{"id":1620,"date":"2011-04-10T14:52:41","date_gmt":"2011-04-10T20:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.wordpress.com\/?p=1620"},"modified":"2011-05-30T07:36:56","modified_gmt":"2011-05-30T13:36:56","slug":"early-spring-birds-and-craziness-on-antelope-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/10\/early-spring-birds-and-craziness-on-antelope-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Spring Birds and Craziness on Antelope Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Typically\u00a0our first spring camping trip is a shake-down cruise for the trailer to Antelope Island.\u00a0 If anything goes wrong with the trailer (and it sometimes does after sitting all winter) I’ll be relatively\u00a0close to home.\u00a0 This year we spent the last two days of March on the island.\u00a0 Most of the photos in this post were taken on that trip.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Western<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

There’s been a few Western Meadowlarks\u00a0on the island for much of the winter but they’ve returned in large numbers now.\u00a0 In all my travels in the west I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other area with such a high concentration of this species.\u00a0\u00a0 At times\u00a0their beautiful song resonates all over the hills of the island.\u00a0 Meadowlarks always bring back fond memories for me of growing up on the Montana farm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Loggerhead<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500<\/p>\n

Loggerhead\u00a0Shrikes are another very common species, especially on the northern part of the island.\u00a0\u00a0 They’ve been absent all winter but we’re seeing more of them on each visit now.\u00a0\u00a0 It was cloudy when this image was taken and I didn’t get a lot of light in the eye but I think there’s just enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Long-billed<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

I always look forward to the return of the Long-billed Curlews with great anticipation and they started appearing about 10 days ago.\u00a0 I was happy to get this shot of the male on the right displaying for the female.\u00a0 Male and female curlews are almost identical but they can be differentiated by their bills – the females bill is often longer than the males and they are shaped differently.\u00a0 The male bill is gently curved throughout its length while the female bill is flatter on top with a more dramatic curve at the tip.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Horned<\/p>\n

1\/3200, f.7.1, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

Like me, Horned Larks are creatures of habit – they return to the same perches again and again.\u00a0 There’s one area on the island with a group of boulders that this species regularly perches on so we always visit those boulders at least once each trip.\u00a0 This male even obliged us by singing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Great-horned<\/p>\n

1\/80, f\/7.1, ISO 500\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We found this Great Horned Owl spending its day near the roof of an outbuilding used for storing hay and maintenance equipment.\u00a0 Not a very picturesque setting but I couldn’t resist taking a portrait.\u00a0 I took this shot from inside my truck and you can see that red pickup in the reflection in the left eye.\u00a0 I’m struck by how small Utah GHO’s\u00a0seem to be in comparison to the Montana owls I’m used to.\u00a0 Even if this is the male (males are smaller than females)\u00a0he seems rather diminutive.\u00a0\u00a0 This species is a year-round resident of the island.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Black-billed<\/p>\n

1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0Black-billed Magpie pair has been busy with nesting activities for weeks now – same nest as last year and presumably the same birds.\u00a0 In this shot I wish that the twig wasn’t quite\u00a0so close to the eye but\u00a0I like the iridescence and the cleanness of the shot.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Chukar<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01\/2500, f.7.1, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

Chukars are also year-round residents of the island but much of the year their plumage seems a bit ratty and many of the feathers (on the head especially)\u00a0have a dirty look, presumably from ground feeding and possibly from dust bathing.\u00a0 In springtime they seem particularly handsome.\u00a0\u00a0 In most of the images I like of this species the bird is on a rock or boulder perch because it’s very difficult to get a clear shot of them on the ground because of all the tall grasses.\u00a0 So I was happy to get this one in the open and on the ground.<\/p>\n

A word of explanation – some may wonder why I so often use such high ISO settings and shutter speeds for my birds.\u00a0 The reason is because I’m a huge fan of action shots – take offs, flight, sudden and unexpected behaviors.\u00a0 So typically when I approach a bird (or they approach me)\u00a0I have my camera set at high ISO’s and SS’s so the action will be sharp.\u00a0 If the bird cooperates for a while I’ll often dial my settings down\u00a0for a few shots but I\u00a0always go back up if it looks like anything interesting might happen.\u00a0 That’s just what\u00a0seems to work for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bison<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0Bison charging photographer.\u00a0 Stupidity 1<\/em><\/p>\n

Now for the “craziness” part of this post.\u00a0 While on this same camping trip a little over a week ago we were on a hill and I happened to scope the campground over a mile away\u00a0with my 500mm lens with attached 1.4 teleconverter and what I saw blew my socks off.\u00a0 The campground was almost deserted and about a half-dozen\u00a0bison were grazing their way through the camp sites.\u00a0 Then I saw a car stop and one guy get out and approach one of the bison with what was obviously a point and shoot camera.\u00a0\u00a0 The bison ignored him until he got very close – perhaps 35-40 feet but then it whirled\u00a0and\u00a0 charged the man.\u00a0\u00a0 I was so shocked that at first I forgot to fire off any shots but after about a second I did get a few photos.\u00a0\u00a0 In this image you can see the bison’s tail in the air as it charges and the man running toward his car out of frame to the right.\u00a0\u00a0 This imbecile wouldn’t have had a chance but\u00a0 the bison quickly quit the chase when it saw that the man was no longer a threat.\u00a0 This occurred at 3:37 pm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Stupidity<\/p>\n

Stupidity\u00a02<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soon we returned to the\u00a0campground (in fact, that’s my\u00a0camping trailer in the previous image).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The bison were\u00a0still on the periphery of the campground.\u00a0 I had my photo gear set up to shoot magpies.\u00a0 Soon two cars pulled up and about ten people, including small children,\u00a0piled out to photograph the bison from the comparative safety of a campsite with gazebo.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But then this woman started walking directly toward two of the bison.\u00a0 As you can see the bison in the photo is not positioned well for light but the one out of frame to the right was turned so that it had good light.\u00a0 So this woman walked within about 15 feet of this bull, paying him no attention, to get her point and shoot images of the second animal in better light.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"stupidity<\/p>\n

Stupidity 3\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Obviously, stupidity is contagious.\u00a0 Within a few seconds, after she saw that the first woman had survived, her friend did the same thing!\u00a0 At least\u00a0this second lady\u00a0was paying attention to the bull – not that it would have done her any good if the animal had taken exception to her closeness and decided to charge her.\u00a0 Some will and some won’t – they’re very individual in how they react to people and vehicles close-up.\u00a0 This second incident occurred at 4:59 pm.\u00a0 \u00a0Two (actually three) very dangerous situations within less than an hour and a half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was\u00a0very close to all this as it went down and my heart was pounding through the whole thing.\u00a0 \u00a0While the women were still out there I ran over to the men in their group and warned them of the danger and told them about the earlier incident.\u00a0 They just gave me silly grins and barely responded.\u00a0 I was very angry.\u00a0 If the bison had charged they would have been destroyed and human lives very possibly would have been lost.\u00a0 And my camping trip would have been ruined – yes, I’m just selfish enough to think about that too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We almost had more candidates for the “Darwin Awards”.<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Typically\u00a0our first spring camping trip is a shake-down cruise for the trailer to Antelope Island.\u00a0 If anything goes wrong with the trailer (and it sometimes does after sitting all winter) I’ll be relatively\u00a0close to home.\u00a0 This year we spent the last two days of March on the island.\u00a0 Most of the photos in this post were taken on that trip. \u00a0 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500\u00a0 There’s been a few Western Meadowlarks\u00a0on the island for much of the winter but they’ve returned in large numbers now.\u00a0 In all my travels in the west I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other area with such a high concentration of this species.\u00a0\u00a0 At times\u00a0their beautiful song resonates all over the hills of the island.\u00a0 Meadowlarks always bring back fond memories for me of growing up on the Montana farm.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500 Loggerhead\u00a0Shrikes are another very common species, especially on the northern part of the island.\u00a0\u00a0 They’ve been absent all winter but we’re seeing more of them on each visit now.\u00a0\u00a0 It was cloudy when this image was taken and I didn’t get a lot of light in the eye but I think there’s just enough.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500 I always look forward to the return of the Long-billed Curlews with great anticipation and they started appearing about 10 days ago.\u00a0 I was happy to get this shot of the male on the right displaying for the female.\u00a0 Male and female curlews are almost identical but they can be differentiated by their…<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,347,16],"tags":[31,56,57,61,64,65,79,82,104,159,174,187,206,208,220,282,293,307,323],"class_list":["post-1620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antelope-island","category-bison-mammals","category-photography-ethics","tag-antelope-island-2","tag-bison","tag-black-billed-magpie","tag-buffalo","tag-campground","tag-camping","tag-charging","tag-chukar","tag-darwin-awards","tag-great-horned-owl","tag-horned-lark","tag-iso","tag-loggerhead-shrike","tag-long-billed-curlew","tag-montana-2","tag-shutter-speed","tag-spring","tag-trailer","tag-western-meadowlark"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-q8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}