![\"loggerhead](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/loggerhead-shrike-4510-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFor me most of these shots from yesterday morning\u00a0on Antelope Island have symbolic significance for the new\u00a0year.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Most of our Loggerhead Shrikes migrate south for the winter but a few do stick around and take their survival\u00a0chances with our harsh\u00a0weather and this bird is one of them. This time of year they have to survive mostly on voles and small birds that are almost as big as they are so these few\u00a0hardy winter residents must be excellent and even ferocious\u00a0hunters. This bird actually caught a vole while we were there but\u00a0I didn’t get\u00a0any photos of it. I like the “gray on\u00a0gray” look of this image.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n When the shrike took off it was a power-dive at a steep angle toward the ground so it’s possible, even likely,\u00a0it was\u00a0in pursuit of\u00a0the aforementioned vole when it did so.<\/p>\n The last few months of 2015 weren’t good ones for me so as I was processing this shot on New Year’s Eve it came to me that this image is symbolic of how I feel about the transition from one year to the next, with the bird desperately trying to escape\u00a0unlucky 2015 at upper left and force an early entry into a\u00a0potentially better\u00a02016 at lower right. I know the feeling…<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n As\u00a0I was driving\u00a0west along the\u00a0causeway toward the island at dawn\u00a0this coyote was heading the same direction in the crisp, virgin snow with the rising sun behind it and traveling the same direction as its long shadow was pointing. It seems to me that the symbolism for the difficulty of escaping that nasty 2015 is obvious.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I snapped my shutter just as this Cottontail Rabbit bounded off away from me. Though the image isn’t particularly sharp I found it interesting for a couple of reasons. For one it’s the first good look I’ve ever had at the bottom of the back feet of a live, wild\u00a0rabbit.<\/p>\n And since the image was taken on New Year’s Eve Day I hope that both of those rabbit’s feet are lucky ones, for\u00a0me and for my readers.\u00a0I’m sure an improvement over last year would be a welcome change for many of us.<\/p>\n Happy New Year everyone!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For me most of these shots from yesterday morning on Antelope Island have symbolic significance for the new year.<\/p>\n![\"loggerhead](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/loggerhead-shrike-4525-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"coyote](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/coyote-4096-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"cottontail](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cottontail-rabbit-4561-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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