{"id":149444,"date":"2024-01-01T07:22:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T14:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=149444"},"modified":"2024-01-01T08:04:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T15:04:56","slug":"my-last-birds-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2024\/01\/01\/my-last-birds-of-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"My Last Birds Of 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Wild Turkey, a Bald Eagle and many thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds.<\/p>\n

Yesterday morning, New Years Eve Day, I was itching to get out after being stuck at home for so long so I decided to take a chance with our soupy inversion and unreliable weather forecasts and head for the west desert.<\/p>\n

Following are my last birds of 2023.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

A Wild Turkey keeping an eye on the rest of the flock from a very tall perch. The post he’s on was next to a rancher’s corral and it was at least 12′ tall, which was ideal since this bird was obviously on sentry duty. I was hoping to get flight shots when the turkey took off but in the sidelight that didn’t work out.<\/p>\n

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1\/6400, 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

An adult Bald Eagle, one of at least 25 adult and immature eagles perched in a grove of tall trees on the southeast side of the dirt road. They were all side lit and most were blocked by branches and twigs. This is the one I had the clearest shot at.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400 mm<\/em><\/p>\n

A small part of perhaps the largest flock of Red-winged Blackbirds I’ve ever seen. I’d estimate that this full frame photo includes significantly less than 25% of the flock. The sound of their wings as the entire flock went through their choreographed aerial maneuvers is still etched in my brain.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t a great morning for birds but once I got away from the Wasatch Front the air was clear, the views to the west were often beautiful and for the nearly three hours I was there I didn’t see another human being or moving vehicle. The quiet was immersive.<\/p>\n

I’ll take it.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

A Wild Turkey, a Bald Eagle and many thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds. (3 photos)<\/p>\n

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