![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/american-white-pelican-4082b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/1250, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago I spent some time at Farmington Bay\u00a0WMA photographing pelicans. It was mostly cloudy with generally poor light for photography\u00a0but it was the last day the refuge would be open to visitors until next fall so I made the trip largely to say goodbye.<\/p>\n A dark and threatening\u00a0storm front was moving in from the northwest so flocks of pelicans began to fly into and land on the narrow canals for protection from the storm and I was able to photograph several of them on their approach. This one is coming in to join a loose flock of other pelicans already on the canal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Surprisingly I’m ok with this second bird in the frame. For me its presence helps to tell the story and it’s far enough away in the background to be a little out of focus so it competes less with the primary bird. This image is full frame (uncropped).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Here I caught the pelican at the instant its left foot touched the water – before there’s even a hint of water spraying up behind it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Then I caught the same bird water skiing past another of its friends. I like the way the\u00a0pelican in the background is framed by the right wing of the foreground bird.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After so many cloudy days yesterday was one of the very few sunny days we’ve had for several months so we decided to trek all the way to Box Elder County for some chances at Golden Eagles and other raptors. But after driving for an hour to get there\u00a0my “check engine light” came on at just about the time my pickup’s engine began running rough so I pulled off the freeway and limped about 10 miles to Brigham City and found a Ford dealer that would open about 40 minutes later (yes, we were there early).<\/p>\n To make a long story shorter, four hours and $600 later I was good to go. I needed new spark plugs and engine coils (there’s one on top of each spark plug) and I also replaced my battery which had seen its\u00a0better days.<\/p>\n It was a disheartening experience to travel that far and spend that much money with no birds to show for my efforts. After the repair was finished we just turned around and headed for home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The only saving grace was this wonderful\u00a0antique Ford pickup the dealer had on the showroom floor. I’m a huge fan of Ford pickups (I’ve had 13 new ones over the years) and the old ones bring back fond memories of some of the old vehicles we had on the Montana farm where I grew up. The light in the showroom was awful for photography but I snapped a few photos anyway and spent\u00a0considerable time inspecting this great old pickup which helped me to while away the hours.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here’s another angle on this great old “historic vehicle”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n