{"id":138254,"date":"2023-06-24T06:16:51","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T12:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=138254"},"modified":"2023-06-24T08:47:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T14:47:30","slug":"chipping-sparrows-mating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/24\/chipping-sparrows-mating\/","title":{"rendered":"Chipping Sparrows Mating"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m home.<\/p>\n

Yesterday morning the weather in southwest Montana near the Idaho border began to deteriorate and the forecast called for more of the same, so I just packed up and came home. Like most camping trips, this one had its ups and downs and some of the “downs” will affect what you will and won’t be seeing on Feathered Photography in the near future.<\/p>\n

So sometime soon I intend to post a trip report to fill you in. Some of it’s embarrassing but it has to be told.<\/p>\n

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By 6:25 AM I was packed up and almost ready to leave – all I had left to do was to hook the camping trailer up to my pickup and skedaddle. But then these two Sandhill Cranes on a faraway mountaintop began their rattling call that reverberated across the valley below.<\/p>\n

It was the cranes and their calls that inspired me to make one last, short trip of about a quarter mile to a line of trees in good light that might have some birds in it.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/3200. f\/5.6,\u00a0 ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

That’s where I found what turned out to be a female Chipping Sparrow. She was pretty far away and she had needles in front of her so I couldn’t get her in sharp focus. But I took a few photos to help me ID her later.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/3200. f\/5.6,\u00a0 ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Suddenly she wasn’t alone. Without any preliminaries, none at all, her mate flew in, landed on her back, and they began to copulate.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/3200. f\/5.6,\u00a0 ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

It all happened so fast I wasn’t even sure if they were mating or fighting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/3200. f\/5.6,\u00a0 ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

A flurry of activity, a few wing flaps from the male, and then…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/3200. f\/5.6,\u00a0 ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

he exited stage left. Notice that the feathers surrounding his cloacal opening are still flared to facilitate sperm transfer. That’s something I’ve never captured this well before, in any species.<\/p>\n

When I saw him fly in I instinctively laid on the shutter button and fired a quick burst. I got 11 shots of them mating, which means the entire process took almost exactly one second (my R5 is set to take 12 frames\/sec.)<\/p>\n

Talk about wham, bam, thank you ma’am.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/p>\n

I can’t tell you how many opportunities like this one I missed during the first several years I was photographing birds. Back then I hadn’t yet learned that it’s best to take photos first, before you even know what’s going on. Now, when “stuff” begins to happen, I instinctively lay on the shutter button and ask questions later.<\/em><\/p>\n

As they say, pixels are cheap. I’m sure glad I’m not still shooting film.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ve gotta be ready for stuff like this. There are no preliminaries. (6 photos) <\/p>\n

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