Lee's Photoblog
It's Mine
Posted by Lee (Fort Frances Ontario, Canada) on 30 April 2009 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.
It's that time of year. Territories are being established and defended. I watched these two flickers chasing each other. To my best knowledge the bird on the left was defending its territory. They put on a great show. They would stare at each other for a long while, then the bird on the left would push the bird on the right off the branch. It would chase this bird around for a while, or till it was not trespassing, then return to the branch. The other bird would show up and the whole process would begin again. There would also be a display of fanning the tail feathers and puffed chests. This went on for over half an hour.
Thank you for visiting my site. I consider myself to be lucky living where I do. Everyday I wake up to a wealth of interesting visual scenarios. Most of my pictures are Wildlife and Nature taken from around the area. The area specifically being Fort Frances Ontario on beautiful Rainy Lake. Feel free to comment on what you see. I look forward to hearing from you. If you like what you see, please rate it. Better yet, bookmark the site and drop back often. I will be posting daily.
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@Didier DE ZAN: Thank you
mats from Texas, United States
hahaha, they have that look too, very well captured.
30 Apr 2009 5:35am
@mats: Thank you Mats. It was quite interesting to watch.
P J W Miller from Chase Terrace, United Kingdom
Stunning birds and you have captured them in their natural habitat, naturally doing what they do at this time of year
30 Apr 2009 5:43am
@P J W Miller: Thank you for the comment.
@Lylou & Roland: Thank you very much.
@Hidalgo: Thank you. I have never seen anything like this before. I have heard them calling for mates.
Zing from Hamilton, New Zealand
Great capture, nice dof, really love the background, nice tones.
30 Apr 2009 6:36am
@Zing: Thank you.
jamesy from christchurch, New Zealand
awesome capture. The one on the left does look like he has the upper hand
30 Apr 2009 6:43am
@jamesy: It appeared to be the defender. It would chase. the other would flee and return.
Veronique from Sarrouilles, France
Fantastic expression of the birds. This leaves you time to shoot them quietly
30 Apr 2009 7:25am
@Veronique: Yes, it was hard to try and capture them while they were flitting about. I managed to get lots of blurred action shots. Thank you for the comment.
JanW from Rotterdam, Netherlands
Great shot, the expression of the left one is super.
You've seen a small part of the greatest show on earth: Nature
30 Apr 2009 7:28am
@JanW: Thank you very much.
"Marie" :-) from perth, Haiti
Excellent, love the colours on these birds, detail is tremendous, great clarity Lee. Well done.
30 Apr 2009 7:50am
@"Marie" :-): Thank you Marie. A large THANK YOU for picking my post from yesterday as your favorite photo of the day.
@Helen: Thank you.
@eva: Thank you Eva.
Denise from Perry, United States
Fantastic, these are some of my favorite birds, such character they have!
30 Apr 2009 9:50am
@Denise: Thank you Denise. They are colourful. I enjoy watching them later in the year, when they sit on ant hills digging for supper.
@Baby Sis: Thanks Shelley.
@Evelyne Dubos: Thank you
Elora from Genoa, Italy
Wow, must have been exciting to watch! Wish I had been there! Another great shot!
30 Apr 2009 11:05am
@Elora: It was very exciting to watch. I lose track of all time when I'm out and about, especially when something like this happens. Thank you for the compliment.
@kisskool: Thank you
@Sandrine: Thanks Sandrine.
Craig@Random Ramblings from Herts, United Kingdom
Superb shot and narrative. I love the way the bird on the left seems to be glancing a peak at you too, probably not but it looks that way :)
30 Apr 2009 11:41am
@Craig@Random Ramblings: Thank you Craig. I'm sure they were aware of my being there. I was a fair distance away, but still I'm sure that is what was happening.
Eric Cousineau from Sherwood Park, Canada
This is an outstanding capture Lee! Great detail! ;-)
30 Apr 2009 12:25pm
@Eric Cousineau: Thank you Eric.
Kathe from Marquette, Michigan, United States
I like flickers! A number of years ago, a neighbor found a juvenile in a fallen tree at his camp. He brought it home (with special permission) and later released it as an adult. I didn't know that part until after the first time it came out of nowhere and landed on my shoulder. Scared the heck out of me! *LOL*
It's cool to watch them sticking their long, thin tongues into ant holes.
30 Apr 2009 12:34pm
@Kathe: That would be a startle for sure. They are intersting to watch. Thanks for the comment.
@mo.langel: Thank you.
bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada
Stunning work! I love the lighter tones throughout this image, the birds almost camouflaged, only visible by the slight colour on their heads. Excellent shot!
30 Apr 2009 12:51pm
@bluechameleon: Thank you Sharon. Yes they do blend in. Also I was shooting through some rather thick branches to capture this.
Viewfinder from Bradenton, FL, United States
Awesome shot. What kind of lens did you use? You're in so close and I know these birds can be shy.
30 Apr 2009 1:48pm
@Viewfinder: Thank you Glenn. This lens is not the best quality, but it works for me. It is an old 650-1300mm t-mount. It is very slow. About equivsalent of f8-f11 in terms of speed. I was probably 150 yards away when I took this shot.
Sarah from Suisse, Switzerland
How lucky to witness all that! Beautiful birds and I like the tones on your photo - like a light suede. The little red burst of colour is an added bonus!
30 Apr 2009 1:54pm
@Sarah: Thank you Sarah.
Giovanni from Milan, Italy
Stunning capture Lee! I love the the shallow DOF and the tones!
30 Apr 2009 2:05pm
@Giovanni: Thank you very much.
Lesley from Lincoln, United States
Excellent capture, Lee. I love these birds. How wonderful that you could catch both! Nice tones.
30 Apr 2009 2:10pm
@Lesley: Thank you Lesley. It was a tough capture. They were behind a thick bunch of shrubs.
B. Thomas from Arlington, Texas, United States
Ha, ha - the bird version of chest thumping. Wonderful shot.
30 Apr 2009 2:12pm
@B. Thomas: Yes, Thank you Barbara
Linda from Riga/Sigulda, Latvia
a funny story, which makes the birds in the photo look funny too. a fantastic photo
30 Apr 2009 2:50pm
@Linda: Thank you Linda.
@Mariana: Thank you very much.
Susan from Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States
Great catch!!! I'm thinking it looks a bit underexposed???
30 Apr 2009 3:03pm
@Susan: Thank s Susan. I will try tweaking it a bit.
@Lorraine: Thank you ever so much. You gotta come out of that introversion a little more.
Vinman from Essex, United Kingdom
Thanks for the background story, it explains the stand-off perfectly.
30 Apr 2009 7:12pm
@Vinman: Very well described. Thank you. That was the words I was missing.
@Veronelle: Thank you very much.
vu@granby - Wolfgang from Canada
This shot screams "National Geographic" all over, bravo!
30 Apr 2009 8:23pm
@vu@granby - Wolfgang: Thank you very much. That is an extreme large compliment.
@Hema Iyer: Thank you Hema.
LauraS from Chico, United States
Lee what a beautiful shot. Lovely capture, and story, and the colors are extraordinary!
30 Apr 2009 11:44pm
@LauraS: Thank you very much Laura.
Magda from Vancouver, Canada
Fantastic capture! We enjoy flickers in our backyard... Very shy birds but oh so beautiful!
1 May 2009 4:55am
@Magda: They are timid. Thank you for the compliment.
Photosanity from Folsom, United States
Fantastic capture - love the interaction you captured between them.
1 May 2009 5:08am
@Photosanity: Thank you.
shallowregret from Kongsberg, Norway
i agree, fantastic to capture this interaction
5 May 2009 9:01pm
@shallowregret: Thank you very much.
Ricardo from Valencia, Venezuela
Wow wonderful capture! the overall tone is beautiful!
16 May 2009 2:26am
@Ricardo: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed viewing it.
