Just a simple shot of a handsome little male American Kestrel this morning.
I’m still concerned about our kestrels this spring. I’m seeing fewer of them than usual for this time of year and hearing reports of a significant number of unused nest boxes and dead kestrels found in some of those boxes (apparent winter-kills).
This male American Kestrel preened for me for some time as he enjoyed the security of his favorite perch. He really worked over those tail feathers especially.
Because of its striking appearance the Canvasback is often referred to as the “aristocrat” of ducks. But as you’ll see, it’s difficult to look aristocratic with your face, head and neck slathered in mud.
A week ago today, on 3/29/13, I photographed a pair of courting Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island. For sexual ID purposes, notice that the female of this species (on the right in this first image) is larger than the male and has a significantly longer bill. It’s also been my observation that the male is darker and redder than the female but I don’t see that mentioned in the physical descriptions in the field guides and other sources that I’ve read.
Coots are quarrelsome, belligerent and cantankerous, especially the males in springtime before the females lay their eggs. Sometimes weaker combatants are killed.
This image was taken several years ago in early October at Farmington Bay. I’ve always liked the color combinations in the shot. The background is the deeply shaded Wasatch Mountains. The reds are caused by the fall colors of scrub oak and other vegetation. 1/125, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It was overcast, with clearing to the west (behind me) so it was bright back there. This kind of lighting often produces a horizontal catch light in the eye, rather than the more typical pinpoint catch light. I often like that effect, as I do here. I’ve seen noticeably fewer kestrels this winter and early spring than I have for many years. I sure hope there’s nothing ominous going on… Ron
I’ve posted once before about the fighting Male Short-eared Owls I photographed in south-west Montana but I spent several days with these sparring birds and thought they deserved some more attention on my blog.
Many extinct and ancient relatives of modern birds had alulae, as do flies (insects of order diptera). I find it fascinating that evolutionary selection pressure has produced this structure in such diverse and relatively unrelated groups as birds and some flying insects. And that man has (once again) copied nature to solve a modern problem.
One of my favorite subjects is the male Northern Harrier. Because juveniles of both sexes are similar to the adult female, to the untrained eye most harriers look like females which is one of the reasons that many folks believe that they rarely see males – thus the name “Gray Ghost” for the ”elusive” adult male.
The Osprey is a species that I’ve only had a handful of opportunities with but last spring I found a cooperative nesting pair at Flaming Gorge. In my mind this is a true miracle species because it has arisen Phoenix-like from the ashes of its own demise. During the 1950s-1970s their populations crashed dramatically, largely due to the effects of DDT and other persistent pesticides in the environment which caused severe eggshell-thinning and poor hatching success. But when those chemicals were banned the Osprey made a miraculous comeback and today their numbers are approaching historical highs. Part of the reason for that success has been the widespread use of artificial nesting sites. In some areas of North America, 90-95% of all nesting pairs choose these artificial sites over natural ones. The nest of this mated pair was on a pole installed for that purpose close to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, cloned out a piece of nest platform, not baited, set up or called in This is most likely the male of the pair (less conspicuous breast band) bringing a small fish in to the incubating female on the nest platform. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I believe this to be the female coming into the nest. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, canvas added, natural light, not baited, set up or called in When the male would bring its mate a fish…
Welcome to the month of March everyone – for me a psychological barrier between the depths of winter and the promise of spring. It’s supposed to be almost 50 degrees today and that has me thinking of spring birds, warmer temperatures, liquid water and some actual greens in the landscape. By the Ides of March (only two weeks from now) male Yellow-headed Blackbirds will begin arriving in Utah and the females a week or two later. Almost immediately the males will begin their raucous calling as they compete for territories and later for females. This male was defending breeding territory in May. Males display two primary types of song spreads – the Symmetrical Song Spread and the Asymmetrical Song Spread. Each song spread is accompanied by a distinct song type. Here’s a link to one of them. In this sequence of images the male is displaying the Symmetrical Sound Spread where the bird spreads its wings to expose the white patches and the tail is lowered and spread. During this display he localizes with the song called the Accenting Song. Once a display begins it almost seems like the bird loses voluntary control of its actions and the display must be completed before it regains control (my unscientific observation). During part of this display the head is directed upward at 30-45 degrees. This behavior is often difficult for the bird to complete without losing its balance on the typically spindly perches they prefer. The whole thing is quite entertaining to watch. …
The Black-necked Stilt is one of the more easily recognized birds in North America. With its shiny black wings and back opposed by the whites of the breast and underparts and its long, bright red legs it is unlikely to be confused with any other species within its range. 1/1000, f/11, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light But in my experience most observers are unfamiliar with the differences between males and females. Though the sexes are similar it’s relatively easy to tell them apart when they’re in breeding plumage. The back and scapulars of the male are a solid, shiny black while the female has a noticeable brown tone in those areas. The legs of the female are also shorter than those of the male. 1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light The iris of both sexes is red though it is more brightly colored in the male. Here the pupil is dilated to a relatively large size so the colored iris doesn’t take up much of the eye. I’ve found that in photos it can be difficult to get the eye color to show so it often appears solid black. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light But perhaps the most unique feature of the Black-necked Stilt is those incredibly long, ruby-red legs. Their legs are longer in proportion to their bodies than any other bird except flamingos, accounting for one of their common names – daddy longlegs. Stilts have partially webbed feet…
This male Short-eared Owl was taking off from the sagebrush plains of Montana’s Centennial Valley. 1/1600. f/5.6. ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I got three shots in the sequence that I liked well enough to keep. At lift-off he was heading mostly in my direction. I was shooting from my pickup and the vehicle didn’t intimidate him in the least. 1/2000. f/5.6. ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Almost immediately he began to veer off to my left… 1/1600. f/5.6. ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in and then gave me a side view as he flew off to hunt voles for his family (female and two chicks). I’ve never posted this sequence before because the very low light forced me to shoot at ISO 800 which is really pushing it for my Canon 7D so there’s some resulting noise in the images. I don’t like to use noise reduction but I’ve applied it to the backgrounds only for this presentation. Like I said in my last post, every image has strengths and weaknesses and the low light I was dealing with (especially for flight shots) forced me into some compromises for these images. They may not be perfect but I’m still happy to have them. Ron
I’m hoping to get some feedback from my viewers on this one. Almost from day one with my bird photography I’ve labored under the impression that good eye contact with my subject is vital, almost essential, for a strong image. But that’s a premise I’m beginning to question to some degree. I don’t think there’s any question that a good look at the eye almost always makes for a stronger image. Direct eye contact is often even better. But no image is perfect – they all have strengths and weaknesses and I’m wondering if I sometimes put too much importance on eye contact over other desirable traits of an image. Below are three images of male Northern Harriers. Each has strengths and weaknesses. My previous impulse would have been to shun the last two shots because of a poor look at the eye, even though they have other strengths the first image does not. Now I’m not so sure… 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in In this photo the bird has an interesting wing position and it’s nicely separated from the horizon below. And I have great eye contact but the bird is “only flying” and there’s nothing else interesting going on. And besides, it could be said that looking at the photographer isn’t really a “natural behavior” anyway… Note: If you’re wondering what the brown is at top right, the background is water, not sky, and the brown at top and bottom are land. I could clone or…
Sandhill Cranes are impressive birds, weighing up to about 11 pounds, standing 4′ tall with a wing span of almost 6 1/2′. And their very loud and penetrating bugling call is something every nature lover should experience. These birds are perennially monogamous with pair bonds formed in the spring when they perform elaborate courtship dances. These dances, usually performed just after sunrise, are the primary mechanism in pair bond formation. I found this pair of cranes in late April along the Antelope Island causeway. It was early morning and the birds were sidelit so I didn’t get light in the eyes in some of these shots but I found the behavior (and the sounds) to be fascinating and I think the image quality is sufficient for documentary purposes. All images presented here are in the order they were taken. Techs for all of these images: f/9, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, shutter speed ranged from 1/400 to 1/800. Here the larger male in the back is approaching the female and calling loudly. That distinctive sound absolutely boomed across the shallow water. Then he begins to dance as he calls. He seemed to try to move in front of her as she walked to the left, in order to get her attention. He repeatedly jumped up into the air with his wings spread. Here he’s about a foot off the water surface though it’s difficult to tell because you can’t see his feet. Sometimes the female joins in the dancing but in this case…
