![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/peregrine-falcon-2529-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"peregrine-falcon-2529-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nI believe it to be a juvenile transitioning into adult plumage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 400, 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 I photographed this bird two years ago today along the causeway to Antelope Island. It had recently taken off and was flying in the\u00a0direction of the nearby\u00a0Great Salt Lake whose muddy shoreline can be seen in the upper background. Even though the bird is headed away from me I like the\u00a0fanned tail, the plumage detail on the right wing and the look back at me from the falcon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 400, 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 Four clicks later I got an almost identical flight pose from the bird but I like this one slightly\u00a0better because we can see a little more of the left wing and there’s more blue water in the upper background.<\/p>\n But one of the most interesting things about these\u00a0photos is the blue\/gray feathers along the back, the base of the wings and even on a single uppertail covert. All three of these shots are new to my blog but when I posted other similar photos of this\u00a0falcon two years ago\u00a0there was a lot of discussion about the molt stage of the bird. That discussion centered around whether or not those\u00a0blue\/gray feathers were discolored\u00a0juvenile feathers or recently replaced adult feathers or the color difference was simply due to individual variation. Occasionally peregrines are known to have a gray\/blue “bloom” on their feathers from powder down which can “discolor” feathers.<\/p>\n Some folks had pretty strong opinions about this bird and the discussion nearly became heated when one person made an inappropriate and unnecessary accusation so I turned the commenting option off for that post. That’s a Pandora’s box I’d prefer to avoid opening again but for those interested in the intricacies of raptor molt it’s still a fascinating discussion and it can be seen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, 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 I was able to get a few photos of the falcon on an old driftwood perch but I wasn’t particularly close to the bird and some of the whites on the perch are pretty bright and don’t show much detail.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I believe it to be a juvenile transitioning into adult plumage.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/peregrine-falcon-2532-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"peregrine-falcon-2532-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/peregrine-falcon-2718-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"peregrine-falcon-2718-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\n