{"id":1683,"date":"2011-04-24T16:14:53","date_gmt":"2011-04-24T22:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.wordpress.com\/?p=1683"},"modified":"2011-10-05T19:27:45","modified_gmt":"2011-10-06T01:27:45","slug":"willet-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/24\/willet-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"Willet Wars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week Mia and I witnessed an incredible display of avian aggression on Antelope Island.\u00a0 I’ve often seen and photographed battling birds but I’ve never before\u00a0seen such a long-lasting\u00a0and vicious fight as this one between two Willets.\u00a0 It lasted for over 20 minutes and I took 413 photos of the action\u00a0but don’t expect high quality images in this post as the conditions were\u00a0far from ideal.\u00a0 We had contrasty sidelight, lots of obstructingvegetation between us and the birds and constantly changing lighting conditions as clouds moved in and out and the birds moved from place to place as the battle raged.\u00a0\u00a0But as I’ve stated before on this blog I’ll often post images of interesting behaviors even if they are less than perfect in image quality.\u00a0 And to me this behavior was certainly interesting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Fighting<\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1600, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

The Willets were already fighting as we approached them in my pickup and they mostly ignored us after pausing for a\u00a0 few seconds when we first drove up.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

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

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

In this and the following image the bird on the right had its bill tightly clamped on the upper mandible of the other bird.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fighting<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

The bird on the left was desperately trying to break the grip of its tormentor but it took some struggling before it finally succeeded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

In this photo the same bill grasping behavior occurs again.\u00a0 You can see that it is a separate event from the one in the previous images from the differences in the setting.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1600, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/p>\n

Birds of North America Online\u00a0<\/em>states that when these birds squabble it’s not unusual for them to try to pull out each others tail feathers and that they occasionally succeed.\u00a0 I suspect that is what the bird on the left is attempting to do here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

It was breathtaking\u00a0to watch the incredible speed at which these birds\u00a0maneuver during an altercation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0BNA<\/em>\u00a0 has this to say about the quickness of Willets\u00a0during a fight:\u00a0 “they (fights) transpire so quickly that it is impossible to analyze component movements in real-time”.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fighting<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/2500, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Once one of the birds was able to latch on to a body part (usually the tail, bill, leg or wing) of its opponent it was very reluctant to let go.\u00a0 And believe me these birds make a lot of noise during a fight.\u00a0 I can hear them in my mind as I type this…<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/3200, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

This one got a tight grip on the neck of its adversary and for a few moments I thought the poor bird would be strangled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/3200, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0BNA,\u00a0<\/em>occasionally\u00a0when Willets fight\u00a0“each bird grasps the other\u2019s leg, neck, or wing with its bill, immobilizing each other up to 18 minutes”.\u00a0 We never saw it last that long but twice one of these birds had the other pinned down for about 15 seconds each time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/3200, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

I assume that the combatants here were males fighting over territory or breeding rights though the sexes are virtually impossible to tell apart and females are also known to fight each other.\u00a0 If so, the bird on the right is the female and she stood passively by during the entire episode, interested but seemingly detached at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Fighting<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/3200, \u00a0f\/6.3, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

They would sometimes use their bills as a stabbing weapon but most of my shots of that action were terribly obscured by vegetation.\u00a0 This is the best one I have to show that behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"Vanquished<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1600, \u00a0f\/6.3, ISO 500<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

After almost 25 minutes of fighting (I don’t know how long it had gone on before we arrived) one of the birds had apparently had enough and departed the area.\u00a0\u00a0I was able to get off two shots as he flew off.<\/p>\n

What an\u00a0incredible event to witness!\u00a0 I’ve often said that even if I don’t get any great shots on a bird photography\u00a0trip I still usually enjoy the hell out of the experience\u00a0just by\u00a0being with them, watching their behaviors and improving my skills.\u00a0 This experience was the epitome of that kind of trip.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I will admit though that if I ever get another chance at something like this I do hope for\u00a0a\u00a0better light angle and less obstructing vegetation…<\/p>\n

Ron\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week Mia and I witnessed an incredible display of avian aggression on Antelope Island.\u00a0 I’ve often seen and photographed battling birds but I’ve never before\u00a0seen such a long-lasting\u00a0and vicious fight as this one between two Willets.\u00a0 It lasted for over 20 minutes and I took 413 photos of the action\u00a0but don’t expect high quality images in this post as the conditions were\u00a0far from ideal.\u00a0 We had contrasty sidelight, lots of obstructingvegetation between us and the birds and constantly changing lighting conditions as clouds moved in and out and the birds moved from place to place as the battle raged.\u00a0\u00a0But as I’ve stated before on this blog I’ll often post images of interesting behaviors even if they are less than perfect in image quality.\u00a0 And to me this behavior was certainly interesting.\u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1600, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500 The Willets were already fighting as we approached them in my pickup and they mostly ignored us after pausing for a\u00a0 few seconds when we first drove up.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500 In this and the following image the bird on the right had its bill tightly clamped on the upper mandible of the other bird. \u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO 500 The bird on the left was desperately trying to break the grip of its tormentor but it took some struggling before it finally succeeded.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, 1\/1250, \u00a0f\/5.6, ISO…<\/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":[3,394,343],"tags":[31,76,139,327],"class_list":["post-1683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antelope-island","category-fighting-bird-behaviors","category-willets","tag-antelope-island-2","tag-catoptrophorus-semipalmatus","tag-fight","tag-willet"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-r9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683","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=1683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}