I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
I took this Burrowing Owl image two days ago. There is just something about these owls that delights me every time I see them.
Canada Goose
Canada Geese are common here in northern Utah but they aren’t common every where, just ask people in Florida. I like Canada Geese.
Killdeer on a rock
Some of the noisiest shorebirds I have ever come across are the Killdeer though this one was silent it did perched nicely on top of a rock at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. I really like the smooth background.
Male Ring-necked Pheasant
I photographed this male Ring-necked Pheasant displaying near the road that goes to the auto tour route of Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, if there was another male in the area I could not see it but this pose indicates the type of territorial behavior I see when two male pheasants are getting ready to have it out.
Hundreds of (thousands) swallows at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge
The air is alive with midges and swallows at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, I can’t tell how many of the 5 species that inhabit the refuge are in this frame but the huge numbers of swallows is very impressive.
Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County
The Turkey Vultures came back to Utah several weeks ago but I haven’t had many opportunities to photograph them this spring, two days ago we came across some that were warming in the early morning sunlight in Box Elder County. I’m not sure Turkey Vultures could be called beautiful but they are a fascinating species and they do clean up the environment.
Western Grebes in a courtship display
I saw these two Western Grebes displaying and hoped that they would rush, they did but they rushed with their backs to me. I’ll keep trying to get them rushing towards me.
Western Meadowlark stretching
Western Meadowlarks are every where, singing from the tops of their perches, flitting about in a hurry, preening and stretching like this one on Antelope Island.
I saw many more birds in the past week, all of them wonderful, all of them fascinating and every one a great subject to photograph.
I went camping & photographing in northern Utah this week and came across something that made me scratch my head. Ron and I were traveling down a road when I saw some birds high up on a cliff face and at first I couldn’t figure out what the birds were. My mind raced and it took a few seconds to figure out that the birds I was seeing were Canada Geese!
Squawking & flying Canada Geese on top of a cliff
It was very odd to see Canada Geese perching on the cliff face, I’d certainly never seen them perched on a cliff before. They would take off squawking, circle and land again and repeated that behavior several times.
Canada Geese landing on top of a cliff
We traveled on down the road and I was puzzled by their behavior and, when we passed back that way on our way out I kept my eye on the cliff face. The Canada Geese were making a racket, flying in circles and landing on rocks at the top of the cliff. The cliff was several hundred feet high so these images are not my best quality. The light was a little better from our position than it had been earlier so we took more images. When I am looking through my viewfinder with my right eye I often have my left eye open to catch movement outside of the viewfinder and this time it paid off nicely because I did detect movement and trained my lens on the area where I saw it.
Red-tailed Hawk with nesting material
It was a Red-tailed Hawk hopping & walking around on the ground. I wondered if the hawk was ground hunting but as it moved towards a bush it picked up a stick and I knew it had nesting material.
Red-tailed Hawk carrying the nesting material
As soon as the Red-tailed had a firm grasp on the stick it took off flying towards the cliff face. You can see how long the stick was in this shot.
Red-tailed Hawk on the nest
The Red-tailed Hawk landed on a area of the cliff about a third of the way down from the top and I could clearly see it moving the stick around in the nest. After the hawk got the stick situated it came to the edge of the nest and looked around all the while the Canada Geese were high on the cliff top squawking and flying in and out. From their vantage point they could not see the nest but I’m sure they were aware of the hawk’s presence. I don’t know if their odd behavior was caused by the hawk but it sure was interesting.
The strange behavior of the Canada Geese on the top of the cliff led me to finding a Red-tailed Hawks nest though and I am tickled about that. You never know what fascinating things you will see in nature.
Has anyone else seen Canada Geese high on cliffs? I’d be interested in hearing if you have.
White on White – Winter’s Delight – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
This winter’s snow cover has given me many opportunities to photograph high key bird and wildlife images and while some people might not find high key photos to their tastes I find that I enjoy them because of their simplicity and how the high key background allows my eyes to focus clearly on my subject’s form and beauty.
I find this image of three Tundra Swans that I photographed along the Antelope Island causeway yesterday very appealing because it is white on white. The swan on the left must not have been feeding where the two on the right were because it doesn’t have the stained plumage that they do.
Tundra Swan - Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
This Tundra Swan stayed closer to the road than the three in the photo above so I was able to capture more detail in its plumage and in the snow that covered the frozen water of the Great Salt Lake.
Canada Geese landing - Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
While I was photographing the Tundra Swans I heard the familiar call of Canada Geese flying in and as they got closer I started photographing them as they landed near the swans. I wish I would have had a little more light in both bird’s eyes but I find the poses rather dynamic and I like how I can see their shadows on the snow below them.
Black-billed Magpie on a snow-covered rock - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
It is difficult to believe that Black-billed Magpies will start building or rebuilding their nest in just a few days. They take between 40 and 50 days creating or strengthening old nests and when I start to see them carrying twigs in their bills I know spring is just around the corner. Black-billed Magpies are very industrious when it comes to nests and they will build them even when snow is falling or when the bush they are building in is covered with it too.
Canada Goose – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are common in my area and I often overlook taking images of them because of that. I really shouldn’t though because they are beautiful birds.
I photographed this Canada Goose as it paddled past me on Glover’s Pond at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in northern Utah two years ago.
Canada Geese on Glover Pond Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f13, 1/160, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm
This morning I can hear Canada Geese(Branta canadensis) overhead after a hot summer when I have heard few. Listening to them I realize that soon summer will end and the colorful season of fall will begin. When I hear the geese calling I think of brisk mornings, the sound of their wings and flocks flying in their V formation.
Many species of birds will migrate through on their way to their wintering grounds and the birds that we see here in winter will slowly start to trickle in. I’m looking forward to seeing more raptors, ducks and geese.
Canada Goose lift off Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 320, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm
I will miss the birds I see in the summer, the Loggerhead Shrikes, Long-billed Curlews, Sage Thrashers and more but I am looking forward to more opportunities with the common but delightful Canada Geese.
Burrowing Owl adult
Canada Goose
Killdeer on a rock
Male Ring-necked Pheasant
Hundreds of (thousands) swallows at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge
Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County
Western Grebes in a courtship display
Western Meadowlark stretching
