Eastern Kingbird Adult And Fledgling – A Question Of Behavior
Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I photographed a subtle but interesting bit of kingbird behavior that caught my attention and piqued my curiosity.
Tag: farmington bay waterfowl management area
Great Blue Heron Landing Series (13 images)
Yesterday morning I decided to break with one of my long-standing traditions and brave the potential crowds by visiting one of the more popular birding sites in the area on a weekend – Glover Pond near Farmington Bay WMA. One of my goals was to locate and photograph the Little Blue Heron that has been hanging around in the area for the last couple of weeks. That bird is causing a lot of excitement in the birding and photography communities because it’s so far out of its range. I never did find that heron but this one more than made up for it.
A Tough Winter On Northern Harriers
The winter of 2008 was severe and it put a lot of survival pressure on our resident birds, particularly raptors. The number of Northern Harriers wintering over at Farmington Bay seemed unusually high and toward the end of the winter there was intense competition for dwindling food supplies.
Grebe Wing Flap (including a pose new to me)
I spend enough time with Pied-billed Grebes that it’s not often I see something new. Just over two weeks ago I did.
Highs And Lows – Killdeer And Bicycles
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…
Yet Another Reason Why I Dislike Baiting
Baiting birds into close proximity for photographic purposes is a highly controversial subject, especially when it’s done to raptors. Often live bait such as store-bought mice are thrown in front of the photographer so that photos can be obtained of the bird in flight as it swoops down for the rodent.
Just A Shot That I Like… #29 – Adult Bald Eagle In Flight
Bald Eagles are a winter tradition in northern Utah. Many hundreds of northern birds spend the winter here and for much of that time they’re dispersed over wide areas looking for easy pickings – carrion in particular. But when concentrated food sources become available they can occasionally be found in large numbers. 1/4000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light This sometimes happens at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area when refuge personnel treat the ponds with rotenone to kill the damaging and invasive carp. When conditions are right, Bald Eagles congregate there for the carp feast. This bird was cruising the area around the second bridge looking for fish. Some years, when temperatures are frigid and other food sources are unavailable, provide great opportunities for birders and photographers but last year wasn’t one of them. The winter was warm and food was available elsewhere so the eagle numbers were down significantly. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks… Ron
Yet Another Escaped Falconry Bird – This Time A Female American Kestrel
Yesterday morning I spotted this female American Kestrel perched on a far-off rock to the west on Antelope Island. She was much too far away for decent photographs (as is obvious from the mediocre quality of these first five photos) but when I see raptors at most any distance it’s my practice to “scope them out” through my lens so I can ID them and look for anything unusual or interesting. I took a couple of shots for documentary purposes but at first I didn’t notice anything noteworthy about her except for the keratin flaking off of her beak. But then she scratched her face with her foot. Jesses! Those damned jesses again. In this shot you can see anklets above both feet and the jess on the left leg. She perched and preened on the rock for quite a while and a few minutes later she scratched with her other foot which provided a good look at the jess on the right ankle. I’m including this shot for a look at her right side, in the unlikely event that some local falconer may recognize her. I hung around for a long time in the hopes of catching her at take-off for a better look at both jesses and anklets. As luck would have it, when it happened they were both in shade and I lost focus on the bird but the photo still provides a decent look at the jesses. I’m deeply troubled by this event and I’ll provide a little background as…
Road-killed Barn Owls
Talk about coincidence! Last night, as I was working up some images of Barn Owls for a blog post on the species, I received the following UBIRD email (used here by permission) from my good friend, enthusiastic birder and budding bird photographer, Shyloh Robinson. Shyloh lives very close to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area (FBWMA) and this time of year he’s almost always at the refuge in the evenings looking for birds – particularly owls. “:( when a grown man uses an emoticon, you KNOW he’s serious! Each night this week, I’ve visited my home at FBWMA to look at the owls. I went a bit early tonight to make sure I saw some hawks too. They were posted up in the usual spots. I drove straight to the 4way to wait for any short-eared. (That’s the good spot for them.) Sadly, I saw no owls… Until I left and was on Glovers Lane. Another Barn Owl was dead in the road, and being collected. I got a lump in my throat. I’m quickly learning why moving vehicles are a Barn Owl’s worst enemy. These alba’s have meant a lot to me lately and I’m saddened to see them ghosted. Now what? Shyloh” Knowing Shyloh as well as I do, I knew he was devastated. He simply adores “his” owls – an emotion that I share because I’ve spent many, many hours at FBWMA looking for, and photographing, those Barn Owls. They are a special species, in so many ways. Shyloh’s UBIRD post inspired me to change the focus of my Barn…
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Great Blue Heron Landing Series (13 images)
Yesterday morning I decided to break with one of my long-standing traditions and brave the potential crowds by visiting one of the more popular birding sites in the area on a weekend – Glover Pond near Farmington Bay WMA. One of my goals was to locate and photograph the Little Blue Heron that has been hanging around in the area for the last couple of weeks. That bird is causing a lot of excitement in the birding and photography communities because it’s so far out of its range. I never did find that heron but this one more than made up for it.
A Tough Winter On Northern Harriers
The winter of 2008 was severe and it put a lot of survival pressure on our resident birds, particularly raptors. The number of Northern Harriers wintering over at Farmington Bay seemed unusually high and toward the end of the winter there was intense competition for dwindling food supplies.
Grebe Wing Flap (including a pose new to me)
I spend enough time with Pied-billed Grebes that it’s not often I see something new. Just over two weeks ago I did.
Highs And Lows – Killdeer And Bicycles
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…
Yet Another Reason Why I Dislike Baiting
Baiting birds into close proximity for photographic purposes is a highly controversial subject, especially when it’s done to raptors. Often live bait such as store-bought mice are thrown in front of the photographer so that photos can be obtained of the bird in flight as it swoops down for the rodent.
Just A Shot That I Like… #29 – Adult Bald Eagle In Flight
Bald Eagles are a winter tradition in northern Utah. Many hundreds of northern birds spend the winter here and for much of that time they’re dispersed over wide areas looking for easy pickings – carrion in particular. But when concentrated food sources become available they can occasionally be found in large numbers. 1/4000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light This sometimes happens at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area when refuge personnel treat the ponds with rotenone to kill the damaging and invasive carp. When conditions are right, Bald Eagles congregate there for the carp feast. This bird was cruising the area around the second bridge looking for fish. Some years, when temperatures are frigid and other food sources are unavailable, provide great opportunities for birders and photographers but last year wasn’t one of them. The winter was warm and food was available elsewhere so the eagle numbers were down significantly. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks… Ron
Yet Another Escaped Falconry Bird – This Time A Female American Kestrel
Yesterday morning I spotted this female American Kestrel perched on a far-off rock to the west on Antelope Island. She was much too far away for decent photographs (as is obvious from the mediocre quality of these first five photos) but when I see raptors at most any distance it’s my practice to “scope them out” through my lens so I can ID them and look for anything unusual or interesting. I took a couple of shots for documentary purposes but at first I didn’t notice anything noteworthy about her except for the keratin flaking off of her beak. But then she scratched her face with her foot. Jesses! Those damned jesses again. In this shot you can see anklets above both feet and the jess on the left leg. She perched and preened on the rock for quite a while and a few minutes later she scratched with her other foot which provided a good look at the jess on the right ankle. I’m including this shot for a look at her right side, in the unlikely event that some local falconer may recognize her. I hung around for a long time in the hopes of catching her at take-off for a better look at both jesses and anklets. As luck would have it, when it happened they were both in shade and I lost focus on the bird but the photo still provides a decent look at the jesses. I’m deeply troubled by this event and I’ll provide a little background as…
Road-killed Barn Owls
Talk about coincidence! Last night, as I was working up some images of Barn Owls for a blog post on the species, I received the following UBIRD email (used here by permission) from my good friend, enthusiastic birder and budding bird photographer, Shyloh Robinson. Shyloh lives very close to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area (FBWMA) and this time of year he’s almost always at the refuge in the evenings looking for birds – particularly owls. “:( when a grown man uses an emoticon, you KNOW he’s serious! Each night this week, I’ve visited my home at FBWMA to look at the owls. I went a bit early tonight to make sure I saw some hawks too. They were posted up in the usual spots. I drove straight to the 4way to wait for any short-eared. (That’s the good spot for them.) Sadly, I saw no owls… Until I left and was on Glovers Lane. Another Barn Owl was dead in the road, and being collected. I got a lump in my throat. I’m quickly learning why moving vehicles are a Barn Owl’s worst enemy. These alba’s have meant a lot to me lately and I’m saddened to see them ghosted. Now what? Shyloh” Knowing Shyloh as well as I do, I knew he was devastated. He simply adores “his” owls – an emotion that I share because I’ve spent many, many hours at FBWMA looking for, and photographing, those Barn Owls. They are a special species, in so many ways. Shyloh’s UBIRD post inspired me to change the focus of my Barn…