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<\/p>\nSometimes it’s hard to assign motivation or intention to a behavior, especially when it involves an ungainly and inexperienced young bird.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/5.6, 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 This juvenile Mountain Bluebird is a case in point. ‘He’ and several of his siblings were still with their parents as the family group foraged on and near a dirt road in the mountains yesterday morning. Here he had landed on a metal fence post and was watching the rest of his family as they flew around the area and foraged for food at the base of sagebrush and on the dirt road.<\/p>\n I don’t remember what I saw him do that made me fire off a quick burst of shots but it must have been some indication that he was about to take off and since I’m hard-wired for takeoff shots that’s what I did.<\/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 + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This was the first shot in that burst and I love it, in part because it’s so unusual.<\/p>\n My best guess is that he intended to take off and then aborted the takeoff at the very last instant as suggested by his tail and wing positions. But his legs and feet aren’t pushing off against the perch as one would expect during takeoff so I’m really not sure what his original intention was. Maybe he really did intend to take off and at his young age he hadn’t yet integrated all of the sequential motions required for takeoff into his muscle memory.<\/p>\n This is what I would call the ‘money shot’ of the series but I’m including the next three photos in the burst because they provide more clues about what may have been happening.<\/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 + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n If his original intention was to take off he abandoned the effort and appeared to watch…<\/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 + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n one of his family members flying directly overhead. Perhaps it was one of his parents and he was hoping for a food delivery or maybe he was just interacting with one of his siblings.<\/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 + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I strongly suspect it was one or the other but I had my eye glued to my viewfinder so I didn’t see the other presumed bird flying overhead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Viewers might ask “Who cares what his original intention was – all that matters is that you got the photos, especially the money shot”. The answer to that rhetorical question is… I care. I’d have missed that shot if I hadn’t been able to anticipate his near-takeoff and anticipating the lightning-quick actions of birds usually requires at least some understanding of their behaviors and\/or their motivations.<\/p>\n Whatever he did that suggested takeoff was imminent I recognized it in time so I got the shot. Birds often give clues about what they’re about to do and if you don’t recognize them you’re just SOL.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PS – In case you’re wondering, yes I’m feeling much better after my horrendous root canal. Time and Advil are performing their magic.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes it’s hard to assign motivation or intention to a behavior, especially when it involves an ungainly and inexperienced young bird.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/mountain-bluebird-6687-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"mountain-bluebird-6687-ron-dudley\\"")
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