![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/black-billed-magpie-6788-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"black-billed-magpie-6788-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nMany of the birds I saw yesterday morning on Antelope Island were in one stage or another of the molting process.<\/p>\n
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This Black-billed Magpie’s head and upper neck were a mess. Debris on its bill didn’t help with its overall appearance.<\/p>\n
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When I spend a lot of time with a particular bird I often find myself talking to it. This Western Meadowlark was reluctant to fly and after a while I started calling him “Stubby”. Can you see why?<\/p>\n
The poor bird is completely missing its tail. Molting can do that.<\/p>\n
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This Western Meadowlark was only beginning ‘his’ molt. He still had a tail and much of his plumage seemed intact, with the exception of his head and neck.<\/p>\n
It might be hard to believe that this tall, relatively skinny meadowlark could transform into…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/western-meadowlark-6291-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"western-meadowlark-6291-ron-dudley\\"")
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this rotund puffball, but he did. It’s the same bird.<\/p>\n
During breeding season, meadowlarks on the island are often easy to approach closely but this time of year they’re as spooky as most other birds. Usually. But this bird was surprisingly tolerant of me. I was close to him to start with but in order get different shooting angles I actually started and moved my pickup three times without spooking the bird. And I think I know why he was so sticky.<\/p>\n
Because he was molting, preening took precedence over fleeing from me. He was preening for almost the entire time I spent with him and he barely looked up when I started and moved my pickup, three times. I had the definite impression that the molting process made him uncomfortable and preening somehow relieved his discomfort. Kind of like scratching an itch.<\/p>\n
Sometimes he’d actually try to sing but in the midst of singing he’d puff up and start preening again. I actually captured that transition in a short video clip<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n I think it’s kinda cute.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many of the birds I saw yesterday morning on Antelope Island were in one stage or another of the molting process. (4 photos and 1 video clip)<\/p>\n