Christmas Day adult Great Blue Heron portrait – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/400, ISO 1250, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home. The light wasn’t the best at Farmington Bay after sunrise because of heavy cloud cover. I made do with the light I had. I found this adult Great Blue Heron not far from the road that was close enough to take portraits of it in the low light.
Hovering adult female Rough-legged Hawk on a gray Christmas morning – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 1250, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
I also spotted a banded adult female Rough-legged Hawk hovering over an open field against the dull gray clouds in the sky. She has a band on her right leg which is difficult to see in the web sized photo. I wish I had been able to get closer photos of this hawk because she was a beauty.
The gray skies, low light, and wind made for challenging conditions.
American Coot eating close up – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 1250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
On the way home I wanted to stop and check out the local pond and I am glad that I did because I photographed several bird species there in better light conditions including this American Coot that was eating grasses next to a pond.
I had forgotten to reset my ISO setting back to my default of 500 from the higher setting of 1250 that I used at Farmington Bay WMA due to the low light conditions I had there.
I adore feathered coots. The un-feathered kind? Not so much.
Calling Mallard drake on Christmas Day – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I don’t know why this drake Mallard was calling but I appreciated his open bill and those shiny green head feathers. Those green feathers seemed to glow in my viewfinder. There were plenty of other Mallards nearby but I spotted my next birdy subject and soon focused on them.
Immature Common Goldeneye drake on Christmas morning – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This immature drake Common Goldeneye caught my attention while swimming around on the pond. His body plumage was whiter than most immature drake goldeneyes that I see at this time of the year.
California Gull and splashing water droplets – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The Common Goldeneyes on the pond were actively foraging for food and they were being harassed by the Ring-billed and California Gulls as soon as they surfaced with prey in their bills. This California Gull had made a failed attempt to steal the prey of one of the ducks when I photographed it.
Common Goldeneye drake with a Christmas crayfish – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Not long after I photographed the California Gull above this adult drake Common Goldeneye brought a Christmas crayfish to the surface and within seconds the gulls started to dive bomb him. The goldeneye would dive, resurface with the crayfish, and then was forced to dive again by the hungry gulls. The goldeneyes didn’t seem able to enjoy their food in peace yesterday. But every bird needs to eat, even the gulls.
Female Great-tailed Grackle close up – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
When this female Great-tailed Grackle flew in she was so close to me that I had trouble fitting her long body and tail into my viewfinder so I opted to take close up photos of her.
I was happy to get out into the field to take photos of these birds on Christmas Day especially since I knew that another storm front was coming in. This morning the wind is howling outside my window and because of that I will be staying at home today.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more birds in my photo galleries.
Every pic is wonderful. The eye contact you made in every shot is spectacular! Thanks Mia.
Gorgeous GBH! You would have made my day with that shot alone. The other wonderful bird images are the booze on the fruitcake! 😉
Nice collection. I thought it would be sunny yesterday at Farmington, it was in Salt Lake. I have seen the banded roughie too but I can’t get an image of the band numbers.
It was cold and windy yesterday at Farmington Bay. I admire your dedication and excellent photography, Mia. Happy New Year!
We usually bird on Christmas, but due to my hubby’s needing to recover from surgery stayed home. Loved the Goldeneye and Rough-legged Hawk shots. Glad to see I am not the only one who forgets to change settings! Yes it is snowing today. Thanks for sharing your day.
What a fabulous sampler. I esp like the closeups and, yes, that Mallard does glow.
All the photos are wonderful but love the hovering Rough-legged Hawk. As for the Mallard drake, they natter a lot. They are just quieter at it than the hens. You had a great Christmas day!