water

Female Long-billed Curlew

By Mia McPherson, on February 12th, 2013%

Female Long-billed Curlew – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Some people think of Robins as the harbinger of spring, some think of Bluebirds while others think of Meadowlarks but since I moved to Utah I think of Long-billed Curlews as my personal harbinger of spring. Last year they showed up the middle of March so right now it is just a little over a month before they arrive.

I photographed this female Long-billed Curlew a few years ago in Florida. The females have such long bills!

As much as I love winter I can’t wait to hear the haunting call of the Long-billed Curlews.

Mia

More Long-billed Curlew images

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

Clark’s Grebes

By Mia McPherson, on August 7th, 2011%

Stretching adult Clark's Grebe

Stretching adult Clark’s Grebe (Aechmorphus clarkii)
Salt Lake County, Utah
Nikon D200, f8, 1/2000, ISO 400, -0.7 EV, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

This spring and summer I’ve a little been disappointed by how few Clark’s Grebe images I have been able to take. One of the places I know about where I know I can find them rushing (looks like a water ballet), nesting, feeding their chicks and watching the juveniles ride on the adult’s back has been closed twice for weeks at a time. Once was due to roads flooding in the spring and now it is closed to finalize some road construction.

Clark's Grebe with midges on the water

Clark’s Grebe (Aechmorphus clarkii) with midges floating on the water
Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah
Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 400, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

I was able to take some picture of Clark’s Grebes this spring and summer but what I really missed was watching them interact with each other and with the Western Grebes I can usually find in the same location. I hope that there are still some around by the time those roads open up in September!

Mia

More Clark’s Grebe images

Snowy Plover Resting at the Wrack Line

By Mia McPherson, on July 12th, 2011%

Resting Snowy Plover

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

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Tricolored Heron Tranquility

By Mia McPherson, on July 11th, 2011%

Tricolored Heron in still water

Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) in still water
Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light

There is a quality that feels very tranquil about this image for me. It may be the still, silky texture of the water or the soft pastel color of it created by the early morning light. It might be the relaxed pose of the Tricolored Heron or it may be a combination of them all.

I had belly-crawled in the sand until I was laying at the edge of a tidal lagoon when I photographed this to get a low angle and so that I wouldn’t startle the heron. As I recall this Tricolored Heron stayed in this location for at least half an hour and it gave me the opportunity to compose quite a few images. Some were vertical, some were horizontal and I also varied the focal length on my zoom lens. I came away very pleased with the pictures I had taken of this heron and then crawled backwards so that I wouldn’t cause the bird to take flight before I headed down the beach in search of more birds.

Mia

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