays of American Avocets ever since I first started photographing them almost five years ago. This innate and complex choreography is almost identical in different mated pairs and from year to year. The action happens quickly and is difficult to photograph well but I think I have enough decent images now to make an informative post about it. Not all of the photos are of the highest quality but I think each of them illustrates the behavior well. I’ll present several sequences of different birds that will illustrate most of the important stages of the process. I’m not going to include my techs with these shots -some of them were taken when I first started photographing birds and I made many mistakes in my setting choices. Knowing some of these settings wouldn’t help anyone. Avocets are monogamous and pairs form up in the spring when the female persistently associates with the male until she is eventually tolerated, then accepted as a mate. The female initiates copulation by the posture you see above. It’s called Solicitation Posture and in it she holds her neck extended far out and low. At times it’s so low that much of the head, bill and neck are under water as you’ll see in a later image. Once interested, the male performs Sexual Preening where he stands close to the female and extends his neck so that his bill tip can preen his breast (always on the side closest to her). You’ll see that part of Sexual Preening in a later image but…