![\"ring-necked](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/ring-necked-pheasant-2440-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI was struck by the contrast in attitude and demeanor between these adult male Ring-necked Pheasants.<\/p>\n
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\u00a01\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I photographed this striking bird at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on May 20 of this year.\u00a0\u00a0 He was alert, his posture proud, his colors brilliant\u00a0and his bright red wattles were fully on display in the purple flower-studded splendor of his springtime habitat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/800, f\/10, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark 2, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, full-frame image taken and processed in JPEG,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n But this second\u00a0bird wasn’t looking quite so cocky.\u00a0 I photographed him just at dawn two mornings ago at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area\u00a0when it was only\u00a021 degrees F.\u00a0 The back of the pheasant is covered with frost and I strongly suspect that this secluded spot in a depression\u00a0is where he spent the night.\u00a0 He was fluffed up in the cold and barely moved a feather in the minute or so I photographed him.<\/p>\n We’re in the midst of pheasant hunting season and this area\u00a0is often trammelled by hunters and their dogs so perhaps very\u00a0recent encounters with hunters contributed to its demeanor but I\u00a0doubt it.<\/p>\n I think the bird was just cold.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was struck by the contrast in attitude and demeanor between these adult male Ring-necked Pheasants.<\/p>\n![\"ring-necked](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/ring-necked-pheasant-1295-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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