Barn Owl, Immature Bald Eagle, California And Ring-billed Gulls

Barn Owl hunting the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

I was able to get out to photograph birds both in the morning and the afternoon yesterday, it was cloudy in the morning but I found myself at Farmington Bay WMA along with tons of other birders and bird photographers.

My first opportunity was with a Barn Owl in flight hunting in the marsh and the first shot I took of it diving into the grasses when it was closer to me was ruined because of a pole being in the way. Then the owl flew further away because of someone who was walking on the dike but even though the owl is small in the frame in this photo I like how it shows the Barn Owl looking intently at the ground for prey, how the grasses anchor the frame, the inclusion of habitat and the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains in the background.  I could easily call this a “birdscape”.

Immature Bald Eagle in front of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 1000, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Then there was a cooperative immature Bald Eagle perched on a pole near the boat launch that grabbed a lot of photographers attention. I don’t know how long this immature eagle stayed on the pole but I do know there were a lot of photographs of this bird taken yesterday morning at Farmington Bay! There were a lot of vehicles parked right where this eagle was and a bunch of lenses poking out their windows.

My photo shows the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains behind the young eagle. I wish I would have had golden light on the eagle but I like the low light I took this photo in too.

California Gull landing on thin ice – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/5000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Later in the afternoon I went down to one of the local ponds and had the area all to myself. Our temps were in the teens overnight and the pond had partially frozen over again so all of the geese, ducks, grebes and coots were on the other side of the pond and only the gulls on the ice were close enough to photograph but since I love gulls I was happy to raise my lens towards them.

I do wish I had better eye contact with this California Gull that was landing on the thin ice but I liked the pose well enough to process this file. The light on the gull was beautiful and after days of gray skies I always appreciate and enjoy nice light while I am out in the field.

Ring-billed Gull with head low and full wing lift – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/5000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

This last photo of a Ring-billed Gull with its head low and both wings full extended is more about the behavior it shows than the aesthetics. I’ve seen Ring-billed Gulls exhibiting this posture before and I have no clue what the posture might represent, I wonder if it is it just a stretching behavior or does it convey something more to the other gulls that are nearby? I really wish the out of focus Ring-billed Gull wasn’t behind the gull in the front and I hope that one day I can get an image of this exact behavior with a single bird and no other distracting elements because I think this behavior is interesting as well as beautiful.

So, even though I didn’t get great photos yesterday I was glad to get out and photograph a Barn Owl, Bald Eagle and these California and Ring-billed Gulls. It did help to slightly reduce my cabin fever a degree or two.

Life is good.

Mia

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