{"id":15209,"date":"2014-06-14T06:05:03","date_gmt":"2014-06-14T12:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15209"},"modified":"2025-11-08T05:04:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T11:04:37","slug":"western-kingbird-up-close-almost-too-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/14\/western-kingbird-up-close-almost-too-close\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Kingbird Up Close – Almost Too Close!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WesternWestern Kingbird up close – Nikon D7100, f9, 1\/800, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 314mm, natural light, not called, baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

Three days ago I was caught off guard when this Western Kingbird flew in\u00a0and hovered up close to me, almost too close actually.<\/p>\n

I clipped the tail and both wing tips even though I had backed up my zoom when I saw the kingbird flying my direction.\u00a0Some of the shots in the series of images I took of it were\u00a0blurry nightmares but with this one my focus locked on the bird’s face.<\/p>\n

I wish the entire bird were in focus but even at f9 I didn’t have enough depth of field to obtain that focus and sharpness. My minimum focusing distance with my lens is around 7 feet and\u00a0if this kingbird had been any closer it would have all been a blur.<\/p>\n

The Western Kingbirds<\/span><\/a> I\u2019ve been photographing don\u2019t seem to be predictable in their actions. While there are a few behaviors I can anticipate, most of the time I\u2019m not sure which way they\u2019ll fly, whether they\u2019ll hover, or if they\u2019ll face me when they take off or land.<\/p>\n

The more I watch and photograph them, the more I realize unpredictability is part of their charm.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Three days ago I was caught off guard when this Western Kingbird flew in and hovered up close to me, almost too close actually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,26,534],"tags":[4004,4142,4098,4052,3808,4884,4122,4174,9070,3791,3772,4183,4411],"class_list":["post-15209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-western-kingbirds","tag-adult","tag-close-up","tag-desert","tag-flight","tag-flycatcher","tag-flycatchers","tag-flying","tag-hovering-2","tag-island","tag-kingbird","tag-kingbirds","tag-tyrannus-verticalis","tag-western-kingbird"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t