Urban American Coot Close Up Photos
Because it was a bright, sunny day yesterday morning, I went down to my local ponds. I photographed an American Coot munching on frosty grass near one of them.
Immature Pied-billed Grebe Being Chased And Other Grebe Behaviors
Last week, I photographed an immature Pied-billed Grebe being chased by an adult at my local pond. I observed some other interesting grebe behaviors as well.
Bird Battle: Belted Kingfisher vs. Merlin
Little did I know that on my last trip up into the Wasatch Mountains, that I would witness a battle between a Belted Kingfisher and my first-of-season Merlin.
Fall Great Blue Heron Flasher
Earlier this week, I found this adult Great Blue Heron in a Flasher pose while resting on a human-made nest in a pond at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.
American Coots Fighting – Pond Pugilists
While I was at my local pond three days ago, I took my best-to-date images of fighting American Coots. I had a blast and laughed a lot while I took them.
California Gull Playing With A Stick
This morning I'm sharing two photos of a California Gull playing with a stick at one of my local ponds that I took during the winter in January of 2021.
Puzzling Mule Deer Doe Behavior
Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains is saw some interesting Mule Deer doe behavior after I started to take images of two does and two fawns.
Great Blue Heron Catching Fish At Bear River MBR
On my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I came across this Great Blue Heron and spent only one minute photographing the large wading bird.
Focusing On Fall Wild Turkey Tom Photos
Yesterday morning the first birds I focused on taking photos of were Wild Turkey toms as they displayed for each other on desert ranchlands in northern Utah.
Snowy Egret Photos – Farmington Bay Opening Day
Yesterday was kind of an opening day at Farmington Bay and the Snowy Egret show was the highlight of the day.
Was the Killing Of Bob The Sandhill Crane Really Necessary?
One of the other things that made me upset with Bob the Sandhill Crane being killed is that this could have been prevented.
Female Spotted Sandpiper Post-coital Photo
What intrigued me the most was the post-coital posture of the female Spotted Sandpiper where she kept one wing raised for a long period of time.
Cliff Swallows Gathering Nesting Materials
Yesterday morning I photographed Cliff Swallows gathering nesting materials and fighting in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.
Western Kingbird Attempting To Take Over A Bullock’s Oriole Nest
At times I see some odd things in the field and two days ago that was what appeared to be a Western Kingbird attempting to take over a Bullock's Oriole nest.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird And A Knothole
Yesterday while out in the sky island mountains of the West Desert I spotted a female Black-chinned Hummingbird repeatedly checking out a knothole in a tree.
Signs Of Spring – First Turkey Vulture Sighting Report
Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the UBird Google group with a first of the year Turkey Vulture sighting and that got me excited.
Adult Turkey Vultures Thermoregulating
In April there was a bright, sunny morning when I had several opportunities to photograph adult Turkey Vultures warming up after a chilly night by thermoregulating.
Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird In A Strong Breeze Plus A Favorite Perch
When the male Broad-tailed Hummingbird had had enough of getting bounced around he took off in a hurry with the wind fluffing up his upper chest feathers and the right side of his colorful gorget.
Thermoregulating Turkey Vulture Close Up
Mornings have still been fairly chilly here in northern Utah and the Turkey Vultures that recently arrived on spring migration have been taking advantage of the rising sun by thermoregulating to help chase off the chill.
Goofy Looking Upside Down Displaying Male Brown-headed Cowbird
This photo of a displaying male Brown-headed Cowbird in a goofy upside down pose is not a good photo technically but I absolutely love the behavior it shows.
Red-tailed Hawk Behavior When A Northern Harrier Attacks
When I heard a call to my left I glanced in that direction and saw a female Northern Harrier flying towards the Red-tailed at break neck speed.
Barn Owl, Immature Bald Eagle, California And Ring-billed Gulls
So, even though I didn't get great photos yesterday I was glad to get out and photograph a Barn Owl, Bald Eagle and these California and Ring-billed Gulls.
Some Of The Joys Of Photographing Birds Close To Home
I spent some time at one of the local ponds yesterday afternoon and came home with photos that made me smile and for a little while I forgot about the long hours I spent getting skunked on the road earlier in the day.
Charging American Coot Portrait – Communicating By Posture
I photographed this American Coot in February when parts of my local pond were frozen which caused a restriction in the space where the coots, ducks, geese and grebes could feed and there were many territorial squabbles to photograph.
Male Brewer’s Blackbird Bathing and Splashing Water
The Brewer's Blackbird seemed to be really throwing himself into his bath as he splashed around, dipping his head into the water then shaking his entire body as his head rose above the water.
Photographic Frustrations – Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest
One year ago today I experienced one of the two most frustrating days in my entire time of being a bird photographer while photographing Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho.
Loggerhead Shrike Allofeeding Courtship Behavior Plus a Close Up
The Loggerhead Shrike did fly in and brought prey to feed the presumed female, during the mating season the males will allofeed the females as part of their courtship behavior. I've never been able to photograph allofeeding behavior before so I was tickled pink.
Dancing Wilson’s Plover – Or At Least It Looks That Way
On a May morning in 2008 while photographing this Wilson's Plover it began to scratch itself with its foot and when I took this photo it looked like the plover was dancing.
Drake Redhead Courtship Display
I'm glad that I made the trip down to the pond because I was able to photograph a drake Redhead exhibiting courtship display behavior several times as he tried to impress the hen that was nearby.
Unusual Behavior – Ring-billed Gull Preening In Flight
Three frames later I was glad this Ring-billed Gull's rotund belly caught my eye when through my viewfinder I could see the gull preening while in flight which is unusual behavior in my experience.