{"id":24569,"date":"2015-05-26T04:26:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T10:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=24569"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:42:00","slug":"western-kingbirds-in-all-kinds-of-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/26\/western-kingbirds-in-all-kinds-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Kingbirds in All Kinds of Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"StormyStormy sky over Layton – May 25, 2015 – HTC One M8 cell phone image
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I think I am a little addicted to bird photography. Why else would I head out in all kinds of weather from freezing to scorching, from fog to snow to rain and anything between bad light to excellent light?<\/p>\n

Some might say I am obsessed and perhaps I am. There are days when I feel like I chase the light or just make do with what ever light I have.<\/p>\n

Yesterday was one of those days where I saw dark foreboding clouds before even arriving on Antelope Island<\/span><\/a>, felt the rain on my skin and then eventually the clouds started to dissipate and the sun peeked out and lit up the views and my subjects.<\/p>\n

These Western Kingbird images were all taken yesterday in various lighting.\u00a0 The good, bad and maybe the ugly but I made do with the light I had.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Kingbird under stormy skies\u00a0 – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 1250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m really enjoying the high ISO capabilities of the Nikon D810 because I can crank the ISO up and as long as I get my exposure right the noise is minimal if present at all.<\/p>\n

I really needed the higher ISO yesterday morning when the sky was forbidding and gray as I photographed this Western Kingbird perched on a sagebrush with its back to me.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Kingbird wing lift in low light\u00a0 – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 1250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And again later when this kingbird decided to lift its wings after spending time preening itself on a dead greasewood branch.<\/p>\n

The wing lift happened very quickly so I needed the shutter speed I had to capture it all. I have a great series of this bird lifting its wings but liked this one with the wings nearly fully extended.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Kingbird on Antelope Island under gray skies\u00a0 – Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1000, ISO 1250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There were at least four different kingbirds in the area and they were moving about quite often so I kept my ISO high to keep my shutter speed high enough to capture the action.<\/p>\n

This kingbird spit up a pellet while I photographed it and I was able to capture that behavior but I’ll post that image on another date.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Kingbird as the sky begins to lighten\u00a0 – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the sky began to lighten and I used a lower ISO to capture as much fine detail as possible. I just love the creamy yellows of kingbirds against their soft gray plumage and the soft light I had when I took this image showed it off well.<\/p>\n

\"AntelopeAntelope Island Visitor Center under clearing skies – May 25, 2015 – HTC One M8 cell phone image<\/span><\/p>\n

There were still some storm clouds to the southeast when I took this image of the Antelope Island Visitors Center but at least I could see blue sky through the fluffy clouds!<\/p>\n

\"SingingSinging Western Kingbird in good light\u00a0 – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

By the third or fourth visit to the area where the Western Kingbirds<\/span><\/a> were located the sun was shining and the light was great. I felt like singing along with the kingbird to celebrate the clearing sky.<\/p>\n

So, there you have it, Western Kingbird images in all kinds of light.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Really 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":"

By the third or fourth visit to the area where the Western Kingbirds were located the sun was shining and the light was great. I felt like singing along with the kingbird to celebrate the clearing sky. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163114,"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":[4004,2519,11480,4021,3808,4884,3791,3772,4204,156,4104,2817,4057,609,4183,298,4411],"class_list":["post-24569","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-artemisia-tridentata","tag-big-sagebrush","tag-bird-photography","tag-flycatcher","tag-flycatchers","tag-kingbird","tag-kingbirds","tag-light","tag-low-light-2","tag-perched","tag-sage","tag-sagebrush","tag-stormy-skies","tag-tyrannus-verticalis","tag-tyrant-flycatchers-2","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