Photographing Winter Birds

Winter Birds

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon. This morning I am sharing a few of the photos that I took.

Farmington Bay WMA in the morning

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I spent most of my time in the marshes of Farmington Bay photographing Black-crowned Night Herons. There were at least two adults, one sub-adult, and quite a few immature herons in the area.

Resting Black-crowned Night Heron adult – Nikon D500, f8, 1/400, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

A young Black-crowned Night Heron pushed this adult off of its perch and out into the open water. The adult rested for a bit before flying back to the vegetation to warm up in the sun.

I took hundreds of photos of these night herons and I am sure I will share more photos of them in the future.

Pied-billed Grebe food chase – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

There were also quite a few Pied-billed Grebes. Some were resting, a few were preening and there were also some fights and chases. This chases started because one of the Pied-billed Grebes caught a Weather  Loach and the other grebe was trying to steal it.

Other birds were at Farmington Bay WMA were harder to find and photograph.

Close to home in the afternoon

Frisky drake Mallards – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Yesterday afternoon was a switch from the morning because there were plenty of birds to aim my lens at. The thin ice that had almost covered the pond the day before had melted because of warmer temps.

Male Mallards have begun to get frisky because they know spring isn’t that far away now. I saw several fights break out between male mallards and I was even to catch a few of the skirmishes in photos.

Most of the mallards at this pond are domestic types although a few wild mallards also show up during the winter.

Fighting American Coots – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

American Coots also put on a show yesterday afternoon. They preened, fed, walked around on the shore, rested, and fought for food and feeding territories. I had several opportunities to photograph them while they fought.

Winter American Coot portrait – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Plus there were a few times the American Coots came in close enough for me to take portraits of their faces, dark heads, red eyes, and ivory colored bills.

Adult male Common Merganser in winter – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Small flocks of Common Mergansers rested and floated on the icy cold water of the pond. I saw more male mergansers than females or first winter birds which delighted me because they are colorful and handsome in their breeding plumage.

First winter Common Merganser swimming by – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

When a first winter Common Merganser swam past me I was happy to take its photo. This young merganser looked wary because there was an unattended child nearby who was tormenting the birds along the shore for a few minutes.

Male Great-tailed Grackle in winter – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Then a male Great-tailed Grackle flew in and landed so close to me that I opted to take portraits of him. His shiny iridescent feathers glowed in the afternoon light.

Something isn’t quite right with his bill but he looks healthy and I am sure he is getting enough food.

Adult Bald Eagle in flight over Salt Lake City – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

A Bald Eagle flew in and provided me with great views of it in flight over the pond as it was chased by several California and Ring-billed Gulls. The eagle made the ducks, grebes, and coots nervous as it circled over the pond. The gulls were successful in chasing the eagle off.

Adult female Common Merganser in winter – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

After the Bald Eagle departed I focused on the ducks that were still on the pond. When this adult female Common Merganser swam past I was glad to have her in my viewfinder.

Female Canvasback in winter – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

There was one lone female Canvasback duck mixed in with the other birds on the pond. She associated most with few Redheads out in the middle of the pond most of the time. I was over the moon that she came in closer and I took a nice series of images of her.

Drake Common Goldeneye displaying – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Most of the Common Goldeneyes I saw yesterday afternoon were males. A few of the males have already started displaying to attract the attention of the females they swam past.

Redhead drakes in winter – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

As the sun started slipping lower on the western horizon a few Redhead ducks finally came in close enough to take photos of them.

I spent about and hour and a half photographing the winter birds that were close to home and by the time I was done my hands were getting numb from the cold breeze that was blowing.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my bird photos in my galleries.