Chukar

Gallery: AvianPosted April 23, 2018252 views8 comments

Not a native species, but it has naturalized from the ones released for hunting in Eastern Oregon. This one was photographed along Highway 205 on the border of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It refused to give me any other pose,m though it was quite willing to hold this one.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, f/8, 1/2500, iso 1000, aperture priority, pattern metering, -2/3 EV. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped from a horizontal original to an 8.7 4x5 vertical. I cloned out an out of focus background rock on the lower right as it was the same shade as the perch topped out just below the bird's feet. Taken at 9:42 am on April 18th under overcast skies.

Your comments and critiques are always appreciated.

Thanks for taking a look,

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Jim Gavin on April 23, 2018 at 11:24 PM

A bit unusual for a chukar to pose for more than one second. Great opportunity. Most of the chukar I have seen are darker with more colorful legs. A very nice portrait.

Registered on August 14, 2008, 293 Posts, 1250 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on April 24, 2018 at 12:19 AM

Interesting bird, Dennis. Looks well nourished. I personally like poses from behind like this because it shows the plumage off nicely. I'd probably crop just a little from right, but not much.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on April 24, 2018 at 1:31 PM

Hello, Dennis. Very nice composition and the color palette is the hammer ! The BG matches both the bird and the perch perfectly. Excellent shot cool

, cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on April 26, 2018 at 10:32 PM

Excellent over the shoulder image. Almost painterly in the smaller view. Definitely lighter in color than what I am accustomed to seeing. Malheur is a real nice place for White face Ibis and Sandhill Cranes along with many shorebird species.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on April 27, 2018 at 11:48 AM

A beautiful bird indeed, Dennis, and I love the pose. I too like the over the shoulder looks so that you do have the plumage of the back of the bird showing nicely. The BG, as someone else mentioned, really does compliment the subject. Nice.

Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on April 28, 2018 at 12:44 PM

Super chukar image with nice detail. Excellent head turn and I really like your comp with the clean complimentary background and a very natural chukar perch.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on April 28, 2018 at 5:15 PM

I like this a lot Dennis. The only time I've seen this species is either walking on the side of a dirt road or deep in the weeds. Nice to see one perched like this on a rock!

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

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on April 29, 2018 at 11:15 AM

Interesting perch to find this bird on Dennis. Excellent detail and beautiful background. The bird looks a little bright to my eye, I remember their plumage a tad darker. devil

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments