{"id":20161,"date":"2015-02-16T05:44:22","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T11:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=20161"},"modified":"2025-12-06T06:39:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T12:39:51","slug":"a-chukar-lichen-and-a-tintic-quartzite-boulder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/16\/a-chukar-lichen-and-a-tintic-quartzite-boulder\/","title":{"rendered":"Chukar, Lichen and a Tintic Quartzite Boulder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chukar,Chukar, lichen and a Tintic Quartzite boulder – Nikon D810, f11, 1\/640, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday was a nice day to be out photographing on Antelope Island State Park, the sun was shining, the wind was minimal, and there were a few birds to be found.<\/p>\n

The Chukars were up calling on the rocks and very soon I expect there will be some skirmishes over potential mates as the days warm up and lengthen.<\/p>\n

The Chukars<\/span><\/a> on Antelope Island are an introduced species that has adapted very well to the environment found there and birders and bird photographers alike enjoy seeing and hearing them.<\/p>\n

What isn’t introduced in this image is the tintic quartzite boulder and the lichen that covers the top. Tintic quartzite boulders are common on the island and date back at least 550 millions years.<\/p>\n

The pale greenish colored lichen on top of this boulder, probably a Lecanora sp<\/i>, could be several hundred years old itself. I’m going to have to learn more about lichens on the island because I am always curious about the web of life around me.<\/p>\n

For now though, life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Yesterday was a nice day to be out photographing on Antelope Island State Park, the sun was shining, the wind was minimal and there were a few birds to be found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165308,"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":[511,27,442,1022,26],"tags":[4004,4146,4138,445,4773,11978,5478,3292,3291,9979,3251,4147,373],"class_list":["post-20161","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-utah","tag-adult","tag-alectoris-chukar","tag-boulder","tag-chukar","tag-chukars","tag-desert-island","tag-introduced-species","tag-lecanora-sp","tag-lichen","tag-lichens","tag-tintic-quartzite","tag-upland-game-bird","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-lichen-mia-mcpherson-2881.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-5fb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14542,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/10\/chukars-on-antelope-island-state-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":20161,"position":0},"title":"Chukars 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Boulder","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The first bird I photographed yesterday morning was a wet Chukar on top of a lichen covered boulder about the time the sun rose above the clouds and mountains to the east.","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":"Wet Chukar on a lichen covered boulder, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-wet-grasses-mia-mcpherson-6279.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-wet-grasses-mia-mcpherson-6279.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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