![\"long-billed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/long-billed-curlew-3624-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nTwo days ago we spent the morning with\u00a0dear friend and superbly skilled bird photographer Melissa Groo as we looked for a\u00a0Long-billed Curlew or two\u00a0for her to photograph but we mostly came up empty. Then yesterday when she wasn’t with us (isn’t that the way it always goes?)\u00a0we found this very cooperative bird who posed and preened for us in early morning light atop its poop pile. I was able to get many almost frame filling images of the bird but for this one I’d removed my teleconverter in case the bird took off and that’s when it chose to give us a wing stretch so this image has been cropped moderately.<\/p>\n
I realize that some may be put off by the perch. But many prairie birds naturally\u00a0gravitate to bison (and cow) “pies” on the largely flat and featureless grasslands they’ve become adapted to and curlews are no exception. Throw in the tiny purple flowers in the background to set off the interesting pose of the bird and the result is an image that works very well for me, though it likely won’t for others.<\/p>\n
And that’s ok. Different strokes for different folks…<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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I like the dichotomy of a beautiful bird perched on what some would think of as “unattractive” bison poop.<\/p>\n