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Cooper’s Hawk – Nearly Hidden And In Plain Sight

By |2024-03-17T04:56:08-06:00March 17th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago, while I was photographing some Rock Squirrels, I saw a beautiful immature Cooper's Hawk fly in and land in a tangle of trees near the squirrels.

World Wetlands Day And Utah’s Abysmal Protections Of Them

By |2024-02-02T06:03:36-07:00February 2nd, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Conservation, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Juab County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today is World Wetlands Day, and we need to protect and preserve our wetlands. Wetlands provide a wide range of ecological, economic, and social benefits.

Drake Ruddy Duck In Early Breeding Plumage

By |2024-01-20T03:52:38-07:00January 19th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've been paying a lot of attention to a drake Ruddy Duck at my local pond because he has gone into breeding plumage earlier than is normal for this species.

Cooper’s Hawk – My Last Bird of 2023

By |2024-01-01T14:41:24-07:00January 1st, 2024|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As the sun was setting on the last day of 2023, the last bird I saw was a neighborhood Cooper's Hawk. I shared that sighting with my neighbor, Shane, and his son, Kadence.

Rough-legged Hawk In Dense Fog

By |2023-12-19T05:04:38-07:00December 19th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Some bird photographers might not share a photo like this Rough-legged Hawk in dense fog that I took two years ago today at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Ruddy Duck Drake – What A Difference 20 Days Makes

By |2024-01-19T04:15:38-07:00December 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Just 20 days can make a big difference in the way this Ruddy Duck drake looks. His bill is a lot bluer now than it was when I first saw him at my local pond.

Murmuration Of European Starlings On The Wing

By |2023-12-16T03:55:57-07:00December 16th, 2023|Categories: Birds, European Starlings, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I wasn't the only person who noticed the huge murmuration of European Starlings at my local pond yesterday morning; other people stopped and admired them too.

Western Meadowlark And A Windy Morning At Bear River MBR

By |2023-12-14T04:31:13-07:00December 14th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Video, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't photograph many birds at Bear River MBR yesterday because it was windy. I did take photos of this handsome Western Meadowlark at the refuge though.

Juniper Titmouse Photos In Utah

By |2023-12-13T04:24:05-07:00December 13th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Juniper Titmouses, Mercur Canyon, Simpson Springs, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though I have taken Juniper Titmouse images, this titmouse species is still a bit of a nemesis bird for me. I just don't see them as much as I would like.

Immature Female Northern Harrier

By |2023-12-12T05:20:01-07:00December 12th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Environment, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Habitat, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am sharing three photos of an immature female Northern Harrier that I took ten years ago at Farmington Bay WMA.

Drake Common Goldeneye Landing

By |2023-12-10T04:22:49-07:00December 10th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today, I am sharing a simple photo of a drake Common Goldeneye coming in to land on my local pond early in the morning. I took this image a few days ago.

California Gull In Winter Plumage

By |2024-01-13T04:10:07-07:00December 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, California Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I was at my local pond three days ago, I was happy to photograph this California Gull in winter plumage that had just landed on the water.

Plastic Netting Will Kill This Pied-billed Grebe

By |2023-12-07T06:10:27-07:00December 7th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Environment, Pied-billed Grebes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Plastic netting will kill this Pied-billed Grebe unless myself or someone else can capture the grebe and remove the netting. The grebe will starve to death.

Another Scrub-Jay Name Change in 2024

By |2023-12-05T04:38:31-07:00December 5th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ophir Canyon, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Lately, I've been wondering what the new name for the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay species, that I photograph here in Utah, will be when it is changed in 2024.

Immature Pied-billed Grebe Being Chased And Other Grebe Behaviors

By |2023-12-02T03:51:38-07:00December 2nd, 2023|Categories: Pied-billed Grebes, San Juan County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Frosty Northern Harrier In Utah

By |2023-11-29T04:39:08-07:00November 29th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This photo of a frosty Northern Harrier was taken almost five years ago. Although the harrier is small in the frame, I still find the image visually appealing.

Canada Geese In Falling Snow

By |2023-11-25T03:52:03-07:00November 25th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I desperately needed a bird break so I went down to my local pond. While I was there I photographed Canada Geese and American Coots in falling snow.

Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2023-11-24T04:42:58-07:00November 24th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Four years ago today, I found this gorgeous dark morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a juniper fence post in the West Desert. I spotted it from about a mile away.

Fall Redhead Drake Photos

By |2023-11-23T04:00:29-07:00November 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On a cold morning two days ago, I had two Redhead drakes in my viewfinder at my local pond. the light was lovely and so were the ducks.

Drake Hooded Merganser Memory

By |2023-11-21T04:45:56-07:00November 21st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Hooded Mergansers, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Once upon a chilly December evening, I had a blast photographing a stunning drake Hooded Merganser in gorgeous light at an urban pond close to home.

My Solitaire Common Name Change Recommendation

By |2023-11-20T05:02:29-07:00November 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Tooele County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In 2024, the common name for Townsend's Solitaire will change, along with many other bird names. My recommendation would be to rename it the Juniper Solitaire.

Box Elder Seeds And Water Birch Leaves

By |2023-11-19T04:41:53-07:00November 19th, 2023|Categories: Box Elders, Salt Lake County, Utah, Water Birch|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm sharing two photos this morning: one of Box Elder Maple seeds and another of Water Birch leaves that I took last autumn while on walks close to home.

Autumn Snipe Photos And Common Name Changes

By |2023-11-17T12:13:02-07:00November 17th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wilson's Snipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The last time I visited Bear River MBR, I took quite a few photos of Wilson's Snipes. I also wondered what the new name for this snipe species will soon be.

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