![\"sage](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/sage-thrasher-6837-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt seems that one species or another usually predominates on my trips to Antelope Island. Four days ago it was Sage Thrashers but on another day this time of year\u00a0it might be Long-billed Curlews, Willets,\u00a0Black-billed Magpies,\u00a0Western Meadowlarks, Northern Harriers\u00a0or Chukars. Or something else.<\/p>\n
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\u00a01\/4000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Each spring the nesting thrashers seem to be concentrated in different areas of similar habitat on the island. I instinctively look for them where I found them the previous year but usually find them somewhere else. If you find the right spot and just sit patiently in your vehicle they may eventually begin popping out of the sagebrush and rabbitbrush in good numbers and if you’re lucky they’ll be close. Each of these images was taken on the island\u00a0three days ago within 39 minutes of each other and in the same general area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm + 1.4 tc,\u00a0f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This time of year they’re heavily involved in pre-nesting activities including chase flights, displacing other thrashers from perches, performing courtship displays, mate-guarding and establishing and maintaining territory by singing from perches. They’re prodigious singers and a song bout may last for over 20 minutes which may give the photographer plenty of opportunity for singing poses. Like their near relatives the mockingbirds, Sage Thrashers mimic the notes of other species, particularly the Western Meadowlark. It can be a little disconcerting to hear and see the meadowlark’s trill emanating from a thrasher.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This bird carrying nesting material popped up right in front of me on the sagebrush and it was really too close for me to use the teleconverter but knowing my luck the bird would likely fly off as I tried to remove the tc so I kept it on. I did attempt to shoot the bird vertically for a few frames but that’s an awkward position while handholding from inside my pickup (especially given the rotator cuff problems I’ve been having with my shoulder lately)\u00a0and most of those shots were either slightly soft or the bird’s face was turned and shaded. As a result, this\u00a0image is a little tight vertically.<\/p>\n I’m sure other bird photographers have had similar frustrating experiences while shooting vertically and handholding.\u00a0 In the past I’ve used battery packs which provide a vertical grip and extra control buttons (including shutter release) for shooting vertically but overall I find battery packs to be awkward, bulky and unnecessary for my usual style of shooting.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Addendum:<\/strong> As an afterthought I decided to include one more recent image (taken just over two weeks ago) of a Sage Thrasher demonstrating one if its springtime courtship displays.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This behavior is called the Bilateral Wing Display. The bird raises and flutters one or both wings for several seconds while it continues to sing (I just happened to catch the beak closed in this shot). It is part of their courtship display and is also thought to function as a threat\u00a0directed at other\u00a0thrashers. I didn’t get the best light angle on this shot but it does demonstrate the behavior.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It seems that one species or another usually predominates on my trips to Antelope Island. Four days ago it was Sage Thrashers demonstrating springtime behaviors.<\/p>\n![\"sage](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/sage-thrasher-6500-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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