utah – Page 131 – Feathered Photography

Ring-necked Pheasants Struggling In Deep Snow

Native to Asia, the Ring-necked Pheasant is one of the most successful introduced bird species in North America. They are exceptionally prized by hunters and may be the most studied game bird in the world. In Utah, as in much of their adopted range, their numbers are declining due to modern farming technologies and practices which are responsible for degradation of their preferred habitat (small farms with diversified crops and many patches of idle habitat). Collisions with vehicles are a major cause of pheasant mortality. In a Nebraska study, 7,195 (known) pheasants were killed by vehicles in a 439 mile section of Interstate 80 in 7 years. (I once hit a beautiful male pheasant while driving a very large U-haul truck at 65 mph. It glanced off the windshield, which definitely got my attention, then wedged in the side-mirror, which it broke. I expected to be charged for the mirror but the U-haul folks were fly fishermen and were so delighted to get the tail feathers for tying flies that they let me off with no charge). During winters with heavy snowfall and severe cold these birds require dense winter cover such as cattails in wetlands, which is part of the reason they do well at Farmington Bay WMA where these photos were taken recently. Because of the snow and bright sunshine my camera techs were all over the map and pretty meaningless so I’m not including them this time. These heavy-bodied birds are somewhat reluctant to fly so deep powdery snow presents some problems for them. Typically they push their bodies through…

Harlan’s Hawk

Harlan’s Hawk is today considered to be a sub-species of the Red-tailed Hawk but its classification has a colorful history as it has twice been considered a separate species and twice as a race of the Red-tailed Hawk. The controversy continues today as several “experts” lobby to have the Harlan’s reinstated as a distinct species. In 1831 John James Audubon originally named this bird Harlan’s Buzzard, after his good friend Dr. Richard Harlan of Philadelphia. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Harlan’s Hawks are quite similar to western Red-tailed Hawks but typically they are “colder/blacker” in overall color, with the tendency toward dusky-white tails in the ventral view. At rest, wing tips are obviously shorter than tail tips (easily seen here) and their breasts are variably streaked with white. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in In this view you can make out another identifying feature – the barring to the tips of the wing primaries (most easily seen here in the left wing). Harlan’s Hawks are found in Alaska and northern Canada but winter in the western United States and the Great Plains. I’ve had very few (if any) photo opportunities with them but found this juvenile (light eye) two days ago at Farmington Bay. I’m always delighted to photograph a “new” bird, particularly when it’s a raptor. Ron

Birds Dealing With Snow And Cold

Birds use a variety of tactics to deal with the harsh conditions presented by an unusually cold and snowy winter. Some are more effective than others. I thought it might be interesting to see a few of them that I’ve been able to photograph in the last several weeks. My usual disclaimer for posts relating to behaviors; many of these images are technically lacking but I think they do illustrate some of the conditions these birds are having to cope with. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light After a fresh snow, the food source for many small birds is largely hidden and unavailable without some extraordinary measures. This juvenile White-crowned Sparrow, and others in the flock, were flitting from one snow-covered perch to another in an obvious attempt at knocking the snow off so they could get to the seeds underneath. Here you can see the snow falling away and immediately afterward the sparrow fed on the uncovered seeds. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in When it gets very cold most water sources freeze up completely which makes fish largely inacessable to Bald Eagles so many of them turn to scavenging as their primary food source. But this species adapted very well to scavenging eons ago which is one of the reasons Ben Franklin looked in disfavor at the proposal to make the Bald Eagle our national bird. 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or…

Ferruginous Hawk In Head-on Flight

The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest, most powerful buteo in North America. They have a broad chest, wide gape, large head and long, narrow-tipped wings. Unlike most other buteos they often perch on the ground. Their huge nests, typically constructed in isolated trees or on cliffs, were often constructed of bison bones and wool before the elimination of that massive animal from the western plains. This species is often compared to the Golden Eagle with which it has much in common and they are fully deserving of their apt scientific name, Buteo regalis. 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, called in or set up This bird had been perched on an old fence post in Utah’s west desert (background is the Stansbury Mountains) and I was able to capture it in flight soon after it lifted off. I like the blood on the left foot and the somewhat unusual wing position as it took off mostly in my direction. This wing position is seldom seen in photographs because the wing would obscure the head in the much more common side view. Typically these birds don’t take off toward the photographer from a low perch. Ron

It’s Been A Tough Winter For Birds (and it’s getting worse)

Typical winters are hard on birds in northern Utah (and elsewhere). But when the season is unusually frigid with lots of snow as we’re having this year they struggle even more to survive. All of these images have been taken since January 2 of this year. Upland game birds like this Chukar seem to have adapted to extreme conditions fairly well. This bird was all puffed up and sitting high on a rock to catch the earliest warming rays of the sun as it rose over the nearby Wasatch Mountains. Another upland game species that can apparently take harsh conditions quite well is the Ring-necked Pheasant (this is a female). They seem to forage for seeds at the base of plants where the snow isn’t as thick and their food is more readily available. But many other species have a difficult time and quite a few birds don’t survive until spring. The waterfowl that winter over here congregate in the few areas of open water where the flowing water is the last to freeze over. But when it gets very cold, even those small bits of open water freeze. I’ve seen ducks and coots frozen into the ice, some of them still alive. This female Green-winged Teal has just left one of the last unfrozen patches of water and is approaching an area of frost flowers. This Northern Flicker is using the protection of the underside of the eaves of a building on Antelope Island State Park. I thought the angled…

Male Sandhill Crane Dancing For His Lady

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…

Black-crowned Night Heron On Ice

Black-crowned Night Herons are the most widespread heron in the world, breeding on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. They’re relatively common in northern Utah, although it’s somewhat unusual for me to see them around here during winter. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light So two days ago I was surprised to find this juvenile still lurking around the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake. We’re in the middle of an inversion which means it’s very cold (I was shooting in temps of -10 degrees F yesterday morning) so most still water is frozen solid. This bird was standing on ice with a thin layer of snow on top. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light Juveniles look very different from adults. Instead of the basic black, white and gray colors of the adults these young birds are brown-streaked ventrally… 1/1250, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light and mostly solid brown dorsally. This orange-chrome eye color will turn bright red in the adult. 1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I didn’t realize it at first but this bird was in hunting mode. There’s a patch of open water just out of frame in front of the heron and the bird is watching it for fish activity. One time it made an incredibly fast move for a fish from this position but it missed. The heron didn’t stand any closer to the open water because the ice is…

Northern Harriers Banking In Flight

Images of birds banking in flight can be quite striking because the flight postures with wings fully extended and the tail spread (in order to catch as much air as possible for the turn) allow a good look at the entire underside or topside of the bird. But they’re very difficult shots to get because as soon as the bank begins the bird has abruptly changed direction which makes them difficult to track while maintaining focus. It’s easier when they’re further away but then you don’t get very good detail – the closer they are the more challenging the shot becomes. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I caught this adult female in a banking pose three days ago in the late afternoon (unusual for me, typically I only shoot in the early mornings). With the sun low on the horizon, this posture gave me good light on the underside of the harrier. Birds tend to keep their heads level as they bank which often allows the photographer to get good eye contact in spite of the steep angle of the body. 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Even when I do manage to lock on to a banking bird, maintain focus and not clip any body parts, I usually only get one successful shot (if I’m lucky). But two days ago I got three of the same harrier in the same banking turn. This bird…

Does Anyone Know What’s Wrong With The Eye Of This Northern Harrier?

It’s very cold here in northern Utah (8 degrees F. as I type) and there’s lots of snow on the ground – ideal conditions for photographing hunting Northern Harriers. And yesterday morning everything was covered with a thick layer of hoar-frost which turned the marshes into a frosty fairyland. I was able to get lots of shots of this particular bird and in the field I didn’t even notice that there was anything unusual about it. Most of the images were flight shots and there just isn’t time pay attention to detail when you’re concentrating so hard on keeping the bird in the frame and in focus. But when I got home and started reviewing my images I was taken aback. Something’s definitely going on with the right eye of this bird. At first I thought it might be just the closed nictitating membrane but I have dozens of shots of this bird and the eye is the same in all of them. It’s definitely not a normal membrane, if it’s the membrane at all. A better look at the right eye. This is probably the sharpest, most detailed image I was able to get of the bird. An extreme crop of the previous image to show the best detail I could manage. To my untrained eye it looks like there may be some kind of fungal growth in and around the eye that may have discolored the eye ring and nictitating membrane and closed the membrane permanently, but that’s only a guess….

A Couple Of Intereresting Coyote Hunting Techniques

New Year’s morning on Antelope Island was a cloudy, low-light affair. It turned mostly sunny as we left for home in late morning and on the causeway we passed flocks of birders on their way to the island for their first day of birding in the New Year. I couldn’t help but notice the irony – us photographers who needed good light didn’t get any and the birders who don’t, did… But despite the low light I was able to photograph two coyote hunting techniques that I thought were interesting. 1/800, f/8, ISO 500, 100-400 @ 150 mm, natural light This coyote was on the edge of a large hill overlooking the frozen shoreline of the Great Salt Lake far below. I was very close to the animal but it was so intent on scanning the marshy area below for prey that it simply ignored me. At one point it stood on its hind legs with its front legs on a large, snow-covered boulder to give it an even more elevated view of the hunting grounds down below. I hoped that it would look back at me but it never did, though I think this pose, with just enough of the muzzle in view to show the direction the coyote was looking, well illustrates the hunting behavior. I was pleasantly surprised with one element of this photo. I was much too close to this coyote to use my 500mm lens so I had grabbed my other 7D with the 100-400 attached and backed the zoom down to 150mm. …

Lickety-split Chukar

We haven’t seen many Chukars recently but yesterday we found a small covey feeding at the base of several rabbitbrush on the north end of Antelope Island. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light Most of them were pretty skittish but the sentry bird was standing watch on top of a snow-covered boulder as the rest of the birds slowly wandered away. The sentry posed for us for several minutes. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light It called out to the rest of the flock twice. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light Chukars are often reluctant to fly and prefer to scurry on the ground to safety. In an instant the bird accelerated up the rock… 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light and down the other side. It was really moving. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light In this last decent shot I got in the series, the bird appears to be sledding on top of the snow as much as it is running through it. I really enjoy photographing Chukars in the snow this time of year. For much of the fall and early winter these birds are pretty scruffy looking but now their plumage appears bright and fresh again. 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…

Northern Harriers Hunting

It’s getting to be what I call “harrier time” here in northern Utah so I thought I’d do a significant post on the species. For me, watching these birds hunt is absolutely mesmerizing and I could do it for hours. And I have – many, many times. But before I get into hunting I’d like to cover some basics on telling the sexes and ages apart. Sexual dimorphism in harriers is exceptional among birds of prey – telling adult males from adult females is easy because their colors are so dramatically different. But because juveniles of either sex strongly resemble adult females, that distinction becomes very tricky and causes a lot of confusion. So, here’s a primer: Adult males – gray above, mostly white below, black wing tips, lemon-yellow eyes Adult females – brown above, buffy with brown streaks below, lemon-yellow eyes (but in my experience, the eyes of adult females tend to be less bright than those of adult males) Juvenile of both sexes – similar to adult female but darker chocolate-brown above and strongly rufous (reddish) below Juvenile male – pale, greenish-yellow eyes Juvenile female – dark, chocolate-brown eyes All sexes and ages have the unique facial disc (ruff) characteristic of harriers. It’s not as prominent as it is in many owls but it can clearly be seen in this image. Its function is the same as it is in owls – to direct sound to the ears. Most hawks hunt almost exclusively by sight but because of their excellent hearing, thanks largely to the facial disc, harriers depend at least…

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…

Swainson’s Hawk – Contrasting Top And Bottom Views In Flight

This bird was one of the early migrants into Utah in the first week of April this year. Swainson’s Hawks winter in South America, which means they funnel through narrow Central America as they migrate each way. To give you an idea of how many birds that involves, 845,000 of them have been counted as they passed over Veracruz, Mexico in a single autumn. Incredible! 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I found this bird in a remote area of Box Elder County, hunting from power poles. One of the reasons I like this image is because it’s fairly unusual for me to get a raptor in full flight (instead of just after taking off, note the position of the feet) when it’s not soaring or gliding with its wings in a horizontal position. I’m always interested when I can get images that contrast the ventral and dorsal colors and plumage patterns of the same species in flight. Swainson’s Hawks are quite dark dorsally. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in But when you can get good light in the ventral view, the contrast is striking. Even though these two images were taken 34 minutes apart, I’m relatively certain that it’s the same bird in both shots. This hawk was coming to land on a power pole and even though the flight position screams for a perch in front of the bird, I took the liberty of cloning out the ugly pole…

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