![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/northern-harrier-1587-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-harrier-1587-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nFrom the sublime to the profane in not much more than the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/9 (a mistake, I have no idea why my camera was set at f\/9), ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Yesterday morning this Northern Harrier at Farmington Bay WMA reminded me of the “old days” at the refuge when harriers would regularly hunt next to the road in winter, seeming to mostly ignore vehicles and allow photographers wonderful opportunities for flight shots.<\/p>\n That’s exactly what this bird did, which allowed me to get over 100 photos as it cruised by. In this shot I like the head turn and the many-layered background produced by alternating patches of marshland, snow and bare ground. Your take on the layered background may be different but I happen to like it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/9, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n My jubilation at the experience was tempered only by the fact that the darn bird kept its head down as it hunted the ground directly below, not allowing me to see either eye for nearly every shot out of the 110 or so I got. The two photos I’m including today are about the only shots I got where I could see an eye, much less a catch light.<\/p>\n I’ve long forgiven the transgression. After all, the harrier was hunting, trying desperately to survive a brutal winter and make it to the next breeding season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I was feeling pretty darn good as I drove on down the road after the harrier had passed but that feeling didn’t last long.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This abomination is what greeted me soon after I photographed the harrier (this photo had been taken a few minutes earlier when I’d been driving the other way). A couple of garishly ugly mylar balloons had been snagged in the marsh by the string hanging down from them. I’ve cropped the photo this way so you can see more of the string if you look carefully.<\/p>\n I despise mylar and other metal-coated balloons. After they’re deflated, birds and other animals sometimes mistake them for food and either get tangled in the strings (think fishing line) or die a horrible death of digestive complications. In addition, when metallic balloons are released they often cause electrical shorts and explosions when they come in contact with power lines. In 2022, in southern California alone, metallic balloons caused 802 power outages and 97 explosions<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n If I were King of the World I’d ban the damn things.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note: If I hadn’t still been recovering from surgery I’d have at least attempted to walk out there and retrieve the balloons. I’m hopeful that someone else has done it by now. I’m far from the only one who hates metallic balloons.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the sublime to the profane in not much more than the blink of an eye. (3 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/northern-harrier-1607-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mylar-balloons-1502-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"mylar-balloons-1502-ron-dudley\\"")
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