{"id":15189,"date":"2014-06-11T03:33:27","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T09:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15189"},"modified":"2026-01-31T07:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:21:10","slug":"a-six-pack-of-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/11\/a-six-pack-of-birds\/","title":{"rendered":"Six-pack of Birds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SunSun kissed Willet – Nikon D7100, f8, 1\/640, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

It was delightful to have light and a six-pack (plus) of birds out on Antelope Island yesterday to test my new Nikon D7100. I also had the company of two friends. The first bird I locked my focus on was a Willet standing in the warm golden light, the Willet was being bothered by those nasty biting gnats and so were we. There are a few of the gnats in flight behind this Willets neck.<\/p>\n

I should have used my insect repellent, I have bites in my scalp that itch like crazy.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Loggerhead Shrike\u00a0– Nikon D7100, f8, 1\/500, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Next up was my first of the year fledgling Loggerhead Shrike. There were a few other young shrikes nearby but none as close as this one. It was especially nice that this youngster didn’t have any jewelry on.<\/p>\n

\"MoltingMolting Chukar\u00a0– Nikon D7100, f7.1, 1\/400, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Not long after photographing the shrike we came across this molting Chukar standing on a rock calling. Chukars cluck and sound similar to chickens but these upland game birds aren’t chickens at all.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Kingbird with nesting material\u00a0– Nikon D7100, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before long we all had Western Kingbirds in out viewfinders, the king and queen were busy building a nest for their young that will learn to be Kings and Queens of the bird world.<\/p>\n

It isn’t often that the red feathers in the crowns of Western Kingbirds show but we all got nice views yesterday of the crimson crest of this bird.<\/p>\n

\"SageSage Thrasher on a thin perch – Nikon D7100, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So as to not to be left out a Sage Thrasher popped up to the top of a sagebrush to be found in our viewfinders and for a bit it sang for us before moving to another sagebrush. It was still close enough to get some nice images that show North America’s smallest thrasher off nicely.<\/p>\n

\"EasternEastern Kingbird on a wire\u00a0– Nikon D7100, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Eastern Kingbird wasn’t about to be left out of this six-pack of birds and posed on a barbed wire on the south end of the island. I didn’t see the second Eastern Kingbird until this one flew off and landed next to it. I guess they were the king and queen of the south part of the island.<\/p>\n

This is the kind of six-pack I would\u00a0enjoy indulging in everyday.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was delightful to have light and a six-pack (plus) of birds out on Antelope Island yesterday to test my new Nikon D7100.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,442,1022,1519,247,103,26,534,308],"tags":[4004,4146,445,11978,1521,4067,4071,3791,3772,4171,4066,4164,4003,3975,3906,3907,165,4613,735,4168,1635,4183,4411,4047],"class_list":["post-15189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-chukars","category-davis-county-utah","category-eastern-kingbirds","category-loggerhead-shrikes","category-sage-thrashers","category-utah","category-western-kingbirds","category-willets","tag-adult","tag-alectoris-chukar","tag-chukar","tag-desert-island","tag-eastern-kingbird","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-kingbird","tag-kingbirds","tag-lanius-ludovicianus","tag-loggerhead-shrike","tag-oreoscoptes-montanus","tag-sage-thrasher","tag-shorebird","tag-shrike","tag-shrikes","tag-spring","tag-thrasher","tag-thrashers","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-tyrannus-tyrannus","tag-tyrannus-verticalis","tag-western-kingbird","tag-willet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-scratching-mia-mcpherson-1908.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3WZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14944,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/05\/13\/monday-mornings-medley-of-birds-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":15189,"position":0},"title":"Monday Mornings Medley of Birds on Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Western Kingbird After several days of not being able to photograph birds because of bad weather I was pleasantly surprised to have a medley of birds to photograph on Antelope Island Monday.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Horned Lark, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/horned-lark-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3260.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/horned-lark-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3260.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Kingbird courtship display, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-adult-mia-mcpherson-2776.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-adult-mia-mcpherson-2776.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-adult-mia-mcpherson-2776.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-adult-mia-mcpherson-2776.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This adult Western Kingbird close up was photographed two years ago on Antelope Island State Park as it perched on a sign post close to a nest site.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Western Kingbird, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-adult-mia-mcpherson-2903.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-adult-mia-mcpherson-2903.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15568,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/08\/06\/western-kingbird-nesting-failure\/","url_meta":{"origin":15189,"position":5},"title":"Western Kingbird nesting failure","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In June I published several posts about a pair of Western Kingbirds nesting on Antelope Island State park but unfortunately that nesting attempt failed.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Perched Western Kingbird, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, 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