LPC: Hen Drinking
Lesser Prairie Chicken Drinking - Milensand Prairie Preserve, Milnesand, NM
This afternoon I returned to my blind that I had set up this morning. I had my doubts that it would still be there but sure enough, it was there, if a bit teardrop shaped rather than a nice dome but thats not a big deal. I spent about 3 hours there this evening and had a chance to photograph more than just Lesser Prairie Chickens. Tonight I had several sparrows including Lark and one that I still need to ID (these western sparrows are all new to me), Killdeer, Lark Buntings, and probably a few other things that aren’t coming to mind at the moment.
I set up next to the water hole in order to photograph the prairie chickens as they came in to drink, something I have not seen photographed much, if at all. Once I got in the blind I began having doubts if anything would ever come near me because the blind was shaking and making a racket due to the strong winds. Once again, my doubts proved to be baseless and I had a fine evening photographing. Above, you can see one of my favorite images of the session. A hen made her way out onto a little peninsula exactly where I had hoped and proceeded to drink her fill. It is hard to see in this version, but there are a couple water drops in the air that have just fallen off her bill.
I am back at it again tomorrow and hopefully will be trying a new lek tomorrow. I just have to decide which one!
