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<\/p>\nThis is why I keep returning to that gnarly old stump used as a perch in yesterday’s post.<\/p>\n
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Readers will likely remember the stump because I made a pretty big deal out of it in yesterday’s post of this singing male Horned Lark. It’s in an area of Antelope Island seldom seen by most visitors but I’ve been returning to it often lately for two reasons. In the right light I thought it had the potential to be aesthetically pleasing in my photos if I could ever find a bird perched on it.<\/p>\n
I’ll explain the second reason below.<\/p>\n
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Three days before I photographed the Horned Lark I found an apparently mated pair of Willets in the vicinity of the stump. I suspect they’re nesting in the area because I’ve seen them there twice.<\/p>\n
On that morning one of the Willets began walking toward the stump so I got my hopes up because I think there’s potential for pretty spectacular shots if I could catch a Willet taking off from it. Because of the striking patterns and colors on their raised wings Willets transform from drab-looking birds to flashy and interesting photo-subjects and the stump is on a hill so from my shooting angle the background would be clean and have a pleasing bokeh.<\/p>\n
Throw in the tendency of Willets during breeding season to spend significant time on elevated perches near their nests and I thought I had a pretty good chance of success as this one walked directly toward the stump.<\/p>\n
I was almost sure it would perch there.<\/p>\n
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As it reached the stump the Willet stopped and looked at it for several seconds, long enough for me to get many shots of it in this pose.<\/p>\n
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My heart sank as it began walking forward and away from the stump but after two steps it stopped and looked back at the stump again as if it still hadn’t made up its mind about perching on it. It looked at the perch for several seconds before…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/willet-5729-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"willet-5729-ron-dudley\\"")
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walking away and down the slope.\u00a0I’m not convinced the Willet wasn’t deliberately teasing me. If so the strategy worked.<\/p>\n
So that’s why I visited the stump again three days later. I was actually looking for Willets perched on it but I thought the singing Horned Lark was a pretty good consolation prize.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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PS – Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is why I keep returning to that gnarly old stump used as a perch in yesterday’s post.<\/p>\n