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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

Burrowing Owl juvenile on a Sagebrush

By Mia McPherson, on April 21st, 2013%

Burrowing Owl juvenile

I can’t resist photographing Burrowing Owls, I just can’t. They are so much fun to see and observe. I photographed this juvenile last year as it tried to get its balance back while perched on a Sagebrush and the pose and facial expression amuses me.

I’ve been seeing the Burrowing Owls on the island again, it won’t be too long before there are chicks.

Mia

Burrowing Owls draw me in

By Mia McPherson, on March 19th, 2013%

Juvenile Burrowing Owl looking right at me – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn’t take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again. The adults are beautiful and the juveniles; well they draw me in.

Burrowing Owl juvenile looking at something in the distance - Nikon D200, f8, 1/500, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Juvenile Burrowing Owls can look very serious and they can also appear rather funny, they are very animated and entertaining and they make fantastic subjects. Photographing them is a joy.

Can’t wait!

Mia

More Burrowing Owl images

And, my monthly post is up at BirdingIsFun.com, stop on by to check it out!

Fledgling Burrowing Owl

By Mia McPherson, on December 19th, 2012%

Fledgling Burrowing Owl – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

This is an image I created a few years ago of a fledgling Burrowing Owl on the way to Antelope Island State Park. The burrow was just off of the shoulder of the road so getting images while staying in the truck and using it as a mobile blind was easy.

This juvenile Burrowing Owl was just learning to fly at the time and wasn’t always great at landing. When I took this image it had made a soft crash landing into the Rabbitbrush and it was trying to get its balance back. I could not resist laughing as I watched the young owl flutters its wings but my laughing did make it hard to keep my focus locked on.

These Burrowing Owls are amazing and funny subjects that are tremendous fun to photograph.

There is finally some clearing in the clouds here so I’m heading out to find some birds to photograph, hope I remember how to use my camera!

Mia

More Burrowing Owl images

Burrowing Owl Surprise

By Mia McPherson, on November 20th, 2012%

Burrowing Owl in low light – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/80, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

There are Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island; I’ve photographed them hundreds of times, but yesterday I spotted one in a location I had never seen one before. It was close to the road which made photographing it from a vehicle easy the problem was heavy clouds made the light low and my shutter speed slow. Making sure my exposure was right using my histogram I fired off bursts which increased the chance that some of the images in the bursts would be sharp. And it worked.

Burrowing Owl Portrait – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/60, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

I liked the how the water behind the owl created a soft, pastel background, how the owl’s eyes seem to glow with the enlarged pupils and even though the setting is a little messy it all seems to meld together well.

The light did get better before the owl took off but we had moved and there was a stem in front of the owl’s face that was distracting, those images got deleted.

It was a nice surprise to find this Burrowing Owl yesterday, I hope ‘ll see it again.

Mia

More Burrowing Owl images