Dreaming of Oystercatchers
Last night I spent some time dreaming of oystercatchers. I could hear them in my dream and see them scurrying along the waves.
Last night I spent some time dreaming of oystercatchers. I could hear them in my dream and see them scurrying along the waves.
One August morning in 2008 when I was at Fort De Soto to photograph birds I couldn't resist taking a few images of storm clouds hanging over the Gulf of Mexico.
In this photograph the trio of Red Fox kits were close together outside of the den and I liked how they appeared to be waiting for something.
Right after seeing the adult I also saw a fledgling Short-eared Eared Owl about 8 to 10 feet from the adult hung up on barbed wire.
The Targhee National Forest is a wonderful place to find and photograph birds and wildlife including this Red-tailed Hawk juvenile in flight.
At times the male Cassin's Finch looked like he was on alert but I can't be sure why, it might have been because of the other finches nearby or that he was keeping an eye out for predators in the sky.
I spent the morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday and one of the birds I photographed the most was this resting Double-crested Cormorant.
One of my favorite things is to see is squadrons of American White Pelicans wheeling in the sky high overhead circling until they are out of sight.
I was trying to photograph flickers, wrens and sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho earlier this month when the American Robin in the photo above appeared and softly called.
This Short-eared Owl fledgling spent a lot of time looking at the vehicle on the far side of the road parallaxing with its head tilted or bobbing up and down.
I was photographing this adult hoping to get it on lift off and in flight but looked away from my viewfinder to check my exposure exactly at the time it did lift off so I missed the shots.
This Cliff Swallow resting near the Red Rock River was cooperative and gave me the opportunity to photograph it on a strand of barbed wire fencing.
Waking up and seeing the lake mist at the Lower Lake and an ephemeral pond near it with birds in the air, on the lake and feeding in the pond is amazing.
I was able to create several images of this Ferruginous Hawk in flight with nesting materials over a field of sage and lupines despite the low light.
I was very happy to photograph this Uinta Ground Squirrel calling from a lichen covered boulder last week in southwestern Montana.
Five evenings ago I was able to photograph a cooperative Vesper Sparrow in Montana's Centennial Valley.
I'm pretty sure the American Badger at her den has cubs, they can have anywhere from one to five!
Seeing this Pronghorn doe with her fawn three mornings ago brought joy to me and photographing the fawn while it nursed and ran around getting the feel of its long legs made me happy.
The male Short-eared Owl in Clark County, Idaho was a beauty even in the poor light.
Mountain Bluebirds and this Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird were the first two bird species I photographed on this trip to Montana and Idaho.
I liked this image of a Tree Swallow near Modoc Creek because of the eye contact, head turn, colors and the pattern of the conifer needles in the background.
This image of a Swainson's Hawk in golden light was taken not long after the sun rose and I love how the light seems to make the hawk glow.
I photographed this little Chipping Sparrow yesterday evening at the Upper Lake campground at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Nature is calling and I am answering her call. I am happy to be off on another new amazing adventure.
I was able to see and photograph a long Short-eared Owl preening session where I could see the owl's ear canal, uropygial gland and some extremely interesting and twisted poses.
I really liked this frame of the female Short-eared Owl stretching on a leaning fence post because of the eye contact, the view of her talons, fanned out tail and extended wing.
While I have been photographing Short-eared Owls in northern Utah I have come across this intriguing and very tame Northern Harrier over and over in the same location.
How could I resist taking images of a fledgling Short-eared Owl in tumbleweeds? I just couldn't.
I know that blurs aren't everyone's cup of tea but I have grown quite fond of this beautiful, shaking, Short-eared Owl blur.
One thing I know for certain is that when the weather clears I know I am going to head back up there. And I will probably think about the title of this post... Warning - Swainson's Hawks Ahead.