I’m on a roll. Sixteen minutes after I left the tamest Belted Kingfisher I’ve ever photographed (photos I posted yesterday) I found the tamest Cooper’s Hawk I’ve ever seen or photographed. Around here both species are notoriously difficult to approach, especially in a wild setting.
This little guy gave me quite a few interesting stretching poses at different angles.
Yesterday morning I finally found a few interesting birds in good light. I’m presenting this one in two different compositions because I can’t decide which one I prefer.
Despite the mostly poor light it was an interesting morning for birds and wildlife and I did manage to get some vulture photos I like.
One of the skills that can be of immense value to the bird photographer (and of interest to birders of every persuasion) is the ability to predict when they might take off.
Persistence and dogged tenacity are often prerequisites of bird photography but even then there’s no guarantee of success.
I continue to make the occasional rookie mistake when photographing birds in the field but this time I still like the results.
Not even the need to stretch distracted this female kingfisher from her concentration on the pond in front of her.
The occasional wild raptor is unusually approachable but I’ve rarely had that happen with a Rough-legged Hawk.
Most often on this blog I share my photographic successes but occasionally I can’t resist ranting over one of my near-misses.
This male American Kestrel was such an enthusiastic poser that he performed for me for over six minutes.
This time of year our Western Grebes are pretty laid back. The tensions of breeding season are over…
For the past few days Western Kingbirds have been very active on Antelope Island. Though I’m still trying to interpret some of their behaviors they appear to be in the process of selecting mates and/or nest sites.
Recently while photographing birds on Antelope Island I remarked to Mia that I’d like to photograph a Chukar doing a wing-stretch, something I’d only seen once in the past.
