Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa simipalmata (winter plumage):

Fort Desoto State Park; Saint Petersburg, Florida 

Willet, Tringa simipalmata (breeding plumage):

Benton Lake Nation Wildlife Refuge; Great Falls, Montana

     Note that the Willet in breeding plumage is heavily streaked on its head, neck and breast.  The winter plumage bird lacks that streaking.  A beautiful bird in both plumages.

Top Image:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/2500 second @ f9

Bottom Image:  Nikon D300, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, 1/1250 second @ f7.1

Pic of the Day

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus:

Benton Lake NWR; Great Falls, Montana

     The Yellow-headed Blackbird is one of the most vociferous birds in the western marsh.  These birds are colonial nesters and weave their nests among the marsh cattails.  The males spend much of their time perched atop cattails displaying and singing their territorial songs.  I have spent many hours watching and photographing Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  One thing I have noticed over the last couple of trips west was that when a male yellow-headed sings its territorial call, it turns its head toward its left shoulder (like the image above).  After noticing this in the field over the last couple of years, I checked some of my older yellow-headed photos and found that each photo I have taken of a singing male, it is turning its head toward its left shoulder.  Are most Yellow-headed Blackbirds, lefties?   Have you observed them turning their heads over their right shoulder?  Send comments about your observations.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/320 second @ f8, Kirk Window Mount

Pic of the Day

Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris: Benton Lake NWR; Great Falls, Montana

     I took so many photos of this Marsh Wren I just had to post a few more.  In a previous post (see June 18, 2014), I had an image of the wren plucking the downy cattail fibers from the stalk.  Here, the wren alighted on the stalk and the wind blew some of the loose fibers off the stalk.  I love the feel of this image with the fibers blowing in the wind.

Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris

     One thing a male Marsh Wren loves to do is sing his territorial song; and in this shot the wren landed on the stalk and began to sing.  I was happy to get a shot as the wren turned his head to me as he sang.  On all the profile shots I have taken of singing birds, I have never been able to get the wrens tongue. With this shot I could have done a tonsillectomy!

Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris

     This last image shows a pose that I really love to see when I am photographing this noisy little bird.  I shot the image just after it had delivered a load of cattail down to its nest.  After every delivery it seemed to fly to a specific perch, sing, and then hop to this perch with one foot on one reed, and the other foot on another.  Most of the time the wren would move to this spot, sing a few notes, then quickly move on.  When I got this shot the little wren flew to the spot, got in this classic pose and sang for about five seconds, turning its head all the while, giving me a chance to get this image.

Top:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1250 sec. @ 7.1

Center:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1600 sec. @ 7.1

Bottom:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/800 sec. @ 7.1

Pic of the Day

     Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor – Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Montana:  Benton Lake NWR is home to numerous nesting shorebirds, and that is why I made the refuge a stop on my trip west this past spring.  After spending a morning shooting avocets, stilts and grebes I stopped to check out the refuges photo blind.  When I walked to the blind I saw a small flock of Tree Swallows hawking insects over the cattails growing around the blind.  As I got closer I found a few swallows perched on cattails, and immediately took the opportunity to shoot portraits.   As I was shooting this particular swallow it opened its beak revealing its wide gape, an essential feature of birds that scoop insects out of the air. 

Pic of the Day

Willet: Tringa semipalmata

Long-billed Curlew: Numenius americanus (Juvenile)

Marbled Godwit: Limosa fedoa

     Willet: Tringa semipalmata and Long-billed Curlew: Numenius americanus -- Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Montana:  Benton Lank National Wildlife Refuge located just outside Great Falls, Montana, and is perhaps the best kept secret among the birding world.  My visit this past spring provided great shooting opportunities.  Willets, Long-billed curlew, and Marbled Godwits nest on the refuges' grasslands and feed on the lakes mud flats.  In one morning I was able to photograph all three species. The willet and godwit are adult birds, but judging from the length of curlews bill it must be a juvenile, as adult long-billed curlews bills are about twice the length of the one shown here.
     Benton Lake had many other species of birds that I photographed as well, some for the first time.  I’ll post some of those images at a later date.