Red-winged Blackbird male – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Yesterday while taking the auto tour route at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge I heard a Red-winged Blackbird loudly singing the songs of spring. The light was terrible yesterday so I looked around in my files for a male Red-winged Blackbird to share this morning and came across this one taken at Bear River NWR a few years ago.
I’ve mentioned before that black birds are difficult to expose properly and that often times I need to use exposure compensation to make sure the blacks aren’t too dark or they won’t show fine detail but when I took this image the light was just right and I didn’t need to adjust my exposure to get it right. I love it when that happens!
Fairly soon I’ll be seeing many more of the male Red-winged Blackbirds perching at the top of rushes and cattails singing springtime serenades for the females and flashing their brilliantly colored epaulets! For black birds they are kind of flashy.
Adult White-crowned Sparrow with a Pumpkin Patch background – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up
This is my fourth fall in Utah and I love the autumn colors I see here especially compared to the relatively bland fall colors of Florida where I lived for five years.
There is a rather large Pumpkin Patch near the road going to the Nature Center at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area where I like to photograph birds. They have a straw maze and all kinds of activities for children too. Along the road they grow tall sunflowers and corn and that usually keeps the pumpkins hidden from view but there is a narrow window of time after the frost nips the leaves of the sunflowers when they dry up and fall off when the bright oranges of the pumpkins can be seen through them. I’ve waited four autumns to get photos like these with birds and the oranges of the pumpkins in the background.
Red-winged Blackbird with a Pumpkin Patch background – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up
Today there were White-crowned Sparrows (first image) and flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds (above) feeding on the seeds of the sunflowers with the pumpkin patch in the background!
I’m very excited to have finally gotten images that I had hoped to take for 4 years. I just had to share these.
Red-winged Blackbirds are birds that I associate with spring, the males begin calling perched on top of reeds, cattails, grasses and shrubs and flash their brightly colored coverts to attract a mate.
Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelius phoeniceus) – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/350, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
Red-winged Blackbirds are one of the most abundant songbirds in North America. They prefer marshes and wetlands and build cup-shaped nests woven with grasses and mud.
Female Red-winged Blackbird with nesting material – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
When I photographed the female Red-winged Blackbird above I had been walking on a narrow path through a stand of mangroves to get to a tidal lagoon to photograph shorebirds there when I heard a rustling sound and this female with nesting material in her bill popped up from the ground to perch on the top of the mangrove. I took a few pictures and quickly went on my way. I didn’t want to disturb or disrupt her from building her nest.
Lately I have heard the Red-winged Blackbird males calling more frequently, it won’t be long before they begin the nesting season in earnest.
Male Ring-necked Pheasants in autumn grasses and Pickleweed (from 2010) Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Some days when I don’t go out to photograph I look back through my files to find out what birds I had seen around the same time last year so I’ll know what birds I might find in certain locations. I also like looking back through the files because I find images I haven’t edited yet.
There are quite a few Ring-necked Pheasants to be found at the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area but they can be a challenge to find out in the open. I photographed these two males (one is mostly hidden) last year. We’d already had frost so the Pickleweed had turned crimson red in some spots, combined with the straw colored grasses this turned out to be a rather colorful image. Ah, autumn is very beautiful.
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow (from 2010) Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
I like the subdued colors in the image above of this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. The leaves on this shrub had already fallen and pale golden grasses made for a nice background setting. Despite the bird and the setting having similar coloration the birds stands out very well.
Pied-billed Grebe (from 2008) Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 320, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
The Pied-billed Grebes that I have seen very little of during the summer are now making their appearance. They might be “plain” birds but what they lack in color they make up for with their attitudes, they are fiesty little grebes. I’ve seen them chasing after Red-breasted and Common Mergansers with fish to try and grab the food, Red-breasted Mergansers outweigh the Pied-billed Grebe by approximately 1.3 lbs and Common Mergansers out weigh them by 2.4 lbs. Pretty gutsy birds.
Red-winged Blackbird male Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
In October and November large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds can be found in the Salt Lake Valley along with similar flocks of Starlings and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I love the sound of the flocks lifting off in unison when I can hear the “whoosh” of their wings.
The Red-winged Blackbird above posed for over 10 minutes on this cattail giving me plenty of time to get my exposure right, photographing black birds is a challenge. When the temps get really chilly Red-winged Blackbirds (and other species) get “sticky”, meaning they are less apt to fly off right away.
Male Northern Harrier hovering in flight (from 2010) Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 640, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
Autumn means more Northern Harriers in the local places where I photograph birds, although harriers are year-round residents in the Salt Lake Valley, I see them most often and in greater numbers during the fall and winter. Male and female harriers look very different from each other. The male is often called the “Gray Ghost” though I’ve had many hits on my blog for the key words “light morph northern harrier”. The females are darker, brownish and have paler yellow eyes than the male.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (from 2010) Tooele County, near the Stansbury Mountains, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
Raptors like this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk move down fom the high country during the autumn to the valleys to stay during the winter, the past few weeks I have seen their numbers increasing.
This Red-tailed Hawk was basking in the morning light near the top of an earthen dam with the Stansbury Mountains in the background. I couldn’t have asked for better light.
Photographing birds during Autumn is a wonderful time for me in Utah, the beautiful fall colors delight and enthrall me, the air gets nippy and I find myself feeling a surge of energy whenever I am outdoors. I’m thinking about adding new base layers to my clothing, warmer, insulated boots and buying a box of hand warmers so I don’t freeze my finger tips off.
Yes, I am looking forward to the birds I’ll see and photograph this autumn and winter but just being out there with them is great too.
Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area,Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 320, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, not a set up, natural light
I have the fever. Aspirin won’t help nor will bed rest because spring fever can only be cured by getting out and soaking up spring! For a little while today the sun was shining and teasing me. A storm is rolling in tonight and tomorrow is going to be cruddy … but a high pressure front is coming in after this storm and the weather is looking better, spring time is knocking at the door.
It is about time for a cure for this spring fever.
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) collecting mud for its nest Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah Nikon, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
I’ve seen signs of Ravens, Black-billed Magpies, Canada Geese, Horned Larks and other birds preparing their nests. It won’t be long and there will be many more pairs of birds mating and incubating eggs. They have spring fever too.
Quite a few species of trees have started to open their buds, I’m seeing green on the willows, a flush of new blooms on some cherry trees and I have been hearing the songs of the chorus frogs. There are crocus, snowdrops and grape hyacinths in bloom and the daffodils and tulips will soon follow along with the sweet perfume of the lilacs.
Yes, spring is warm, inviting and exciting.
Western Grebes (Aechmorphus occidentalis) courting in early spring Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 400, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Don’t get me wrong, I love winter and the birds I see then. I love to see the mountains heavily covered in snow, frosted vegetation and breathing in the brisk air.
Spring seduces me. Refreshes me. It whispers to me softly to come outside to savor nature and wildlife and feel the warm breeze caress my skin. It beckons to me to go camping to spend the daylight hours exploring and promises star-filled nights out where all I might hear are the sounds of howling coyotes and the hoot of an owl or two. Away from the city, out where you can hear for miles.
Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelius phoeniceus) singing on old cattails Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area,Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 250, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, not a set up, natural light
Spring has a musical rhapsody which is entirely its own. Birds such as this Red-winged Blackbird seem unable to resist singing outloud and why should they? It is a great time of the year.
The snow melt will fill the mountain streams and as they tumble downward towards the valleys the tinkling and gurgling sounds that creates will fill the air. Yum, sitting on a sun warmed rock streamside and listening to that in the spring?
Red-winged Blackbird male – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
