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<\/p>\nSoon\u00a0the Willets on Antelope Island will mostly leave the island proper (if they haven’t already)\u00a0and move down to the shoreline of the lake where they’re less accessible so for the last several weeks I’ve been striking while the iron is hot and photographing them at every opportunity.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, 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 I found this one perched on sagebrush 9 days ago along the\u00a0road to Garr Ranch. It was more concerned about another nearby Willet than it was about me so it landed here quite close to my pickup with me already in place. Instead of stalking the bird first all I had to do was aim and shoot.<\/p>\n I figured it would take off soon to interact with the other bird so I removed my teleconverter for potential takeoff and flight shots and convenient for me it took off almost immediately after I swapped out my gear. I appreciated not having to tensely wait for launch for a long time\u00a0and hope my reflexes\u00a0and “hair-trigger” were\u00a0quick enough to catch the action – especially with the “no-see-ums” biting me the entire time. Those little bastards can make a few seconds seem like an eternity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I didn’t quite get the takeoff shot I hoped for but I still thought this “peekaboo” posture was interesting enough to post. We can see the entire length of the bill, the eye and face\u00a0though it would have been nice if just a\u00a0little\u00a0more of the head had been visible. My shutter fired during the first wing stroke and the bird is pushing off with its left foot still deeply buried in the sage. I like the curve of the wings, the background bokeh and the sharpness of the\u00a0Willet.<\/p>\n Maybe next time I’ll catch one taking off a little more in my direction.\u00a0Or maybe I won’t…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Soon the Willets on Antelope Island will mostly leave the island proper (if they haven’t already) and move down to the shoreline of the lake where they’re less accessible so for the last several weeks I’ve been striking while the iron is hot and photographing them at every opportunity.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/willet-2789-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"willet-2789-ron-dudley\\"")
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