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![\"american-coot-2890-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/american-coot-2890-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in <\/strong><\/p>\n This grooming American Coot seemed absolutely transfixed by one of its own feathers as it slowly\u00a0floated by. Birds often seem perplexed by the sudden appearance of a\u00a0feather on the water when they’re preening and they don’t seem to make the connection between their grooming activities and a suddenly detached feather. If this had been a grebe it probably would have eaten\u00a0the feather.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 340mm, not baited, set\u00a0 up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A Black-billed Magpie on Antelope Island. I like the contrast between the\u00a0warm light and colors in the background and the cool tones of the bird.\u00a0I also enjoy\u00a0the way\u00a0several of the curved twigs mimic the curves of the bird’s body.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 250, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in <\/strong><\/p>\n This image makes me smile because of the unusual takeoff angle – it almost looks like the Ferruginous Hawk is about to crash into the insulator. In reality the bird was after prey very close to the power pole and it launched behind<\/em> the wooden beam and downward at about the same angle as the wires.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, not baited, set\u00a0 up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I sometimes feel guilty for mostly ignoring Great-tailed Grackles. They don’t get a lot of attention from photographers and that just doesn’t seem fair so when I found this one near a local pond and in a natural setting I like I popped off a few shots. This one’s my favorite of the\u00a0bunch. A few minutes later…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n this muskrat cruised by. It’s funny how little things in an image sometimes make such a difference for me. For some reason I really like the reflections of those whiskers in the mirror-like water.<\/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 + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n On early winter mornings at Farmington there’s often so much moisture in the air that it’s similar to thin fog. Its effect\u00a0can be\u00a0to take away some of the crispness and detail in an image but it has a slightly ethereal quality on a photo that I like on occasion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This Pied-billed Grebe was in a big hurry to swallow the fish because there’s a coot just out of frame to the right that tried to steal it. Many people are surprised to learn that coots do catch and eat fish occasionally (and steal them if they can). In fact I photographed a coot\u00a0eating a fish\u00a0just\u00a0a couple of days ago at Farmington but I was too far away for decent images.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/7.1, ISO 250, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s another look at that spectacular leucistic Red-tailed Hawk I posted some images of earlier this week. The bird is small in the frame because I’d removed my extender (tc) in anticipation of takeoff. But this\u00a0hawk isn’t taking off – it was simply startled by an unexpected sound made by a vehicle passing below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I always get a kick out of it when I see\u00a0Western Grebes doing this with a foot. Usually they shake the foot to dry it off before “shipping” the foot and leg under a wing while they’re resting. But immediately after this shot was taken the bird dipped its foot slightly into the water and paddled with it (the other foot and leg were already stored under a wing).<\/p>\n Anyway, this has been quite a mishmash of images but I thought some readers might be interested in seeing some of the variety of subjects I shoot in a typical week this time of year. I hope to add to that variety later this morning but it’s looking like the weather may not cooperate. We’ll see…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Though none of these photos may be truly spectacular I like each of them for their behavior, charm or uniqueness.<\/p>\n![\"black-billed-magpie-8436-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/black-billed-magpie-8436-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"ferruginous-hawk-8673-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ferruginous-hawk-8673-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"great-tailed-grackle-8724-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/great-tailed-grackle-8724-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"muskrat-9416-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/muskrat-9416-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"northern-harrier-2089-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/northern-harrier-2089-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed-grebe-9566-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pied-billed-grebe-9566-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"red-tailed-hawk-8702-leucistic-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-8702-leucistic-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"western-grebe-2956-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/western-grebe-2956-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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