Loggerhead Shrikes

Gallery: AvianPosted August 4, 2010187 views19 comments

The juvenile on the left would go into it's begging frenzy every time one of its parents approached, whether they had food or not. This time the parent didn't. Whenever it did have food I had difficulty getting light in the eye during the exchange.

The adult is not quite as sharp as the youngster - perhaps I should have been at f/9. In this case I tried to focus on the foliage between them to see if I could get them both sharp at f/8.

Over the last few years I've observed and photographed many of these shrikes but I've never seen one with this dark coloration on its breast and belly. I'm curious if others have seen it.

Larger image provided.

7D, 1/1250, f/8, ISO 320, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, shot from pickup window on 8/2/10, cropped to 64% of original image, small exposure adjustment in ACR, removed a couple of small bits of greenery poking up into bottom of frame but attached to nothing, sharpened birds and perch, no additional processing or adjustments, natural early morning light

Comments/critique appreciated

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on August 4, 2010 at 5:03 PM

That's an excellent capture Ron and I can understand the interaction between the birds by your description. The birds look sharp to me and there is plenty of detail but the image looks just a little flat, the foliage especially looks a little washed out. Maybe a monitor variation - see what others think.

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on August 4, 2010 at 5:23 PM

Very good image Ron. I would love to have observed this. These shrikes are rare in my neck of the woods. Well done. Also congrats on your photo of the month image. Absolutely stellar and very well deserved.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 4, 2010 at 5:24 PM

Ron, wonderful interaction here!
Detail is fine to me, and the BG and perch are excellent.
Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 4, 2010 at 5:32 PM

Great behavioral shot Ron. The parent looks a bit indignant standing straight up not responding to the begging youngster. The sharpenss of both birds and the colors look good to me.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on August 4, 2010 at 5:38 PM

great interaction, Ron, I love the begging juvie. sharpness on the adult seems adequate to me. Colors and brightness look just right IMO.

As for the adult's plumage, the feathering looks fairly sparse in the dark areas, so I suspect that the dark areas are the bird's skin showing through. It could be going through a molt, though I would expect it to wait until the breeding cycle was over, or perhaps the feathers are just otherwise disturbed.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on August 4, 2010 at 6:39 PM

Very nice image as posted, and something I'd like to observe some time.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on August 4, 2010 at 7:28 PM

Insanely sharp and the look of the bird on the right is just priceless ("I don't care, stop talking to me"). A real nice compliment to Mia's latest post.

- Luke

I've never seen this species so I cant give specifics on the plumage but it could just be wet?

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 4, 2010 at 8:22 PM

The adult looks plenty sharp enough, Ron. The begging pose is really cool and I like the apparent indifference of the adult. I haven't seen enough shrikes to comment on the plumage-we don't have the loggerhead in this neck of the woods.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by David Hemmings on August 4, 2010 at 8:56 PM

Such a wonderfully timed capture Ron. Looks good for sharpness from here

Registered on May 26, 2006, 178 Posts, 1680 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on August 4, 2010 at 9:41 PM

Thats on of those great moments that show us how similar we are to other species. Great shot!

Mike

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 4, 2010 at 10:37 PM

Ron, I have trouble finding one Loggerhead to photograph and you get 2? Great job on this! I really like the interaction between the birds.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on August 4, 2010 at 11:03 PM

Interesting behaviour well captured Ron.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on August 5, 2010 at 1:19 AM

Dof and sharpness look good Ron. The youngster must be somewhat closer to the lens, he seems to appear larger than the adult. Technically and esthetically a fine photo Ron.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 5, 2010 at 1:46 AM

Excellent Behavior Photo Ron! Great background too!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on August 5, 2010 at 8:21 AM

Another great shot Ron. Love the interaction. The great look at both bird's eyes is great as is the simple comp with a great BG. Always a pleasure.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on August 5, 2010 at 8:31 AM

Nice one Ron - like the interaction and your typically high IQ

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on August 5, 2010 at 9:49 AM

Ron,

This image is a good example of why observing birds and learning their habits can help avian photographers to create images with interesting behavior. While the adults were not present or not visibly nearby the juveniles seemed fairly quiet but as soon as an adult bird came into view of the juveniles they started fluttering their wings and got noisy which I believe aided us in getting action and interaction images between the adults and juveniles that we might have missed if we weren't aware of the juvenile's behavior.

Lovely light, poses, setting and background. I especially like the fluttering wings and open bill of the juvenile and the erect pose of the adult.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on August 5, 2010 at 7:24 PM

Great interaction beautifully captured Ron.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 5, 2010 at 10:45 PM

Great interaction Ron, I imagine it's the male there that's taking some verbal abuse..
Although he looks rather indifferent to the whole thing

Everything looks very good technically, great work

PS - Maybe someday I'll step up to that 500mm. Until then I'll just have to suffer through it

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments