Juvenile Mountain Bluebird
I often photograph Mountain Bluebirds on my Montana trips but I’ve seldom had the opportunity to work with juveniles. That changed last week when we found a young bird hunting from a fence in early morning light.
Tag: montana
Trumpeter Swan Pair With Six Cygnets
Trumpeter Swans are the largest of all North American waterfowl, weighing up to 30 pounds and having a wingspan of as much as 8 feet. It’s hard to imagine that by the 1930’s this species had been almost wiped out. In 1949 the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that the Trumpeter Swan was “the fourth rarest bird now remaining in America”. But thankfully recent intense swan restoration and management programs have brought the species back from the brink of extinction.
A Red-tailed Bon Voyage
Typically I don’t have high hopes of getting any decent shots during the almost 30 mile drive on a dirt/gravel road from our usual camping spot to the first paved road. Imagine if you can the noise, the dust and the bird-scattering spectacle of my pickup and camping trailer rattling down the rocky road – a situation not conducive to getting anywhere near spooky birds.
An Unlikely Alliance To Save The Greater Sage-Grouse
The Greater Sage-Grouse is a spectacular bird in many ways. They’re our largest grouse – males may approach 7 lbs. The dramatic breeding display of the males on the lek is mind-boggling. And to have one of these birds flush at your feet is literally a heart-stopping experience – something I know from experience.
But these birds are in great danger of extinction due to dramatic loss of habitat.
Pronghorn Fawns
On our last trip to southwest Montana a few weeks ago we encountered a doe pronghorn and her twin fawns. This is cold, high country and fawning season had just begun so other than these two we saw very few fawns, even though pronghorn numbers were high.
I’ll try to avoid the word “cute” throughout this post but it won’t be easy.
Red-tailed Hawks – Creatures Of Habit
Last summer (these first two photos were taken July 22, 2012) I photographed this mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks in western Montana. On most mornings and some evenings I could almost count on finding them perched in the same old snag and even on the same branch of the dead tree.
Earlier this month on my first Montana camping trip I found the same mated pair on the same perch (male at bottom, female up top).
A Black-headed Grosbeak, The Canon 7D And A Rookie Mistake
I found this male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in a tree near a Montana mountain lake on my recent camping trip up there. The setting is a little cluttered but to my eye it’s an attractive clutter.
How Ravens Collect Chick Feces At The Nest – I Had No Idea!
When this parent flew to the nest I was mostly watching and not clicking the shutter. I had no idea that I was about to see something new to me. Suddenly one of the chicks began backing up to the edge of the nest and I figured it was about to defecate over the side. I was wrong.
Western Wood-Peewee
I often make the observation that one of the reasons I’m a bird photographer rather than a birder is because many of the trappings of traditional birding simply don’t appeal to me – keeping lists, in particular. But I’ll admit that getting a “lifer” rings my bell.
And a lifer I got on this last Montana trip – a Western Wood-Peewee. Several of them, in fact.
Swainson’s Hawk In Full Flight
In Montana (and elsewhere I presume) orange paint on fence posts is used to mark private property and prevent trespass and hunting without permission on private lands. Apparently some land owners are color blind and use red paint instead of orange but the universally understood message is still the same – stay out!
Not all of the posts are so-marked (perhaps 10%?) but the birds I photograph sure have a nasty habit of choosing those ugly posts to perch on when I’m trying to photograph them. Such was the case with this Swainson’s Hawk a few days ago in western Montana.
Dancing Bluebird
From the moment this flashy male Mountain Bluebird landed on a weathered and sun-bleached Montana fencepost he seemed hyped-up and twitchy.
Another Ferruginous Hawk Nest With Chicks
Last week I posted images of a Ferruginous Hawk nest with chicks in Montana. I actually photographed two of them. These chicks were slightly older than those in my first post.
Swainson’s Hawk Buddies
On the evening of our last full day in Montana we spotted a couple of Swainson’s Hawks engaging in a playful dogfight down the road in front of us. As we got closer they hopscotched from post to post but allowed me to get fairly close for a few minutes.
Miscellaneous Montana Moments
This post is a potpourri of photos from last week’s Montana trip. I’ll include shots of mammals and scenery so there will be no common theme that runs through all the images other than the trip itself. Travelogues are not my forte and some of these images aren’t of the highest quality but they illustrate some interesting behaviors that I wanted to share.
Chasing The Light For A Swainson’s Hawk
Mia and I often joke with each other that we’d make terrible landscape photographers because we’d be bored by all the waiting around for ideal conditions such as dramatic clouds and perfect light. We much prefer the excitement, unpredictability and the occasional and unexpected delights of bird photography. This Swainson’s Hawk was one of those nice surprises.
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Trumpeter Swan Pair With Six Cygnets
Trumpeter Swans are the largest of all North American waterfowl, weighing up to 30 pounds and having a wingspan of as much as 8 feet. It’s hard to imagine that by the 1930’s this species had been almost wiped out. In 1949 the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that the Trumpeter Swan was “the fourth rarest bird now remaining in America”. But thankfully recent intense swan restoration and management programs have brought the species back from the brink of extinction.
A Red-tailed Bon Voyage
Typically I don’t have high hopes of getting any decent shots during the almost 30 mile drive on a dirt/gravel road from our usual camping spot to the first paved road. Imagine if you can the noise, the dust and the bird-scattering spectacle of my pickup and camping trailer rattling down the rocky road – a situation not conducive to getting anywhere near spooky birds.
An Unlikely Alliance To Save The Greater Sage-Grouse
The Greater Sage-Grouse is a spectacular bird in many ways. They’re our largest grouse – males may approach 7 lbs. The dramatic breeding display of the males on the lek is mind-boggling. And to have one of these birds flush at your feet is literally a heart-stopping experience – something I know from experience.
But these birds are in great danger of extinction due to dramatic loss of habitat.
Pronghorn Fawns
On our last trip to southwest Montana a few weeks ago we encountered a doe pronghorn and her twin fawns. This is cold, high country and fawning season had just begun so other than these two we saw very few fawns, even though pronghorn numbers were high.
I’ll try to avoid the word “cute” throughout this post but it won’t be easy.
Red-tailed Hawks – Creatures Of Habit
Last summer (these first two photos were taken July 22, 2012) I photographed this mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks in western Montana. On most mornings and some evenings I could almost count on finding them perched in the same old snag and even on the same branch of the dead tree.
Earlier this month on my first Montana camping trip I found the same mated pair on the same perch (male at bottom, female up top).
A Black-headed Grosbeak, The Canon 7D And A Rookie Mistake
I found this male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in a tree near a Montana mountain lake on my recent camping trip up there. The setting is a little cluttered but to my eye it’s an attractive clutter.
How Ravens Collect Chick Feces At The Nest – I Had No Idea!
When this parent flew to the nest I was mostly watching and not clicking the shutter. I had no idea that I was about to see something new to me. Suddenly one of the chicks began backing up to the edge of the nest and I figured it was about to defecate over the side. I was wrong.
Western Wood-Peewee
I often make the observation that one of the reasons I’m a bird photographer rather than a birder is because many of the trappings of traditional birding simply don’t appeal to me – keeping lists, in particular. But I’ll admit that getting a “lifer” rings my bell.
And a lifer I got on this last Montana trip – a Western Wood-Peewee. Several of them, in fact.
Swainson’s Hawk In Full Flight
In Montana (and elsewhere I presume) orange paint on fence posts is used to mark private property and prevent trespass and hunting without permission on private lands. Apparently some land owners are color blind and use red paint instead of orange but the universally understood message is still the same – stay out!
Not all of the posts are so-marked (perhaps 10%?) but the birds I photograph sure have a nasty habit of choosing those ugly posts to perch on when I’m trying to photograph them. Such was the case with this Swainson’s Hawk a few days ago in western Montana.
Dancing Bluebird
From the moment this flashy male Mountain Bluebird landed on a weathered and sun-bleached Montana fencepost he seemed hyped-up and twitchy.
Another Ferruginous Hawk Nest With Chicks
Last week I posted images of a Ferruginous Hawk nest with chicks in Montana. I actually photographed two of them. These chicks were slightly older than those in my first post.
Swainson’s Hawk Buddies
On the evening of our last full day in Montana we spotted a couple of Swainson’s Hawks engaging in a playful dogfight down the road in front of us. As we got closer they hopscotched from post to post but allowed me to get fairly close for a few minutes.
Miscellaneous Montana Moments
This post is a potpourri of photos from last week’s Montana trip. I’ll include shots of mammals and scenery so there will be no common theme that runs through all the images other than the trip itself. Travelogues are not my forte and some of these images aren’t of the highest quality but they illustrate some interesting behaviors that I wanted to share.
Chasing The Light For A Swainson’s Hawk
Mia and I often joke with each other that we’d make terrible landscape photographers because we’d be bored by all the waiting around for ideal conditions such as dramatic clouds and perfect light. We much prefer the excitement, unpredictability and the occasional and unexpected delights of bird photography. This Swainson’s Hawk was one of those nice surprises.