{"id":113193,"date":"2023-05-05T04:01:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T10:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113193"},"modified":"2023-05-05T04:59:48","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T10:59:48","slug":"female-great-tailed-grackle-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/05\/female-great-tailed-grackle-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Great-tailed Grackle Portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the last day of April, I had a bit of good luck when a female Great-tailed Grackle walked so close to me at a local pond that I could take portraits of her. She didn’t seem at all concerned about approaching me or my tripod.<\/p>\n

\"SpringtimeSpringtime female Great-tailed Grackle portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The lighting was beautiful, and so was she. While some may consider the males of this species more striking, personally, I find the females just as stunning.<\/p>\n

She was very bold and her gaze was piercing as she walked closer and closer to me. Perhaps she was trying to figure out whether I was friend or foe. I wish there were a way I could communicate with my subjects. I’d love to have the ability to tell them that I mean them no harm and that I treasure them.<\/p>\n

\"HeadHead on spring female Great-tailed Grackle portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Head on portraits always seem to get a chuckle out of me, and this one is no exception. The female grackle even looks a bit cross to me. She wasn’t actually cross, of course, but she was really checking me out.<\/p>\n

Taking this image did make me laugh out loud while I stood behind my tripod. She looked so serious.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Great-tailed Grackle picking up fishing line \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

What didn’t make me laugh?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n

Prior to the female Great-tailed Grackle<\/span><\/a> approaching me for her portraits, I saw her picking up discarded fishing line. Thankfully she dropped it. The grackles are nesting right now, and fishing line is never good nesting material.<\/p>\n

After I finished photographing the grackle, I walked over, picked up the fishing line, and disposed of it safely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Great-tailed Grackle photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the last day of April, I had a bit of good luck when a female Great-tailed Grackle walked so close to me at a local pond that I could take portraits of her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,426,709,26],"tags":[4004,4142,4070,4310,13883,4779,3747,2429,5023,10698,13884,4046,4778,165,8018],"class_list":["post-113193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-great-tailed-grackles","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-close-up","tag-female","tag-fishing-line","tag-grackes","tag-grackle","tag-grass","tag-great-tailed-grackle","tag-head-on","tag-park","tag-picking-up","tag-portrait","tag-quiscalus-mexicanus","tag-spring","tag-urban"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/great-tailed-grackle-female-spring-portrait-mia-mcpherson-5530.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-trH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":112869,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/23\/female-great-tailed-grackle-iris-variation\/","url_meta":{"origin":113193,"position":0},"title":"Female Great-tailed Grackle Iris Variation","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While I photographed Common Loons at my local park this month I also took some female Great-tailed Grackle images and today I am sharing two of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Great-tailed Grackle Iris Variation, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/great-tailed-grackle-female-spring-eyes-mia-mcpherson-7271-9130.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/great-tailed-grackle-female-spring-eyes-mia-mcpherson-7271-9130.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Aglow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was at my local pond two days ago, I couldn't resist photographing a female Great-tailed Grackle whose eyes seemed to be aglow in the morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Great-tailed Grackle with her eyes aglow, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/great-tailed-grackle-female-eyes-aglow-mia-mcpherson-1901.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/great-tailed-grackle-female-eyes-aglow-mia-mcpherson-1901.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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a Spring Snowstorm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Taking Great-tailed Grackle photos after our recent spring snowstorm was fun. 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