![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/fall-colors-wasatch-mountains-9192-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"2019\/09\/fall-colors-wasatch-mountains-9192-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nFall color, Cedar Waxwings, Wild Turkeys and a Cooper’s Hawk.<\/p>\n
Yesterday was a fine morning to escape into the mountains. Skies were clear and very blue, I experienced my first freezing temperature of the season, a few birds were out and about and the company was good. Today’s post is more about the experience than about great bird photos.<\/p>\n
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Colors at midlevel elevations are beginning to change, some of them to vivid colors.<\/p>\n
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Cedar Waxwings are flocking, possibly in preparation for migration. Migratory flocks of 30-100 birds are common with this species so I suspect that may be what’s going on with this mixed group of adults and some juveniles.<\/p>\n
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I’m finally beginning to see a few more Wild Turkeys. Here we see 11 birds out of a flock of 14 and there was another flock a short distance away as they foraged for food.<\/p>\n
Turkeys are omnivorous with 90% of their diet being plant based. The other 10% is mostly invertebrates and these birds often appeared to be chasing down insects, grasshoppers perhaps. It was obvious they were trying to get to the food item before it escaped and before one of their companions got there first so it was amusing to watch them race each other as they competed for the snack.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/coopers-hawk-5017b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"coopers-hawk-5017b-ron-dudley\\"")
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1\/4000, 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 In my experience with Cooper’s Hawks they’re very elusive and difficult to approach unless they’re “city birds” but this one didn’t fit that mold. I photographed it for quite a while from a close distance before eventually leaving it while it was still perched here. It actually seemed sleepy. I suspect it might have been migrating and was resting up before the next leg of its strenuous journey.<\/p>\n Although I like the perch I’m not particularly fond of the rest of the setting with all the clutter and the sagebrush so close to the bird. But I still prefer this kind of shot over…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, Canon Digital Rebel XTi, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n the urban settings where I usually have a better chance of getting close to them. This Cooper’s Hawk had knocked a Mourning Dove out of a tree in my back yard and then landed with its prize on my roof as the dove was expiring. This bird from 12 years ago was the first time I’d ever photographed a Cooper’s Hawk. I’m glad I have the shot for the behavior it documents but I’m sure not fond of the setting.<\/p>\n Asphalt shingles and satellite dishes – sheesh!<\/p>\n So, yesterday was another one of those days when I didn’t get any great shots but I was out in nature and experiencing some of the natural cycles of life so all was not lost.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fall color, Cedar Waxwings, Wild Turkeys and a Cooper’s Hawk.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/coopers-hawk-0612-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"coopers-hawk-0612-ron-dudley\\"")
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