![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sage-thrasher-8773-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"sage-thrasher-8773-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nSage Thrashers, spiders and… giant drones?<\/p>\n
This is the time of year I call the ‘bird doldrums’ around here and this year the doldrums are exacerbated by the drought and the rapidly disappearing Great Salt Lake. Yesterday morning on Antelope Island was just about like I expected.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, 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 The one and only bird I had in my viewfinder all morning was this immature Sage Thrasher that, out of the corner of my eye, I saw dive into a greasewood as I approached. Birds were so scarce I decided to stop and see if it would eventually pop up again. Usually they don’t but this one did, probably because it was a young bird. I’ve photographed very few thrashers on the island this year so getting this one in warm, early morning light was an unexpected and welcome surprise.<\/p>\n The rest of the morning was almost birdless. Yes, I saw a few Loggerhead Shrikes, Barn Swallows, a fair number of Western Meadowlarks (they’re flocking up already) and at least one American Kestrel but not a single one of those birds cooperated. Of the other birds I might expect to see on the island this time of year, like Black-billed Magpies, Chukars, Horned Larks and even Say’s Phoebes, I didn’t see or even hear a single one. I heard a couple of coyotes howling but didn’t see any.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My other photographic goal yesterday morning was… spiders.<\/p>\n This is the time of year that Western Spotted Orb Weaver spiders on the island proliferate in numbers and grow to impressive size as they gorge themselves on brine flies so their large webs and large bodies become very obvious. State Parks celebrates their presence with an annual Spider Fest<\/a><\/span><\/span>, this year to be held on August 6. Take your kiddos and go, they have a lot of educational and fun events planned.<\/p>\n If you go before or after the festival, check out the general area of the marina for spiders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/320, 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 But yesterday wasn’t a very good day to photograph spiders because soon after I reached the island a stiff breeze came up. Trying to get sharp photos of spiders while they’re bouncing around on their webs in the breeze is an exercise in frustration. This is one of the better photos I managed to get. The dark mass in front of her head is the remnants of an insect she was feeding on.<\/p>\n I ended the morning with a short but very enjoyable visit with Assistant Park Manager Wendy Williams. I spotted Wendy and another park employee at the marina parking lot and what they were doing piqued my curiosity to such a degree I had to stop and be nosy. I swear, it looked like they were trying to assemble some kind of giant drone on the parking lot. But it turned out to be something else that they were preparing for Spider Fest.<\/p>\n I’m going to be cagey about what it was. If you’re curious like I was, go to Spider Fest. Or ask me later.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sage Thrashers, spiders and… giant drones? (2 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/western-spotted-orb-weaver-spider-8685-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"western-spotted-orb-weaver-spider-8685-ron-dudley\\"")
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