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<\/p>\nIncluding a video clip, taken yesterday on Antelope Island.<\/p>\n
In the past, many of my blog followers living near the Atlantic Seaboard or Gulf Coast have mentioned how strange it seems to them when I post photos of Willets taken here in the high desert of Utah. Willets actually breed on Antelope Island where their normally rather docile behavior transforms into competitive and aggressive flight displays, aerial dogfights, aerial pursuit, ground fights, swooping on opponents, head-bobbing and loud vocalizations.<\/p>\n
And sagebrush. They love to perch on sagebrush. They’re highly territorial while breeding so in this habitat sagebrush provides a convenient and elevated perch from which they can guard and defend their territory. Apparently it seems incongruous for folks in coastal areas to associate Willets with sagebrush but around here, and to me, they seem to go together naturally.<\/p>\n
Yesterday was a Willet kind of day on Antelope Island. I didn’t get any photos of them that were standouts but today I thought I’d use some of them to document their presence on the island, their affinity for sagebrush perches and their breeding behavior.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Sagebrush isn’t an ideal perch for the bird photographer because its abundant vertical stems tend to block a clear view of any bird perched on it. But this time of year, if I’m on the lookout for Willets, that’s where I’ll usually find them. When I pulled up on this one it was obviously interacting aggressively with other nearby Willets that I could hear but not see. I was hoping to get some interesting behavioral shots but that didn’t happen.<\/p>\n I’ve always thought of Willets as Cinderella birds. While perched or on the ground their garden variety, brownish coloration is unexceptional.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n But that all changes the instant they raise their wings, when they reveal a striking and unusually broad white wing-stripe that runs across their primaries and secondaries, bordered in black.<\/p>\n I found this Willet very soon after sunrise when there was a low band of clouds in front of the sun. The light was exceptionally dim so I had insufficient shutter speed and depth of field for the situation, even at ISO 1600. But I still think it’s an interesting photo, especially for the wing reveal.<\/p>\n This bird wasn’t taking off, it had just lost its balance on its perch. For fairly large birds like Willets sagebrush doesn’t provide a very stable perching platform so they often struggle to keep their balance, as you’ll see if you open the link to a video I took yesterday,\u00a0 I’ll post that link below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Still photos, as opposed to videos, can be highly misleading when it comes to behaviors. This may look like an alert but fairly calm and tranquil bird in a peaceful situation but reality was far different from that. This Willet, most likely a male, was acting and sounding aggressive to other nearby Willets and having a hard time balancing on the sagebrush at the same time. I shot a short video of his behavior<\/a><\/span><\/span> if you’re interested. If you watch the clip be sure to have your sound turned up from the very beginning.<\/p>\n It’s an amateurish video that needs editing but I think it’s worth watching. I promise, when I get some other priorities out of the way I’m going to learn how to edit my videos!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Including a video clip, taken yesterday on Antelope Island. (3 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/willet-4392-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"willet-4392-ron-dudley\\"")
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