By Mia McPherson, on January 9th, 2012% Last week I posted some fun images of a Coyote with Falcon leftovers taken along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake with piles of ice in the background. Six days later, on January 1st, I had more fun with a Coyote in almost the same location.
Coyote running on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake ~ Davis County, Utah
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in
The piles of ice from my earlier Coyote series of images are nearly gone due to some warm weather but the lake is still frozen in many areas. This Coyote was running; perhaps a better term would be galloping, along the shoreline and didn’t seem to be in the mood to hunt at all.
Coyote on the go
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in
This Coyote looks a bit messier than the other one that I posted last week but I think that just adds to the scruffy reputation that Coyotes seem to have. I had to pull my zoom all the way back to 200mm to try to keep the Coyote in the frame as it ran and I still had plenty of shots where I had clipped a part of it.
Three feet off of the ground
Nikon D300, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in
The Coyote was intent on its path and it was a challenge to try to get eye contact from it but several times it turned and looked my way. In the image above I was able to get three feet clearly off of the ground plus I had eye contact.
Coyote in the air
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in
Several times I was able to capture photos of the Coyote with all four feet off of the ground, I liked this frame because all of the feet were in the air, the eye is clearly visible, the mouth is open and the teeth are showing plus I really like the setting. The out of focus vegetation on the bottom of the image isn’t ideal but I believe the strengths of the photo outweigh the minor distractions there.
Coyote braking to turn around
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in
I wanted to keep my shutter speed high to capture all the movement so I set my ISO to 640 and my aperture at f6.3, the light was great so I didn’t need to adjust my exposure compensation at all. I used Aperture Priority and Auto White Balance and those settings worked very well.
When I took this last image the Coyote was slowing down to turn and go across to the other side of the road. I thanked the Coyote and went on down the road. (Yes, I thank my subjects)
What a great day!
Mia
More Coyote images
By Mia McPherson, on December 19th, 2011% During the summer months I don’t often see Bald Eagles unless I go up into the high country or travel north of Utah to Idaho, Wyoming or Montana but in the Salt Lake Valley many Bald Eagles come in to spend the winter.
Four year old Bald Eagle Portrait ~ Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
By the time autumn arrives I find myself anxiously looking forward to seeing my first Eagle of the season and usually the first one I spot is flying high overhead or perched on a craggy rock.
Many of the Bald Eagles that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley have migrated down from the mountains or from much father north of Utah, including Bald Eagles from Alaska.
Adult Bald Eagle in flight ~ Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
I have been seeing a spattering of Bald Eagles either in flight or perched in leafless trees lately and before long there will be hundreds more.
I haven’t heard any calling yet but I suspect that I will be hearing that soon. I am looking forward to seeing and photographing the Bald Eagles that call this valley home during the coldest months. Utah ROCKS for bird photography!
Mia
By Mia McPherson, on December 17th, 2011% 
Coyote in a frosty field ~ Antelope Island State Park, Utah
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited
Today I had the pleasure of photographing with not just one but two wonderful friends and fellow photographers. To be sure they are much more “fellow” than I am but I don’t hold that against them.
The weather: Pea soup fog, started off the day at 17 degrees and we had an icy looking sun that never quite burned off the fog while we were shooting.
The weather forecast for the day: Clear and sunny. I’m sure it was sunny and clear… at about 5000 feet above the fog. Weather forecasters, I dearly wish I could be paid to be wrong so often.
Destination: Antelope Island State Park and Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area.
Chuck Gangas, a good friend and fellow bird photographer from Massachusetts had a layover in Salt Lake for the full day and since he’d never photographed birds here in this area of Utah we all went out hoping the fog would lift and we’d find birds. Well, we did at least find the birds.
Despite the poor weather Chuck was able to see and photograph 3 lifer birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Western Meadowlarks and White-faced Ibises. The Ibis are very late this winter migrating to the south, maybe they waited just so Chuck could see and photograph them. Maybe the Chukars we saw were lifer birds for him too, I forgot to ask him.
PS: The Chukars were lifers for Chuck and the Loggerhead Shrikes were too. Five lifers in one day isn’t too shabby at all!
It was wonderful for me to “see” the island (even with cruddy visibility) through Chuck’s eyes. I first saw the island 3 years ago and I fell instantly in love with the windswept grassy plains, the craggy rocks, the tremendous views of the Great Salt Lake and the feeling of wildness that embodies the entire island. I think Chuck felt some of that today. Antelope Island is a place that gets into your blood and never leaves.
It was amazing to hear the excitement in Chuck’s voice and to hear him speak praises about the island I love so much.
What I liked the most was the camaraderie that seemed to fill the air around me, Ron and Chuck. You can’t get three bird photographers together without having terrific fun.
A super day despite the fog.
Mia
By the way, we saw 9 Coyotes on the island today, that was awesome too.
By Mia McPherson, on July 20th, 2011% 
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) on a snowy perch
Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 400, +1.0, Nikkor 200-400mm with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
The American Kestrel is our smallest falcon in North America but what they lack in size I feel they make up for in attitude.
This bird was perched on dried vegetation on Antelope Island State Park this past winter, there had been a light snow overnight and some of the snow was still sticking to the branches of the sagebrush. Because of the blue sky in the background I had to raise my EV to +1.0 so that the bird would not appear too dark. I’d rather get the exposure right in the camera than to try to raise the dark tones in post processing because that can introduce unnecessary noise.
Mia
More American Kestrel images
By Mia McPherson, on July 12th, 2011% 
Resting Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrius)
Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D200, f10, 1/350, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
Snowy Plovers are the smallest plover of North America and as their name implies they are very pale colored. I spotted this plover resting near the wrack line near the Gulf of Mexico during the winter and sand-crawled up close to it to get a low angle in the beautiful light. For Florida the morning was cool so the bird had its feathers fluffed up to help keep the warmth close to its body.
I know that there are those photographers who would have “cleaned up” the sand on the bill of this bird using cloning and other Photoshop techniques but I prefer to leave my images as natural as possible. The sand was there when I took this so I left it alone. Personally I think it adds interest and reality as it is.
Mia
More Snowy Plover images
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Photographing a Tricolored Heron from a tidal lagoon
Focusing on Wildlife Contributor
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