Western Grebes

Bird Sampler for April 28 through May 4, 2013

By Mia McPherson, on May 4th, 2013%

Burrowing Owl adult

I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.

I took this Burrowing Owl image two days ago. There is just something about these owls that delights me every time I see them.

Canada Goose

Canada Geese are common here in northern Utah but they aren’t common every where, just ask people in Florida. I like Canada Geese.

Killdeer on a rock

Some of the noisiest shorebirds I have ever come across are the Killdeer though this one was silent it did perched nicely on top of a rock at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. I really like the smooth background.

Male Ring-necked Pheasant

I photographed this male Ring-necked Pheasant displaying near the road that goes to the auto tour route of Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, if there was another male in the area I could not see it but this pose indicates the type of territorial behavior I see when two male pheasants are getting ready to have it out.

Hundreds of (thousands) swallows at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge

The air is alive with midges and swallows at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, I can’t tell how many of the 5 species that inhabit the refuge are in this frame but the huge numbers of swallows is very impressive.

Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County

The Turkey Vultures came back to Utah several weeks ago but I haven’t had many opportunities to photograph them this spring, two days ago we came across some that were warming in the early morning sunlight in Box Elder County. I’m not sure Turkey Vultures could be called beautiful but they are a fascinating species and they do clean up the environment.

Western Grebes in a courtship display

I saw these two Western Grebes displaying and hoped that they would rush, they did but they rushed with their backs to me. I’ll keep trying to get them rushing towards me.

Western Meadowlark stretching

Western Meadowlarks are every where, singing from the tops of their perches, flitting about in a hurry, preening and stretching like this one on Antelope Island.

I saw many more birds in the past week, all of them wonderful, all of them fascinating and every one a great subject to photograph.

Mia

Some of the Birds I love at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson, on February 6th, 2013%

One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River National Wildlife Refuge. I’ve selected some of the birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.

Eastern Kingbird

There are several different species of Flycatcher that visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, among them the ones I see most often during the warmer months are the Eastern Kingbirds…

Western Kingbird

and Western Kingbirds. Both of them look rather dapper in my opinion.

Male Black-necked Stilt

There are also many shorebirds the pass through or nest on the refuge, Black-necked Stilts nest on the refuge…

American Avocet

as do American Avocets. Both of these shorebirds appear rather elegant in looks and movements.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Herons are common wading birds at the refuge and despite their name, they aren’t strictly nocturnal. Black-crowned Night Herons are year round residents…

Snowy Egret in flight

but Snowy Egrets are not, they migrate to the refuge. This Snowy Egret is showing the peachy-colored lores seen during the breeding season.

Barn Owl flying in the snow

Barn Owls are year-round residents of the refuge and although they are primarily nocturnal they do fly during the day when the weather is bitter cold and there is heavy snow cover on the ground and they will fly later at dawn and earlier at dusk when they have chicks to feed. This one was flying during the day as the snow fell.

Swainson’s Hawk

Swainson’s Hawks are also migratory birds and they are seen on the refuge during the warmer months. Their diet consists primarily of insects like grasshoppers and there aren’t many of those around during the cold months in Utah.

American White Pelican

American White Pelicans also nest on the refuge and come into to feed on fish in the fresh water impoundments.

Male Yellow-headed Blackbird

Yellow-headed Blackbirds, with their mechanical sounding call, can be found perching in cattails, reeds, phragmites and other vegetation as they forage for food. I was tickled to get this male in this pose.

Western Grebe

The most common found grebes on the refuge are Pied-billed, Clark’s and Western although Eared and Horned Grebes are also spotted there at different times of the year.

Tundra Swan

Tundra Swans by the thousands call the refuge home during the winter and can be seen flying overhead, swimming in open water or standing on ice. This adult shows a stained head and neck.

Marsh Wren

The sound of Marsh Wrens can be heard all over the refuge, they may be tiny but their voices aren’t.

Cinnamon x Green-winged Teal hybrid

All types of ducks can be found on the refuge during different seasons of the year. It pays to keep a look out for unusual ducks, you never know when a hybrid might be seen like this Cinnamon x Green-winged Teal.

Forester’s Tern

Terns and gulls can also been seeing hunting over the water and nesting there as well. This Forester’s Tern in breeding plumage was hunting for small fish.

This is just a small selection of the birds that can be found at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, a location that I treasure.

Mia

Rushing Western Grebes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson, on October 27th, 2012%

Rushing Western Grebes 1 – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light

I photographed these Western Grebes rushing in early June of this year at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge in Box Elder County. I had been keeping an eye on this pair while photographing other grebes that were closer and noticed that both of these birds were holding their heads low to the water with their necks out stretched which is called ratchet-pointing. I realized they were getting ready to rush and aimed my lens at them. (That is a female Yellow-headed Blackbird flying on the right side of the frame)

Rushing Western Grebes 2 – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light

Rushing is a courtship dance for Western (and Clark’s) Grebes that occurs during the mating season, it is amazing to watch these grebes become upright with their bodies completely out of the water and rush across the surface with the aid of their large feet. The sound of the splashing water seems to intensify the action.

Rushing Western Grebes 3 – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light

The male is on the left, female on the right, his chest is larger than hers. Normally I see Western Grebes courting earlier than these two birds, June seemed rather late but I’m super happy that I noticed the ratchet-pointing behavior these two exhibited or I might have missed photographing this interesting behavior. As a bird photographer I have learned that knowing my subject and its behavior helps me to anticipate their actions and that can lead to some wonderful action photos.

Rushing Western Grebes 4 – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge contains great habitat for Western and Clark’s Grebes and they are very abundant during the warmer months, right now their numbers are dropping because many of them have already migrated south. They’ll be back in the spring to dance across the water again.

Mia

More Western Grebe images

Western Grebe and chick

By Mia McPherson, on June 27th, 2012%

Just a short post today. I’ve been reading this morning about the fires in Colorado, a state that I loved living in, and I’m dreadfully sad about the destruction the Waldo Canyon Fire is leaving in its wake and the huge number of homes lost in the High Park Fire. My friend Bob Berwyn who lives in Colorado has been writing in double time about the fires in Colorado, in this article; Colorado: Waldo Canyon Fire rages into Colorado Springs, he has a recent image from the Pike’s Peak summit web cam. I remember well the view from the summit, it is a good thing I have those memories because that view has been changed dramatically.

Here in Utah I am constantly watching the sky for billowing clouds of the smoke of a new fire. We need rain, we need a good soaking.

Western Grebe & chick – Nikon D200, f8, 1/1000, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

Looking at these beautiful birds helps some to keep my mind off of the fires here in the west. For a little while anyway.

Mia

Hitching a Ride – Grebe Chicks

By Mia McPherson, on June 12th, 2012%

Grebe chicks are showing up all over at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (aka Bear River National Wildlife Refuge) in northern Utah and they are just adorable to see and photograph.

Western Grebe Family – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

I have been seeing Clark’s, Pied-billed and Western Grebes with chicks but I haven’t gotten any close images of the Pied-billed Grebes with their young so I am focusing on Western and Clark’s Grebe images for this post.

Young Western and Clark’s Grebes hitch rides on their parents backs, the image above shows a Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) with three chicks of different sizes. The eggs of Western and Clark’s Grebes do not hatch all at the same time so there are often several days between the oldest and youngest chicks. The chick at the tail end of the adult was larger than the other two birds.

Clark’s Grebe with a chick – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

There is only one chick visible on this adult Clark’s Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) back but there could be more underneath the wings. When the grebe chicks are very young it can be difficult to see them because they hide under the feathers, sometimes the only way to know there are tiny young birds on the back of the adults is that the wings feathers are usually raised higher than they normally would be.

I’ll be doing more posts soon on Western and Clark’s Grebes.

Mia

* I am out of town so I scheduled this post ahead of time, please feel free to share.