{"id":36474,"date":"2016-01-09T06:23:04","date_gmt":"2016-01-09T13:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=36474"},"modified":"2016-01-09T12:43:27","modified_gmt":"2016-01-09T19:43:27","slug":"magpies-building-nests-already-and-ice-fishing-herons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/09\/magpies-building-nests-already-and-ice-fishing-herons\/","title":{"rendered":"Magpies Building Nests Already And Ice-fishing Herons"},"content":{"rendered":"

I photographed two interesting bird behaviors yesterday\u00a0morning\u00a0on Antelope Island and at Farmington Bay WMA.<\/p>\n

After a full week of stormy weather and very\u00a0low light my cabin fever finally got the best of me so I decided to go out shooting anyway, despite the continuing poor conditions. It was a morning of\u00a0photographing scarce and shy birds, mostly at ISO 1600, but I was able to scratch my\u00a0shooting itch and I did see some interesting behaviors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"black-billed<\/p>\n

1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 1600, 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

Black-billed Magpies are known as early nesters but I was surprised to see this one with nesting material so early in\u00a0January. In the past, I believe that late\u00a0February is the earliest I’ve seen this behavior from magpies.\u00a0As they often do this bird was refurbishing an old nest rather than building a new one. And there’s no question that the stick was nesting material because I saw the bird work it very carefully and deliberately into the roof of the domed nest that you see on the right.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the way home from the island I decided to take a quick tour of Farmington Bay\u00a0WMA just to see what was going on out there. It was pretty slow but I did\u00a0briefly photograph\u00a0something that is common around here in January and February but surprises many folks from other parts of the country – Great Blue Herons fishing from the ice. Lots of them.<\/p>\n

Many\u00a0of our Great Blue Herons migrate south for the winter but a number of them usually stick around for the winter at Farmington Bay and elsewhere. They fish from the ice edges as long as they can and if we get periods of complete freeze-over they hunt voles (which they’re very good at). For many folks from more temperate regions that are used to seeing these herons fishing warmer waters it’s a little incongruous to see them ice-fishing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n