Yesterday I photographed a mixture of the birds of Antelope Island State Park and had great fun while doing it.
Chukar walking on the Oolitic sand dunes of the Great Salt Lake – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
There aren’t many places on this planet where a Chukar can be photographed walking on an Oolitic sand dune, I’m fortunate that I live where I can do that. The oolitic sand this Chukar is walking on was formed in the Great Salt Lake when calcium carbonate attached itself to brine shrimp feces in concentric layers. The rolling motion of the waves on the lake give the grains of sand an egg shape. I was glad I saw the Chukars on the sand.
Preening Lark Sparrow – Nikon D200, f8, 1/1250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Later in the morning I spotted this Lark Sparrow perched on some dead Sagebrush branches, it preened for quite some time. I especially liked that the background is composed of sagebrush bushes. These sparrows are so handsome.
Northern Mockingbird chick – Nikon D200, f8, 1/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
While I was photographing the Lark Sparrow I kept hearing a short, soft bird call so I kept peeking around my lens to see what making the sound. Before long I saw a tiny head pop up on a sagebrush and I scoped it with my lens. To my surprise it was a young Northern Mockingbird. It took awhile but the chick hopped up onto a branch where I could get a fairly clear shot of it and as an added bonus it had the Great Salt Lake in the background.
Sage Thrasher – Nikon D200, f8, 1/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Not very far from the Northern Mockingbird chick I spotted this Sage Thrasher, for a change this one was cooperative and stuck around for a bit. It shouldn’t be long before I start seeing their chicks too.
Chukar chick surrounded by Brine Flies – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
One of the last stops was near the marina where there are boulders that line the shore. We’ve had a tremendous hatch of Brine Flies and even the Chukars are benefiting from that.
Several Chukars with chicks were on the boulders and the muddy shore and oddly enough I also saw a California Quail with the group. California Quail are not common on the island. One of the adult Chukars that was in the mud had the brine flies covering its back almost to its neck. All of those grayish spots in the air, elongated shapes on the boulder the chick is standing on and dark spots on the boulders in the background are brine flies.
Brine Flies
There were flies tickling my face and hands while I photographed these birds, fortunately they don’t bite! This photo shows just a tiny section of the shoreline and a boulder, the small bits of blue is water, everything else that is on the surface are brine flies.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my bird photos.
I love the Sage Thrasher and Northern Mockingbird chick!
Thank you Maria!
Wonderful shots of birds I’d never get to see. Around here we have tiny black flies that swarm in summer…and they seem to be drawn to my sun-glasses for some reason. Once they start swarming on my sunglasses I have to keep swiping them away or else I’d be breathing them.
Merrill, thank for your comment. Flies can be such pests!
Gorgeous photos Mia! I especially like the Chukar chugging along in the sand; what a fascinating photo! That is a massive amount of flies~thank goodness they aren’t biting flies!
Tammy, thank you very much for your comment on these images. I’ve very glad those flies don’t bite!
Fascinating and Illuminating post Mia. Lots of great information to complement the pictures! Thanks.
Thank you Stu, the birds of Antelope Island are fascinating!
i just love visiting your blog…your photographs of birds give me what i crave when it comes to being able to appreciate the individuals.
The last image in this post is…gulp…stunning.
Zephyr, that last image is just a tiny peek at all the brine flies in and around the Great Salt Lake, on calm days you can see streams of them on top of the water and mounds on the shorelines. It is really indescribable. Thanks for your comment!
yum yum yum! Could walk along the shire with shovel and feast for a week! Pass the salt (lake) please!
Wonderful images Mia. I especially love your images of Sage Thrashers. They don’t seem to come up anywhere else…
Laurence, you have made me laugh again, shovel up the flies and salt them down!
Thanks for you comment on my images and this post.
The chukar is fabulous..I painted one about a month ago and it is Kentucky in a gallery. The other photos are just so good..you have a way with the camera to capture their personas. The brine flies are something else again. Once again, thanks for sharing with all of us..
Thanks Syl, I feel like I have the best subjects and they are always so lovelY!
I am in shock at that last image. But mostly I have to say these images are gorgeous as are all of your images. I hope you don’t get tired of hearing me say that because I just have to. Carol
Carol, I don’t get tired of you complimenting my images, I think nature is a great subject for photography because it is so beautiful. Thank you for your comments!