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An Injured American Wigeon
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge - Sherwood - Oregon
Saturday, October 29, 2005, 16:49:55
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Image © Copyright Ed Bustya
57 of 87
An American Wigeon with an injured wing on the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. Once hunting season started, I started to see lots of injured birds on the refuge. Farmers with land adjacent to the refuge rented their land out to hunters or hunting clubs during hunting season. The revenue from hunting licenses and fees, as well as the very large hunting industry and lobbies, is what makes the wildlife refuges possible, so in that sense, hunting is good for wildlife. However, bleeding heart that I am, I wasn't too happy to hear shotguns blasting all around the refuge when I was "hunting" birds with my camera, nor was it fun to find injured birds like this American Wigeon, whose wing was most likely crippled by a shotgun pellet. This bird seemed to do alright dispite its broken wing, as I saw it frequently for weeks after I first noticed it.
Hunters are not allowed to shoot on this refuge, or to shoot toward it. They're not allowed to retrieve a bird if it inadvertantly falls on the refuge after being shot. So it is common in the Fall to find many birds on the refuge dead or injured due to hunting. Fortunately, scavenger predators such as the Bald Eagle benefit from the "free lunch." Hopefully, the hunters are using steel shot instead of lead shot, which is known to be poisonous to birds.
Camera, Lens, and Exposure Information
Camera model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Lens used: Canon 600mm lens at 1200mm (using a 2X teleconverter)
Exposure Data:
ISO 800.
1/125 at f/8.
Av exposure mode (Aperture Priority).
Multi-segment metering
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