flight

Adult Red-tailed Hawk in a Montana Sky

By Mia McPherson, on June 17th, 2013%

Adult Red-tailed Hawk in a Montana Sky

There are issues with this image which I will cover shortly but I really liked the pose of this Red-tailed Hawk, the spread of the wings, the flared tail and the great eye contact I was able to capture as the Red-tail looked down towards me as it flew in a bright blue Montana sky.

The issues I spoke about? Well I wish that the sun had been lower so that the underside of the bird was completely lit up instead of just a portion of the bird’s right wing and a sliver of the hawk’s tail. I also wish there had been a few fluffy, white clouds in the sky to break up the expanse of blue.

You might notice also that the Red-tailed Hawk is going through a molt, there are two shorter secondaries on the right wing and one that is visible on the left. I won’t hold that against this handsome raptor though!

Mia

*I am away again, please feel free to share this post with your family and friends, I would appreciate it if you did!

More Red-tailed Hawk images

Eastern Willet in flight at Fort De Soto

By Mia McPherson, on May 28th, 2013%

Eastern Willet in flight – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 330mm, natural light

There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern, here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year. This Willet is the Eastern subspecies that I photographed at Fort De Soto’s north beach in 2009.

The Willet flew in so close to me that I had to back up my zoom so I wouldn’t clip any of the bird. I had been photographing a static shorebird when I noticed the Willet flying in and I didn’t have time to change my settings, I would have increased my ISO some and changed my aperture to f6.3 to get a faster shutter speed if there had been time but since the Willet was gliding in I had just enough shutter speed to freeze the action. The reflection from the white sand below the bird helped to light up the underside of the shorebird’s wings.

Mia

More Willet images

Western Meadowlark in flight

By Mia McPherson, on May 22nd, 2013%

Western Meadowlark in flight – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

Yesterday was my first time out shooting since returning from Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, bad weather had kept me from being in the field. It was wonderful to be back on Antelope Island State Park, seeing the birds, animals and how things had changed in just a bit over a week.

It was also wonderful to have beautiful light.

This Western Meadowlark lifted off from a Sagebrush and I was able to track it and capture this image as soon as it was airborne. I’ve found it difficult to get images of Western Meadowlarks in flight because they move so quickly.

Mia

Ospreys of Flaming Gorge

By Mia McPherson, on May 18th, 2013%

Male Osprey in flight – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 800, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Our trip to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in northeastern Utah was great despite my having been ill the last night we were there. We camped in two different locations this time and both had grand views of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Last year at about this same time these Osprey were busy building their nest while this year they were already sitting on eggs. The male pictured above was flying past the nest with part of a fish in its talons. We sat for nearly an hour watching the male eat this fish on a distant power pole before he flew past. Have I ever mentioned that one needs tons of patience to be a bird photographer?

Female Osprey in golden light - Nikon D300, f5.6, 1/1000, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light, not baited

The light in the morning can be gorgeous at Flaming Gorge, it was when I photographed the female regaining her balance on top of a power pole near the nest. We didn’t see much of this golden light though this trip. The Uinta Mountains can create their own weather and they certainly did the days we were there with clouds building up in the afternoons, some rain and thunderstorms too.

Female Osprey in low light - Nikon D300, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 1250, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

The last morning the light was low with clouds that were blocking the sun and spitting some rain down on us. I bumped my ISO up to 1250 and hoped to get a few useable images of the Osprey before we left. Even at ISO 1250 I wasn’t getting the shutter speed I would have liked and all the flight images I took had plenty of motion blur, I think I was quite lucky to get the female’s face in focus as she came in for a landing in this frame.

The beauty of Flaming Gorge - Nikon D300, f8, 1/500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 95mm, natural light

Who couldn’t love this view? I know each time I see it I am in awe of the beauty of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, and this view is just a tiny part of the stunning vistas seen in the area.

I’ll be posting more Osprey images from this journey later along with scenery from other parts of the Recreation Area and Ashley National Forest.

Male Long-billed Curlew in flight

By Mia McPherson, on May 16th, 2013%

Long-billed Curlew in flight

Last week; while fighting off a bloodsucking cloud of no-see-ums, I was able to photograph this male Long-billed Curlew as it flew past me. The background is the Great Salt Lake at the bottom, the distant Promontory Mountains and above them the sky.

The swarms of biting gnats have been dreadful so far this year and I am impatiently waiting for them to disappear but I’ll keep going to the island to photograph birds and wildlife, they won’t win.

Mia

~I’m out of town but will be back soon, please feel free to share this post with your friends and family!