![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/red-naped-sapsucker-4638-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-naped-sapsucker-4638-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nA seasonal change of pace.<\/p>\n
Winter has finally arrived in northern Utah and my world is truly white this morning. So I choose today to revert back to a summertime theme? If there’s any logic there I don’t know what it might be…<\/p>\n
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1\/6400, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I photographed this family of Red-naped Sapsuckers last July near the border of southwest Montana and Idaho. They were within a campsite I’ve used many times over the years so they were truly acclimated to all the human hubbub such a location would suggest.<\/p>\n Here one of the parents is about to deliver a meal of ants to the youngster. Most of the ants are within the\u00a0bill of the adult but there’s one escapee under its chin which is something I’ve seen and photographed often with sapsuckers. Keeping gobs of ants under control must be about like herding cats.<\/p>\n I like this photo very much but it isn’t perfect (very few images are). I’m less than pleased by the shadow of a branch on the aspen trunk and I’d prefer that the tips of the beaks of both birds weren’t so close to each other (there’s only 3 pixels between them, yes I checked).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Almost immediately after the meal was delivered the youngster pulled its head back into the cavity and the adult flew off for another load. The launch photo isn’t a pretty one (no flashing wings or light in the eye) but this is how it was done. It is what it is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yesterday’s\u00a0snowstorm really dumped on us (remember, I live in a desert). Yesterday afternoon I measured 11″ of snow\u00a0on my front lawn,\u00a0last night we got 4″ more and\u00a0as I type this at 4:45 AM it’s still coming down at a steady pace\u00a0. Some of it was\/is lake effect snow and many areas along the Wasatch Front got significantly less than\u00a0I did. The mountains were slammed and the ski resorts went nuts with long-frustrated skiers even\u00a0though the canyon access roads were jammed with traffic\u00a0and most couldn’t even reach the\u00a0resorts. The fact that yesterday was a holiday\u00a0made things even worse up there.<\/p>\n By late yesterday afternoon 458 vehicle crashes were reported along the\u00a0Wasatch\u00a0Front\u00a0(including 4 Highway Patrol cruisers) and things could be just as bad or worse this morning with more fresh snow on the roads and everyone going back to work after the holiday.<\/p>\n It’s a\u00a0very good day to be\u00a0retired!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A seasonal change of pace this morning.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/red-naped-sapsucker-4641-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-naped-sapsucker-4641-ron-dudley\\"")
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