running

Chukar images – 4 hits – 1 miss

By Mia McPherson, on December 31st, 2012%

Chukar calling on a snow-covered rock

Yesterday I spotted a covey of Chukars on Antelope Island foraging in the snow, this Chukar was pulling guard duty and standing on top of a snow covered rock and for a bit it was calling. I haven’t heard that sound in a few months so I was overjoyed to get images of it.

The Chukar takes off running

All of a sudden the calling Chukar took off running, I never saw what had alarmed it.

Nervous Chukar in the snow

These upland game birds move fast when they need to.

Running Chukar

And it can be a challenge to follow them with a long lens and keep focus.

Clipped the bill

This is a shot that makes me either want to cry or kick my butt. I kept focus, the snow was flying and the red foot was exposed… but I hadn’t moved my lens fast enough and clipped the bird’s bill. I really hate it when I mess up. Live and learn.

Hope you all have a Happy New Years Eve.

Mia

* All images taken with a Nikon D300, lens resting on my Noodle, f7.1, ISO 640, between 1/1600 and 1/2000, Nikkor 200-400mm with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in.

More Chukar images

Sanderlings in breeding and nonbreeding plumage

By Mia McPherson, on December 9th, 2012%

Sanderling in nonbreeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light

Sanderlings look very different in appearance during breeding season and winter and novice birders might even think they are two different species. I’ve heard people call nonbreeding Sanderlings “drab” and “plain” and while they might not be as colorful in nonbreeding plumage I personally wouldn’t call them drab or plain. I would, however; call them a challenge to expose properly and to get them in the frame because they are very active shorebirds when feeding.

The Sanderling above is in nonbreeding plumage and it was racing down the beach hunting for prey when I photographed it. At first I wasn’t happy with the motion blur of the bird’s right foot but the more I looked at this image the more I liked the motion blur because it indicates movement.

Sanderling in breeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 70-300mm at 300mm, natural light

This image taken about a month later than the first image shows a Sanderling in breeding plumage, it was created during May which is about the time that the Sanderlings head north to their breeding grounds. Although the belly is still white and the legs and bill are still black the head, neck and back of the bird is quite different. Rufous is the color I think of when seeing a Sanderling in breeding plumage because that color is evident in the head, neck and back of the bird.

A side note; I often hear people say you must have a long (read expensive) lens to photograph birds and in some cases you do actually need a long lens to get frame filling images of birds however in some situations you can get those even with a shorter focal length. Both of the images above were taken with an inexpensive Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens and what made them possible is that these birds were habituated to human presence on the beach so they weren’t as nervous around me and I used very slow belly crawls to get close to them. By being low I appeared less threatening to them and at times the birds would come in so close I could not focus on them. Down & dirty can and does pay off.

Mia

More Sanderling images

Western Sandpiper on the Go

By Mia McPherson, on May 23rd, 2012%

If you see a graphic here that says “STOP The Owner of this site STEALS Bandwidth and uses images Illegally without the COPYRIGHT Holder’s permission” it is because WallPaperFever.com hot linked my image and offered it for public use as wallaper WITHOUT my permission. People who do this should have their sites shutdown permanently because they are violating Copyright laws. For those who want to see the actual image go to the previous post then click the link back to this one.

Western Sandpiper on the go – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR with 1.4x TC at 300mm, natural light

It dawned on me this morning that I haven not posted an image of a Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) here yet so I pulled this one out of my archives that I photographed at Fort De Soto, Florida as the small shorebird ran in front of me on the shoreline. Western Sandpipers winter along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coastlines as well as in the Caribbean and interior Mexico. The bird above was going into breeding plumage as indicated by the rusty cap and cheek patch, in full breeding plumage the wings would also show more rust color.

I was laying in the wet sand on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico when I created this image, I had been photographing nearly stationary birds when I saw this sandpiper about to run in front of me so I panned my lens to keep up with the running bird. I didn’t have time to change my ISO to gain shutter speed so the movement of the legs is not frozen. In this case though I like the motion blur of the legs because in my eye it shows movement.

Mia

Coyote on the run ~ Friday Photos

By Mia McPherson, on February 24th, 2012%

I’ve been seeing a pair of Coyotes hunting together regularly on the island, yesterday I was able to get a few images of one of them as it ran along the road.

Coyote on the run ~Antelope Island State Park, Utah
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 350mm, natural light, not baited or called in

A few weeks ago I saw what I believe to be this same pair mating so there might be pups around the first week of April. Normally I’d prefer to get a cleaner view of the Coyote for images but in this case I enjoy the habitat in the frame. A little bit more of a head turn would have been great to have more light on the Coyote’s face.

Mia

More Coyote images

*Click on the images to view a larger version

More Coyote Fun

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

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

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