action – Page 13

July 4, 2010January 14, 2013

Catch Of The Day (Photo of the week)

Watching birds in action can be much more interesting than just watching them look back at you. Mornings and evenings are the best times to catch birds moving about, most often looking for food.

This great egret had found a spot along the edge of a slough with plenty of fish. He seemed to be preoccupied with eating, allowing me to slowly sneak closer. I was surprised with the frequency at which he plucked fish out of the water – about one every 20 to 30 seconds.

He would stare at the surface of the water, his body leaning forward, and his neck coiled back ready to strike. At the opportune moment, his head would dunk into the water, almost every time coming up with a fish. Throwing his head up and back, he could fling the fish back into his throat, swallowing the fish whole. As he was swallowing, his neck and head feathers bristled, making his head appear almost twice its normal size.

Great egrets are one of my favorite species to watch eating because they tend to fish from the same spot, instead of moving around to look for food.

June 12, 2010January 14, 2013

Snowy Egret Feather Shake (Photo of the week)

This week’s photo is a snowy egret just after shaking his body to resettle its feathers. He had been fishing along the bank of a slough, and the wind kept disturbing his feathers. He shook his body vigorously to fluff all of his feathers, so that they could resettle into a natural insulating layer.

This type of shake will rearrange the micro-structure of a bird’s outer feathers, keeping water from penetrating the inner feathers. Usually a resettling of the feathers if followed by preening and a little oiling (if the bird has a preen gland). This egret didn’t bother preening at this time, as he seemed very focused on catching dinner.

May 16, 2010January 14, 2013

Song Sparrow (Photo of the week)

San Francisco Bay in springtime is a great place to capture songbirds in action. This song sparrow would fly from perch to perch, stopping to sing out very methodically in each direction. This was my favorite shot that I took of him, because his head is thrown back, and it looks like he’s really getting into it.

I like to photograph songbirds about an hour after sunrise. They are still very active in their morning routines, and the ambient light is bright enough for action shots (songbirds can move very fast!) Another technique I employ is to go to places where there are people. Birds that are used to people being around tend to be more at ease and will likely let you approach closer before flying off. Running trails, parks, and urban ponds are all great places to find birds that are used to people.

May 3, 2010January 14, 2013

Willet Eating a Mollusk (Photo of the week)

In taking this week’s photo, I had the opportunity to watch up close a willet’s feeding behavior when one opened a mollusk (probably a mussel) and pulled it out of its shell.

It started by moving to a likely area of shallow mud at the edge of a slough. Using its beak to poke repeatedly into the mud, it soon hit the hard shell and pulled the mollusk free. Then, it slipped the tip of its beak into the opening of the shell, and began to pry it open. Once it had a large enough opening, it was able to reach inside and grab the creature, shaking it back and forth through the water, most likely to clean it off, and shake it free of the shell. This process went on for a couple of minutes, the willet slowly extracting more and more of the mollusk from its shell. Finally, it was pulled free and vanished down the bird’s throat. Satisfied, the willet stalked off in search of other prey.