utah – Page 131 – Feathered Photography

Western Grebes – Aggressive Speed Demons

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years watching and photographing the behaviors of Western Grebes and I’ve been impressed by both their aggressive tendencies toward other birds and by their incredible acceleration and speed in “running” across the water at those same birds. In my experience that aggression is most often directed toward other grebes in defense of mates, chicks or feeding areas but they are also aggressive toward a variety of other species and are suspected of stabbing them with their bill from under water. BNA reports Mallards and Red-necked Grebes found dead from stab wounds to the abdomen that were probably administered by Western Grebes. I’ve found photographing them as they dash across the water to be very challenging because of their speed and the unpredictable nature of the behavior – it usually comes with little or no warning and direction is difficult to anticipate. 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4 Though these birds appear slim while sitting on the water, in reality they are fairly chunky and at the end of one of these “runs” their wide body throws up quite a wide wake as they begin to slow down and settle back into the water – much like a speedboat after the engine has been cut. 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This grebe is early in the acceleration stage with its “bow” still raised high. 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc And then another wake as it begins to settle into the water. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500,…

Fledgling Loggerhead Shrike Learning The Ropes

Yesterday we came across this Loggerhead Shrike fledgling perched high and pretty in the early morning light. 1/500, f/8, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc A few minutes after this shot was taken the bird flew off so we decided to look for more opportunities elsewhere and left the area. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Just before we quit shooting for the day we decided to look for the fledgling again in the same area as before. We found two of them this time – one flew off almost immediately but this one allowed us some close observations for about 25 minutes. By this time of the morning the bird was side-lit in most situations but we got to see some interesting behaviors. Typical of youngsters this one was curious about its surroundings and spent quite a bit of time exploring the greasewood bush it was in. Here it is about to half hop/half fly to the twigs in the upper left of the frame. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Several times it picked off one of the drier greasewood buds and played with it for a while. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But a parent coming in with food always got the full attention of the fledgling. In this image one of the adults is delivering a grasshopper to the begging young bird – you can just see the top of the parents head at the bottom of the frame as it works its way…

Eared Grebes In Utah

Eared Grebes are the most abundant grebe on the planet and immediately after the breeding season most of the population on this continent migrates to either Mono Lake, California or the Great Salt Lake in my back yard where they feed on brine shrimp and brine flies. 1/800, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Most of the grebes that I see are on the Great Salt Lake where it’s difficult to get quite close enough to them for photography purposes but occasionally I’ve seen them on smaller ponds where they’re attracted by insect hatches. 1/400, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The eye of this species is incredibly red, almost unbelievably so. Just to be clear, I’ve not applied any saturation to these photos. 1/800, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These birds are tireless feeders and divers. In scientific studies it’s estimated that they consume between 8,000 and 70,000 brine shrimp per day. That’s a lot of diving! 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 400 f/4, 1.4 tc When there’s an insect hatch they feed on the surface and as they scurry from bug to bug they’re very difficult to follow because of their quick turns and amazing swimming speed – it can be almost as challenging for the photographer as photographing small birds in flight. Here the grebe has spotted a floating midge on the left… 1/1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc approaches the midge very quickly… 1/1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4…

Clumsy Prairie Falcon

This young Prairie Falcon had apparently been hunting ducks near the edge of the Great Salt Lake and got some of its belly feathers wet so it landed on a rock near the lake for some rest and preening. It posed for me for over 12 minutes which I appreciated but the light was low and variable due to the ever-changing thickness of the clouds. 1/800, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc At first the falcon was fairly wary of me because I was quite close. 1/800, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But after a few minutes it settled into its preening again. 1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4 But this was a juvenile bird and not quite so suave and sure of its movements as an adult would be and suddenly it slipped on its perch and would have fallen backwards if it hadn’t caught itself with its wings and climbed back up on the rock. Even though I didn’t get much light in the eye I still got lucky on this shot. I’d been shooting this bird with my tc attached and at a relatively slow shutter speed and the falcon pretty much filled the frame. Just before I took this image I removed my tc and ratcheted up my ISO to get more shutter speed for a possible take-off shot. If I hadn’t done that the wings would likely have been soft from motion blur and I’d have cut off parts of the bird with the tc attached. …

Lark Sparrow

I’ve never had much luck with Lark Sparrows but this spring my fortunes with them have improved. It seems to be a banner year for them on Antelope Island and some of them even cooperate occasionally. In fact, most of the images in this post are of the same bird. It was so intent on its singing and territory declaration that it flew from perch to perch for quite a while and gave us some close looks. 1/1600, f/10, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These are large, long-tailed sparrows with a distinctive chestnut, black and white facial pattern that gives them a harlequin look. The sparrow is perched on a dried sunflower with significant depth so I went to f/10 for this shot to try to get as many of the seed heads as sharp as possible. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In this shot the same sparrow is changing its position on a sagebrush perch and I was able to catch it with a wing and tail position that I like. I do wish there were no sage leaves behind the head though. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc After it settled its position on the sage it gave me some nice eye contact. 1/3200, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’ve said before on this blog how much I enjoy sage perches but they’re not without their problems for the photographer. Dead twigs from last years growth often stick up above the…

Curlew Peekaboo Take-off

When Long-billed Curlews take off they have a little trick they use to get airborne quickly. This is our largest North American shorebird and in addition to their extremely long bill they have very long legs. Since this is a grassland species it would often be very difficult to get a running start at take-off through the tall vegetation so they use their long legs to full advantage by crouching so low that their belly often touches the ground and then they spring into the air by quickly straightening those very long legs (jumping). This can be problematic for the photographer wishing to get take-off shots because this is a large bird and they explode into the air so quickly that you tend to either cut off part of the bird or lose focus on the subject at the most critical point of the take-off. But knowing and anticipating their behavior can give you a better chance at a quality shot or two. These three images from yesterday on Antelope Island are sequential in a quick burst at take-off. The first two are of crappy quality but I include them to illustrate my point. Here the curlew has crouched as low as it can get prior to take-off. I temporarily lost sharp focus on the head because of the foreground vegetation and because of camera movement as I moved my aim upwards in an attempt to get the entire bird in the frame as it lifted off. In the second shot of the burst, focus has locked onto the bird again as…

Barn Owl In Flight

Despite the simple gray background this is one of my favorite shots of a Barn Owl in flight. 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Getting a catch light in a Barn Owl in flight is no easy task due to their reluctance to fly in good light and their deeply set eyes. This is one of my few shots where the early morning sun was low enough and its angle on the bird’s eye was just right to provide not only light in the eye but a good strong catch light. The presence or absence of a catch light can make or break an image and I’m very glad I got one here. Ron

Fighting Curlews And This Photographer’s Rookie Mistake

Occasionally I’ll make a post that illustrates a mistake I’ve made as a photographer in the hope that it will help me to learn from my error and possibly even enlighten some of my viewers who may be bird photographers. Well, last week I made a doozy of a mistake! I had been photographing a pair of Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island and as per usual for me I was using my 500 f/4 with attached 1.4 tc, which when combined with the crop factor of my Canon 7D gives me an effective focal length of 1120mm. Suddenly a second male unexpectedly flew in to challenge the original male and immediately all hell broke loose. The action was incredibly quick with wings, legs, long bills and tails flailing in every direction and it turns out that I was simply too close to the birds with my lens and tc combination to prevent clipping body parts in most of my images of the fight. I remember thinking I should take off the tc but I was afraid that by the time I had done so the action would be over. That was a mistake – the altercation lasted for several minutes and I had plenty of time to switch. I decided to post some of the series anyway because the tightness on the birds gives an intimate look at some of the details of the squabble but I’ll be the first to admit that I’d trade those details in a heartbeat for having not clipped and cut off body parts. There were no preliminaries. The battle began immediately after…

The Swainson’s Hawks Are Finally Back

This morning we headed north once again in quest of Golden Eagles. We found a few but they were too far away for decent photographs. The consolation prize was this cooperative Swainson’s Hawk – our first of the season which delighted us. In fact there were two of them, hanging out in the same general area. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird was particularly fond of a couple of telephone poles in northern Box Elder County. Here it is returning to the pole after leaving it for a short and unsuccessful hunting foray. I’m not particularly happy with the wire and insulator but I liked the landing pose. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Sometimes this hawk perched on the top of the pole but one time it landed on the second wire strung below the first one. Here it is taking off from that position with the pole directly out of frame to the left. I like the dynamics of the take-off in contrast to the greater concentration demanded during landing. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I got a few shots of the hawk in full flight with legs tucked away cleanly. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Another take-off and for this one I had to clone out a small bit of the wire at lower left. Cloning is something I don’t like to do but I do succumb to the temptation occasionally in certain situations. A judgement call… 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I was…

Caspian Tern In Undignified Flight Pose

This one’s just for fun. Occasionally I just need a little “silly” in my world… 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I had been trying all morning to catch a Caspian or Forster’s Tern with a fish as it emerged from the water when this Caspian decided to give a vigorous shake in flight to rid itself of a huge water load. This was a difficult exposure and I wish I’d had just a bit more shutter speed for the action but liked the goofy flight posture and flying water. Ron

A Recent Potpourri Of Birds From Antelope Island

Antelope Island always has an interesting mix of birds for the photographer and birder. During the winter months raptors are one of the primary attractions for me but soon after the cold months are over they begin to thin out and the migrating spring birds begin to appear. The last several weeks have been in transition with fewer raptors but many migrating species are beginning to show up – in addition to the many year-round residents on the island. With this post I thought I’d present a few shots from the past week or so as a small representation of some of the common birds right now. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Black-billed Magpies are year-round residents of the island and they’re in a nesting frenzy right now which allows for some interesting opportunities for the photographer. This bird is landing on a bush very near its nest. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Springtime is my favorite season to photograph Chukars because they’re all dolled out in fresh plumage and they’re very approachable when they’re calling from rocks. For much of the rest of the year they spend their time scurrying around in the vegetation and it’s quite difficult to get a clean shot. This one was calling with a lot of enthusiasm! 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Some of the Loggerhead Shrikes also remain on the island year-round but their numbers increase noticeably in spring. 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It’s always a treat when the Long-billed Curlews return to…

The Return of Long-billed Curlews and Rhyncokinesis

Each day for the past several weeks while on our way out to the island either Mia or I will say to the other “I wonder if we’ll see or hear the curlews this morning”. For both of us the return of the curlews is a sure sign that true spring has finally arrived. And each morning we’ve been disappointed. Until yesterday! We first heard them while waiting for some magpies to return to their nest and then looked up and saw several flying toward us. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird is one of them – a truly unremarkable photograph except for its significance to us. It’s almost like this bird (and its companion) were flying over us to personally announce their return to us. The curlews are back – finally! 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It wasn’t long before we were able to find several curlews foraging on the ground and they even let us get close. This one is busy preening in the morning sun. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Rhyncokinesis (rhynco – upper beak or bill, kinesis – movement or motion) is the ability of some birds to bend or flex their upper bill. Only cranes, shorebirds, swifts and hummingbirds are known to be capable of doing so. The bill is made of a protein called keratin (like hair or fingernails) and it’s quite a remarkable feat to be able to control its shape to some degree. Notice in the photo above that the shapes…

Kiting Male Northern Harrier

On this morning at Farmington Bay we weren’t having very much luck with birds so Mia suggested that we hang out next to a high dike where the south wind was creating an updraft that we’d seen a male Northern Harrier kiting in earlier. Despite the less than perfect light angle it turned out to be another one of Mia’s good ideas because it wasn’t long before the harrier returned to play in the updrafts and hunt the dike edges. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Two things made this an especially interesting situation – the fact that the harrier was kiting (giving us more time with the bird) and the variety of backgrounds we got when the harrier would move just a few feet in the air. It was a partly cloudy day and the bird was usually hanging just above the snow-covered Wasatch Range to the east so at times I got thin white clouds in the background, or a mix of clouds and blue sky, or both sky and mountains or the mountains alone. Throw into that mix the fact that the light was constantly changing because of the clouds and you’ll understand the exposure difficulties that morning. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Because of the challenging light angle much of the harrier was often backlit but the head turn in this shot giving light on the head and eye made this image work for me. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Here the light was…

Fighting Chukars

Obviously I’m not posting this shot for its image quality – it’s distinctly lacking in same. But what an experience we had with these Chukars this morning. We could see them fighting as we approached because they would occasionally jump up above the thick grasses while clawing and biting at each other in the air. I was amazed both by how vicious these fights were and by the incredible speed of these plump, roly-poly birds. 1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We watched several of them fighting for perhaps 5 minutes but very few of my shots turned out because of the fast and furious action in low light and especially because my focus kept locking onto the foreground grasses. But this image should give you a flavor for what it was like and for what my latest photographic goal is – to find some fighting Chukars in better light and out in the open. I’m gonna work on it! Ron

Meadowlark Take-off

Just a single image this time. While photographing magpies at their nest this morning this cheeky Western Meadowlark had the gall to land right next door to the nest for a few seconds before it took off again. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, f00 f/4 I’d taken the teleconverter off for the larger magpies so it’s a bit of a heftier crop than I’d prefer and I wish I had a little more room up top for composition. And there’s some “stuff” in front of the bird but despite all that I liked the shot anyway. These meadowlarks are beginning to sing up a storm out on the island. Ron

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