Taking Great-tailed Grackle photos after our recent spring snowstorm was fun. I had never seen photos of this species in the snow before I took these. A search on Google found just a few of this species in snow.
Male Great-tailed Grackle trudging through a spring snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f9, 1/1600, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Admittedly, I cursed the prolonged snowstorm for all the snow it dumped on northern Utah. It was snow that I had to blow, shovel, and scrape, and despite that, it gave me a wonderful gift. The gift of these snowy Great-tailed Grackle photos.
Great-tailed Grackle male after a spring snowstorm – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f9, 1/1000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Plus, the striking contrast of these blue-black males against the white snow was very pleasing to my eyes. The grackle stood out remarkably well.
Great-tailed Grackle male walking through a mound of snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f9, 1/1000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Additionally, I had the challenge of exposing the dark plumage properly and I always like a challenge when it comes to my bird photography. Those challenges keep me on my toes.
Male Great-tailed Grackle and snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f9, 1/1250, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
And it was different and fun to photograph these noisy grackles. Their weird calls amuse and delight me. I am not so sure I love the stink eye that these birds often look at me with. Thankfully, I am just glad they aren’t the size of a Great Blue Heron or they might pick me up and fly away with me.
Great-tailed Grackle male poking his bill into the snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/2500, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
When the male Great-tailed Grackle was a distance away from me I laughed when it poked its bill into the snow. I could almost imagine the grackle thinking “What the &^%$# is this cold, white stuff?” and it struck my funny bone.
Male Great-tailed Grackle displaying on snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/1600, ISO 500, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Then the male Great-tailed Grackle started to display in the snow from the spring snowstorm of our nightmares. Yes, that made me laugh too because the photos were so unusual. And, the black bird looked so stark against a canvas of pure white.
Displaying Great-tailed Grackle male on snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/1600, ISO 500, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
With the sun shining brightly I didn’t even feel the cold. By the time I took these images I had been outdoors on my feet for about an hour and a half in temps in the low to mid 20’s.
Great-tailed Grackle male displaying in front of a mound of snow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/640, ISO 500, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This photo also made me laugh out loud when I took it. I wondered what the grackle was thinking. Me? I was thinking the grackle looked a bit miffed at all the snow on the ground.
Snowy Great-tailed Grackle portrait – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/1600, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
And finally the Great-tailed Grackle walked close enough to me so that I could take a few portraits of it with snow in the background.
The spring snowstorm that I cussed did give me a gift. I’m delighted that it did.
Happy Easter to all.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Great-tailed Grackle photos plus facts and information about this species.
Now that fellow is clearly strutting is stuff for a shot at the cover of GQ! I think it’s wonderful how you can adjust your exposure settings to accommodate the brilliance of the snow and still maintain the detail of the Grackles plumage. Great series. Thanks Mia.
I really love two of the photos where their beak is straight up and the iridescence and white snow. It was fun seeing you this morning! Haley swung by the pond and said all the pelicans were gone , so hopefully the tangled one is ok.
Lots of wonderful detail in the grackle’s black feathers and the glistening snow — well done! I’ll bet he’s wondering why he’s got the urge to impress the ladies while there’s still all this white stuff on the ground.
Stunning. You nailed that difficult exposure challenge well. Which doesn’t surprise me.