![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/mallard-6977-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"mallard-6977-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nA duck, a hawk and a heron.<\/p>\n
Typical of potpourri there’s not much of a unifying theme here\u00a0except each of my subjects has feathers in common and all five images illustrate something of interest (for me at least).<\/p>\n
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1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 800, 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 Since I’ve been spending more time at a local pond I’ve been getting more practice\u00a0with birds in flight recently and Mallards have been one of my primary subjects. This one was photographed four days ago as he came in for a landing on the water. I like the\u00a0photo for a variety of reasons including its image quality, the landing pose, good eye contact with catch light and the warm, late afternoon light hitting the duck at a pleasing angle.<\/p>\n But more than anything else I like the timing. I caught the Mallard at the precise moment his feet\u00a0touched the water but before we have even a hint of spray being kicked up behind him. For that reason it almost looks like he’s standing on the water with his wings spread. I’ve always enjoyed little incongruities like that in my images. I wouldn’t want them in all of my photos but I tend to get a kick out of them when they occur.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 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 Five days ago at Farmington Bay WMA Northern Harriers were unusually scarce so even though this one was perched far away in the frosty vegetation I watched it through my lens anyway. Even if it took off\u00a0I had little chance of\u00a0getting\u00a0decent flight shots because the hawk was facing away from me but with harriers you just never know so I sat on the bird and waited.<\/p>\n Harriers have very long wing spans for their size. Their average weight is only about 15 oz. but their wings span a distance of 43″ tip to tip! It’s one thing to realize those numbers on an academic level but something else altogether…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 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 to have it demonstrated in a freeze-frame photo.<\/p>\n When this bird took off it extended its wings vertically to the limit. I’ve literally photographed thousands of harriers over the years but every time I see this image I’m incredulous at the\u00a0length of those narrow\u00a0wings. In this instance it doesn’t even bother me (much) that its face and eyes are obscured by the frosty stem.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 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 And that impressive wingspan was still evident in the next frame of the burst as the harrier lowered its wings for lift\u00a0and pushed off from its perch (at least we can see the face and eye this time).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yesterday and last night we finally had a storm roll in but I’m afraid it didn’t bring much snow or real cold\u00a0to the valleys (as I type this at 5 AM it’s still above freezing\u00a0at 33\u00b0 F.). But two years ago tomorrow conditions were different.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 800, 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 By then it had been cold for long enough that the ice at Farmington was extensive and relatively thick so the Great Blue Herons that stick around for the winter had to either hunt voles in the frozen meadows or find holes in the ice to fish through. Both can be fun to photograph.<\/p>\n This heron had found two small adjacent holes in the ice it was fishing through and on this strike its head narrowly missed the far edge of the ice (there’s more than one reason their aim has to be precise).<\/p>\n This situation always reminds me of the well-known ice fishermen in states like Michigan and Montana, the difference being that those folks mostly do it for fun but these birds fish for their very survival.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A duck, a hawk and a heron.<\/p>\n Typical of potpourri there’s not much of a unifying theme here except each of my subjects has feathers in common and all five images illustrate something of interest (for me at least).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/northern-harrier-4239-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-harrier-4239-ron-dudley\\"")
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